This movie took off very slow but picked up half way through and became enjoyable, however shortened too much I thought.. Some of the things that made the book a great book i.e. some of the messages and the emphasis on faith were totaly left out. They were what made the book great and what diminished the movie. Leave it to Hollywood to take out the things that mean the most to most of us just to satisfy the PC crowd. In the end I enjoyed it and would recommend it.