Machine Gun Preacher

Machine Gun Preacher tells the story of Sam Childers, a former biker and drug dealer whose life changes after a stint in prison. Encouraged by his wife, Lynn, he turns to religion, settles into steady work and builds a church. A missionary trip to Africa shifts his focus again: confronted with the plight of Sudanese children abducted and forced to serve as soldiers, he sets up a refuge for them and takes up arms to defend it. His commitment to the cause grows into something more consuming.

Marc Forster directed the film, his seventh of thirteen features and his first after Quantum of Solace, with Jason Keller writing the screenplay. Gerard Butler plays Childers, Michelle Monaghan appears as Lynn, and Michael Shannon plays Donnie, among a credited cast of thirty-three. The production had a budget of 30 million dollars and returned about 3 million worldwide, a wide gap between its cost and its theatrical earnings.

Audience responses were moderate: it holds a rating of 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 71,000 votes, and the same score on TMDB from a much smaller base of roughly 1,200. Critics were less positive, giving it 4.8 out of 10 across 113 reviews, noticeably below the viewer scores.