Heaven Is For Real

Heaven is for Real is based on the true life story of pastor Todd Burpo and his son Colton who experienced Heaven during an emergency surgery that saved his life. It’s your typical faith-based film but a cast consisting of Greg Kinnear, Thomas Haden Chruch, Margo Martindale and more makes it a notch above the rest in terms of quality.

Todd Burpo (Kinnear) has spent his entire life preaching the word of God and following his teachings down to a tee. When his son requires surgery after becoming deathly ill and supposedly visits Heaven and Jesus while on the operating table Todd begins to question his faith and wonders whether or not his experience was real or not.

The film doesn’t try to disguise itself as anything other than a Christian drama. It’s akin to something you’d watch on the Lifetime network only a little better because of its higher caliber cast. Greg Kinnear is perfect for the role of a pastor with his gentle demeanor and loveable personality. Connor Corum, who plays the young Colton, is a shining example of young innocence. You can’t help but fall in love with him, regardless of whether or not you believe the story.

As you can expect Heaven is for Real targets a very specific type of audience and there isn’t much wiggle room. It’s a basic storyline that is very heavy-handed in its approach. Those who decide to see it will have most likely already made up their mind regarding the film before walking into a theater. For the majority of people, however, it's nothing special.