Machine Gun Preacher

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Machine Gun Preacher

R

2011

2h 7m

Biography

Crime

Drama

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

28%

Tomatometer

109 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), a former biker, decides to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war. Transformed by the horrors he sees, Sam ignores the warnings of more experienced aide workers and breaks ground for an orphanage in the heart of territory controlled by a brutal renegade militia. But establishing a shelter is not enough; determined to save as many lives as possible, Sam leads armed missions into enemy territory to rescue kidnapped children.

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Critics Consensus

There's a complex man at the center of Machine Gun Preacher but the movie is too shapeless and emotionally vacant to bring his story to life.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jan 27, 2012

1.5/4

It is an overblown, histrionic, cluttered and a nowhere near well enough developed mess, the erstwhile humanitarian a one-note caricature I knew little more about at the end than I did at the beginning.

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David Sexton

London Evening Standard

Nov 4, 2011

3/5

Gerard Butler is involving, even charismatic, always plausible as a man of contained and then uncontained violence...

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Raphael Abraham

Financial Times

Nov 3, 2011

2/5

Despite the most worthy intentions, Childers cannot single-handedly save Sudan and Butler cannot save this movie.

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Jack Fleischer

Battleship Pretension

Mar 24, 2021

There absolutely was a surface level enjoyment to this film, but it's ultimately just the tip of what appears to be a much more interesting iceberg.

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Jason Best

Movie Talk

Dec 6, 2020

The sight of a Kalashnikov-wielding white man swooping to the rescue of black children is awkward to say the least... But Butler brings a blazing intensity to his role.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 15, 2020

2.5/4.0

A decent film based upon a compelling story, but you can't help but think it could have been so much more.

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Fifty T

@RT01421419 2 days ago

Rudderless Missionary Movie That Drags Machine Gun Preacher was a total snoozefest and a big disappointment.The story concept is itself flawed because it pushes a very "white man's burden" view of Christian missionaries as the good guys in Africa, when that is precisely the problem of forced conversions.But that's not even what makes the movie bad - the execution is literally poor. It keeps changing direction every 20-30 minutes and feels completely rudderless. When it finally reaches some direction midway, it drags with uninspired direction and acting, built upon lazy writing where character choices don't make much sense.Butler tries to bring intensity, but the script and pacing let him down hard. This one wastes its wild true story and left me bored and frustrated.3.5/10: I'd skip it.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 20, 2026

Machine Gun Preacher is a *3* star Movie!

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Frank D

@RT66414430 Oct 14, 2026

This is a 5 star movie . Just for bringing awareness to the situation. Who cares about the writing ,acting ect . If it does not impact you during and after watching you are heartless

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Christa M

@christamurawski Aug 21, 2026

Sooo good!!! HIGHLY recommend!! I can’t believe we have never heard of it

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Carmen D

@Carmstomatoe Jun 20, 2026

Me and my partner watched this and was so shocked it got rated 28% that I just made an account to rate this 5 stars. It was so absolutely gripping. With the story and journey of faith, which was so relatable with everyone’s own journey with faith. It’s based on real life. Not like any other movie. Not to mention it’s currently in the top 10 of most watched on Amazon prime for a reason. 10/10 would watch again and buy. Gerald butlers acting was faultless

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Jan 3, 2024

Absolutely makes no sense whether the reviewers would give us a low star. Real, humane, genuine. Best I've seen in a while.

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Marc Forster

Director

Gerard Butler

Sam Childers

Michelle Monaghan

Lynn Childers

Michael Shannon

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Kathy Baker

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Souléymane Sy Savané

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Synopsis

Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), a former biker, decides to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war. Transformed by the horrors he sees, Sam ignores the warnings of more experienced aide workers and breaks ground for an orphanage in the heart of territory controlled by a brutal renegade militia. But establishing a shelter is not enough; determined to save as many lives as possible, Sam leads armed missions into enemy territory to rescue kidnapped children.

Director: Marc Forster
Producer: Robbie Brenner, Gary Safady, Deborah Giarratana, Craig Chapman, Marc Forster
Screenwriter: Jason Keller
Distributor: Relativity Media
Production Co: GG Filmz, Relativity, Apparatus, Safady Entertainment
Rating: R (Disturbing Images|A Scene of Sexuality|Language|Some Drug Use|Violent Content)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 23, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $537.6K
Runtime: 2h 7m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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