'Machine Gun Preacher" is extraordinary on two levels: First, it's based on a true story about a man who went from a life of violent crime and drug addiction to building an orphanage in war-torn Sudan. And second, he did it all without looking at a computer screen, ever.
Okay, maybe the real Sam Childers tweets and scrolls an iPhone once in a while. But in "Machine Gun Preacher," Childers — as portrayed by Gerard Butler — behaves as though his fingers have never tapped on a keyboard and the only thing the word Mac has ever conjured for him is a burger. Hairy and sweaty and sporting facial pores the size of saucers, Butler's Childers is probably listed under "testosterone" in the dictionary. He's an ape, but a wonderfully courageous and inspiring one.
And who better to play him than Hollywood's go-to guy for sheer, undiluted maleness: Gerard "300" Butler? You look at the man and you want to run for cover, lest he come chasing after you with those hammy fists, roaring some indecipherable abuse and possibly belching at the same time.