“Machine Gun Preacher” tells the intriguing real-life story of Sam Childers, an American Christian that has spent his years fighting for Sudanese children. This is a brutal and distressing film but it’s also very uplifting and very moving.

Sam Childers (Gerard Butler “Olympus Has Fallen”, “The Bounty Hunter”) used to be a violent biker thug until he found God. When volunteering in Uganda, he takes a trip to neighbouring Sudan and sees the devastating effects of the Lord’s Resistance Army. He decides to open a church near his home in Pennsylvania as well as an orphanage in Sudan as he fights to keep hundreds of children safe.

Sam Childers is an interesting individual and we see some real conflict within him. He starts off as a violent man and then he becomes a caring and kind man. As his time fighting in Sudan continues, he ends up somewhat returning to his aggressive old ways but he might just be able to get through and get his head back in the right place. Gerard Butler gives a good performance as you feel very sympathetic towards Sam. The other characters in the film are all good but the real focus of the film is on the Childers character.

Whether you agree or disagree with Childers, you cannot deny that this a powerful story. This film features some great performances and some great realistic action sequences that help you understand Childers’ spiritual and moral journey to try and atone for the sins of his past. This is a terrific film but I must warn you, the violence depicted in the movie is truly shocking and very realistic. The ending even features real photos and clips of the real Sam Childers as well as some of the abused children he encountered in Africa. This is a great film that highlights the issue faced by Christian children in what is now South Sudan (the film is set prior to the division of the nation) and it does it in an incredibly entertaining and engaging way.