Fireproof - Never Leave Your Partner Behind - Movie Review

The Studio Blurb: “A movie…A marriage…A movement! At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever…rescuing his wife’s heart.


My take: When this movie hit the scene, I’d heard rave reviews from many of my friends. Fireproof was being shown in churches around the country including mine so I was eager to see its debut. Alas, a sick child prevented us from attending. So when the DVD hit our local Christian bookstore I jumped at the chance to own it and watch the movie with our family.

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! From the title to the rolling credits, the resounding theme was repeated and made clear: In marriage, you never leave your partner behind, especially in a fire.

How appropriate for such a time as this. In today’s world where everything and anything including marriages, are disposable, Fireproof showcases exactly what happens in a marriage when the “forever death do us part” becomes more about husbands and wives who stop focusing on God’s will for their marriage and become more in tune with the world’s philosophy of self-satisfaction and immediate gratification.

As I was watching the movie I began taking notes of tidbits that caught my attention that I think prove extremely valuable in keeping our marriages healthy and the romance alive.

1) Make Jesus the most significant part of your marriage - Take time to pray over your husband or wife, allowing Jesus to guide, protect and grow your marriage. If you are not a believer as was Caleb Holt in the movie why not give Jesus a chance? Find a new church and get connected and learn more about what God says is good for you and your marriage.

2) Don’t forget to say “Thank you Lord” - Outside of making Christ your Savior, this is so important. In the rush of daily living all of us have the tendency to forget our blessings, from our health, our lives and most importantly, our partners.

3) Fireproof your marriage – As the movie so adequately states, fireproofing your marriage doesn’t mean you won’t go through the fire but that together you’ll be able to withstand the fire. How? Invest in it with all your heart. And when times get tough, don’t take the easy way out and run for the door. Find a trusted friend, family member, pastor or counselor who will have your marriage’s best interest at heart and one who will work with you to help put out the fire in your marriage.

4) Finally, watch this with your entire family. My daughter’s away at school so she wasn’t present for the viewing however, let me tell you from a mother’s perspective just how amazing this was to watch with my sons. Even at their pubescent, hormonal ages where iPods and gaming stations reign supreme, both of my boys were glued to this movie. They were captivated of course with the fire scenes but also they watched a movie that showed a young man in the midst of a crumbling marriage work diligently to save it from destruction. They saw how Caleb Holt destroyed his computer because of “parasites” that were luring his attention. They watched Caleb woo his wife with prayer, honesty, integrity and a whopping dose of the God Lord above! How cool is that?!


If you haven’t seen Fireproof go get it, pull the family together and watch this dynamic movie. Also, should you want to take the 40-day Love Dare that Caleb takes in the movie, check out http://www.fireproofyourmarriage.com/

Enjoy!
Many blessings! ~Amy