By Henriikka Niemi
Staff Writer
“Heaven Is for Real” follows the Burpo family of Nebraska and their 4-year-old son Colton, who has a near death experience during an appendectomy and when he is revived, claims he has been to Heaven.
After waking up, Colton slowly begins to reveal facts and stories he would otherwise have no way of knowing, about long deceased family members and events taking place while he was in surgery. The movie primarily surrounds father and pastor Todd Burpo’s acceptance of his son’s tale and the reactions of the community.
The movie is based on a bestselling novel “Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back” written by Todd Burpo about his experiences following his son’s surgery and is one of the many book to movie adaptations premiering this spring and summer, including the likes of “Divergent,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “The Giver” and “Maze Runner.”
“Heaven Is for Real” was a bit slow to get moving, perhaps spending a little too long familiarizing the audience with the Burpo family dynamics and a few pointless accidents involving Todd Burpo. It only picked up slightly when the central plot of Colton’s near death experience was introduced, and dragged at points through its 1 hour 40 minute run time.
However, great performances by Academy Award nominated Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo, Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, Connor Corum as the charming, humorous and direct Colton and a group of supporting actors including the likes of Thomas Haden Church and Margo Martindale saved the movie from what could have been a monotonous attempt at bringing the book to life.
Beyond the religious message, “Heaven Is for Real” delivers a tale of learning how to cope with grief and a family struggling to pay the bills and stay normal, despite the incredible events that occur.
The few scenes that could have been omitted portrayed Colton’s time in Heaven, which may have been better left to the imagination of the audience.
Those in search of a fast paced thriller or a mindlessly entertaining movie should not see “Heaven Is for Real,” but I do encourage it as a family-friendly movie, rated PG.
