Pluskylang Great Film overall

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

dwat2 Despite being LDS, I didn't expect much from the film. Handling matters which are sacred to anyone is difficult, and I appreciated the film's ability to deal with the subjects frankly without beating anyone over the head. The film has a nice balance between telling a family's story and the religion's. I think the Steed family was wonderfully portrayed, each performance engaging and unique. I'm looking forward to seeing the second film and then the third that just came out ... assuming they ever bother bringing it to New York State.My one casting beef was with Joseph Smith - also the hardest one to cast. While the actor does a good job showing that he really believes his account and is trying his best to live among people who don't, he gets this head-shake thing going on whenever he discusses spiritual matters as if he is trying to prove his sincerity in his body language and that was very distracting by the end of the movie.

abrafocus Based on Book One of a nine-book series, this is one of the most touching movies I have ever seen. The Steed family is fictional, but it provides real historical background. The story of Joseph Smith, the vision, the Book of Mormon, all of that is true.\ The character of Nathan is portrayed wonderfully. His brother Jon, doesn't accept Joseph Smith and his stories, so he turns against his family, and joins some evil men, attempting to steal the Gold Plates. Of course, they are not successful, and the plates are translated.After reading The Book of Mormon, Nathan is baptized. His father objects to this, but he doesn't do anything violent.This is a great movie. Even if you're not LDS, I'm sure you'll find this movie well worth your time.My Score: 9/10.

bobby-connolly Read about 6 reviews here about viewers' responses to this flick T W & T G which were highly laudatory. I very much did appreciate the cinematography and the amount of detail put into making this historically accurate. But the story was weak. The acting for the most part was painful to watch and the people who were supposed to be the founding members of the M church were so nice and polite and industrious that they weren't believable.In watching the scenes, particularly those with Nathan Steed, I felt embarrassed. I felt so embarrassed because of how sanitized the scenes seemed and how awkward his character was even though he was supposed to be so sensitive and loyal and nonjudgmental. The scenes reminded me of another young man who struggles with social and family situations, namely Napoleon Dynamite! But I knew it was okay to laugh out loud at his missteps. Napoleon was a comedy.A matter that was glossed over, I felt, was that in this period of American development quite a few men "found" amazing historical "finds" that today have mostly been proved to be fabrications. There is a petrified man, a giant, who was found during this same period on display in Cooperstown, NY. This crude statue that was supposedly dug up in NY has now been judged as a crude attempt at at creating an antiquity. I believe Mark Twain writes about a similar "discovery."

luvintex This was very well done and is obvious that a much larger budget was used than what is typically used on an LDS movie. The setting was beautiful and the acting was very good also. The actor that portrayed Joseph Smith left us with a greater sense of the kind of person he may have been and some of the persecution he endured (although I believe it was on a much larger scale than what was shone). The characters that played the part of the Steed family couldn't have been a better cast. I also enjoyed the occasional subtle humor that rounded out the movie. I will definitely add this one to my DVD collection when it is released. Go see it! Now, excuse me while I "go get some more eggs"!