PLOT: A former Department of Homeland Security agent (Jim Caviezel) risks his life to save a brother and sister who sex traffickers have abducted, eventually launching a large scale operation to save hundreds of kids. Eventually it spawns Operation Underground Railroad, an organization committed to ending the child sex trafficking trade.
REVIEW: Sound of Freedom is definitely one of the most notable movies of the summer season. Having originally been produced by 20th Century Fox before Disney acquired the company, the movie sat on the shelf for five years. Boasting a modest budget and coming from a pretty tiny studio, the grassroots campaign used to market the film has resulted in some pretty staggering box office results, with it having already grossed $40 million. It will likely be the highest-grossing independent film of the year. However, it’s also been a lightning rod for controversy, with many slamming it as a “Quanon film.”
Here at JoBlo, we do our best to be apolitical, and our interest in reviewing Sound of Freedom comes from the fact that it’s struck a chord with audiences, and we like to cover all sorts of popular entertainment. Viewed through that lens as pure entertainment, Sound of Freedom is a decently-made thriller about an important topic. Child sex trafficking is a scourge, and Sound of Freedom is not the only movie to ever tackle the subject. Last year, a Liam Neeson actioner called Memory tackled the same topic, and even though many are saying this is “faith-based,” Sound of Freedom is actually the more nuanced, sophisticated movie.
While I have no idea whether or not the people behind this movie ascribe to Quanon theories (star Jim Caviezel seems to), this is not, as far as I can tell, particularly concerned with that topic (let’s not forget that when it was made five years ago, Quanon was still a very fringe). I wouldn’t even call it particularly religious either, other than the fact that the hero, Tim Ballard, a real guy, is shown to believe in God. But other than him using it to spout the movie’s big one-liner, “God’s Children Are Not For Sale,” it has very little bearing on the film. It’s a slickly made thriller about an important topic and the fact that it exaggerates Ballard’s actions is wholly owned up to by the man himself. He even fact-checked the movie himself on his website, dismissing some of the more Hollywood fabrications, including the fact that he ever killed anyone or acted as a vigilante. Sound of Freedom isn’t the only movie to ever exaggerate reality for cinematic effect.
Is Sound of Freedom a great movie? No, but it’s a perfectly decent one. Considering the reported $15 million budget, director Alejandro Monteverde made a great-looking film, with them having shot the movie on location in Cartagena. While Caviezel hasn’t been in a mainstream film in a long time, he gives a committed, intense performance as Ballard. While people may view him as a strange guy, there are moments here that make one remember how good he was in stuff like The Count of Monte Cristo, Person of Interest, and – of course – The Passion of the Christ. While he does break out the saintly Jesus look a few too many times, overall, his performance is quite good.
However, the movie is all but stolen by the great Bill Camp, a former Cali Cartel boss named Vampiro, who buys children, but then sets them free. He and Ballard form an allegiance, and Camp’s character remains rugged and realistic, more so than you would see were this a traditional “faith-based film.” The movie really benefits from his presence and his powerful acting elevates the proceedings significantly. It’s also one of the hardest PG-13 movies you’ve ever seen, with it fully evoking the horror of the child sex trade without going overboard and being exploitative. It walks a fine line, but does it well.
Even still, The Sound of Freedom isn’t perfect, with the final act that follows Ballard basically becoming a vigilante, complete with church bell gongs on the soundtrack when he beats a bad guy to death, ringing hollow. On his website, Ballard admits this is pure Hollywood fabrication, but up to then, the movie worked more often than it didn’t.
Unfortunately, the movie ends with a bizarre sequence, billed as a “special message,” where Caviezel tells the audience that the film is the 21st-century version of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. He then urges them to spread the word by scanning a QR code to donate tickets. It’s a novel approach, but it could have been done more sophisticatedly, and it ends the film on a sour note. Imagine a movie where the actor breaks character at the end and tells you that, hey, you’ve just seen one of the most important movies ever made. It’s off-putting, but even still, Sound of Freedom is a better movie than its detractors might have you think. By the same token, though, it’s also not the masterpiece others may say it is. Ultimately, it’s a good, solid thriller about an important topic—nothing more but certainly nothing less.