Movie Review: Field of Vision

Earlier this week, I got an e-mail offering me the chance to preview a movie that will be airing on NBC this weekend: Field of Vision. It tells the story of a young man who is the captain of his football team, the star quarterback. Just before his team heads to the playoffs, he discovers that his teammates (and friends since elementary school) are bullying a new team member. He faces a difficult decision: if he tells the coach about the bullying, his friends could be suspended, and be ineligible to play during the big game, which means a certain end to their championship dreams.

I had a chance to watch the movie yesterday, and while I enjoyed watching it, and cried at the ending (hey, I cry at the ending of most movies), I don't give it my full approval. You know how in the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, there would be commendations and then the phrase "nevertheless, I have something against thee." That's the way it was with this movie. It has a lot going for it:

• It shows a traditional family, with a father and mother who care about their children. The kids in the family (a high-school boy and a young girl) actually get along with each other. 
• There is no offensive language or sexual content that would keep you from viewing this movie with your whole family. The only violence is one scene where some of the football team are bullying the new guy. They have a brief scuffle and some heated conversation. There's no bloodshed or anything like that, just a big guy looking and sounding mean.
• The movie is all about making the right choices, and several of the characters do just that. It's good to see a movie where people stand up for what's right instead of taking the easy road.

Okay, now the part that bothered me. The description of the movie describes it like this: "mysterious footage captured on an old malfunctioning video camera." To me, it seemed more like the video camera was more like a crystal ball, showing characters glimpses of the past and future to guide them on their way. It seemed to give the movie a bit of a creepy aspect to me. I'm okay with magic in fantasy movies like "The Chronicles of Narnia" or "The Lord of the Rings", but when you mix a supernatural element into a current-day movie, it raises a red flag for me. It probably won't bother most people, but I wanted to mention it.

Facebook movie trailer

Overall, it was a good movie, and most families will enjoy it with no reservations. It premiers tomorrow night (Saturday, June 11) at 8 pm on NBC.


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