The Cokeville Miracle (2015) User Reviews (79)

Interesting true story.

[welhof1 · 5/10 · 29 October 2019]

Like others I had never heard of this incident and after reading about it, the movie does follow the events pretty close.

Some scenes just felt out of place like when the commissioner stopped by the station with his checkbook. That was random.

The development of why the perpetrators did what they did was never really explained.

The ending was a tad too long.

A good movie about a true story

[abelhawk · 7/10 · 12 February 2016]

I honestly can't help but laugh at these negative reviews about this movie. If you don't like the acting, effects, etc., fine, but giving the movie 1 star because you don't like the way the miracles in the movie were shown is stupid. The accounts of angels and miracles are documented by real people who went through this terrible situation. Whether they're true or not is besides the point. Some people on here are saying "Why would God save them and not others," but this is a question unrelated to this movie's quality and presentation. It's like giving God Himself or the kids who told gave these accounts 1 star. The director and actors presented a documented story as told by real people. They didn't take any liberties or choose the way the story ended. If you're not religious, you probably won't appreciate the movie, but don't blame the directors for making "religious propaganda" or relating events that "don't make sense if God is a just god." The events did happen, or at least that's what the children said. Take it up with them if you don't believe it.

Depends on Your Theology

[joncheskin · 7/10 · 23 June 2015]

The Cokeville Miracle is the true story of the May 16, 1986 incident in Cokeville, WY, where a lunatic and his wife entered the local elementary school with a bomb and an objective to blow up its students into a better hereafter. Those who know the incident know that the bomb accidentally went off but miraculously only the bomber and his wife (the perpetrators) were killed--all the kids and teachers made it out alive. The movie entertains the notion that the event was a real miracle ordained by God, and much of the drama centers around the local sheriff's attempt to make sense of the incident.

The Cokeville Miracle is a completely Christian movie, and actually of a rather conservative variety. This means that whether you like this movie will substantially depend on your own personal beliefs. It is unquestionably a powerful movie in this context--the hostage drama is actually only part of a plot that centers around a crisis of faith in the Sheriff and the pain that this is causing his family. The story of a crisis of faith is a very old one, but is done well here, and for a Christian is of course the most important story that one can tell. Christians will find an incredible parable on the power of divine intervention and its potential to save souls- -it is right up the Christian's alley.

If you are an atheist, however, you will probably find yourself in completely unfamiliar territory. You may find yourself rooting for the Sheriff to not give in to easy explanation of "miraculous intervention" that the story proposes. Furthermore, the Sheriff's struggle to find his personal faith may leave you feeling very unmoved, to say the least. The movie has the potential to draw many eye rolls, especially considering Jasen Wade's very earnest performance as the Sheriff.

If there is a middle-ground, it perhaps lies in one's willingness to accept this drama for what it is--a drama about people in a small town and how they might react to this type of situation. In this sense, the movie is superb. I am not originally from a small rural town, but I did live in one for six years. As I watched the drama, I realized that so much of it was real--these people could have been my friends. The hostage drama was believable, if appalling. The tendency to explain the event as an intervention of God's hand was true-to-life, an essential aspect to how these folks would actually react. The story of the sheriff's crisis of faith, at least for the people that I knew (and cared for) struck me as spot-on and heart- rending in its context. There is much here that might offend or at least bore the outsider; to an insider, it is a really powerful movie.

So Who Are the Haters?

[superscrounger · 30 November 2015]

This is a film about faith. I imagine many people who watch it may be aware of that beforehand. But if you weren't, and it projects ideals you disagree with, it is best to acknowledge that in a civil, thoughtful, non-attacking way.

Often, if I am critical of material I find offensive (excessive, gratuitous violence and gore, or pornography) I get the injured (and ironically, almost pious) response of "Well, if you don't want to see it, don't watch it." Then they adamantly add "But don't criticize my choices or get in my way." And they cite the First Amendment.

That works in both directions. Realize it. Acknowledge it. Embrace it.

A Heavily Biased Adaptation of the Cokeville Bombing

[calebsmith-10511 · 1/10 · 21 June 2015]

The film starts out well, there's good character development, the plot line is subtly introduced and is later fully revealed which keeps interest high. The introduction captivated me, Nathan Stevens did an excellent job, and his acting skills are probably one of the main reasons I didn't give this film one star. The other cast members were excellent as well, however, about half way into the movie I lost almost all interest. The only reason I enjoyed watching from that point was because it was absolutely hilarious to me how pushy this film's values are. The film took a very opinionated turn, and a few scenes that show this are one, the scene in which Claudia Hartley (Sarah Kent) is talking to her husband, Ron Hartley (Jasen Wade) about how miraculous it is that all the children and faculty survived, and that it HAD to be the work of God. God forbid someone think it was the work of Allah, or even worse, luck. The second scene, well really a collection of scenes, are of children telling stories of seeing angels and relatives that helped them. The entire second half of the movie is purely dedicated to convincing the husband that it wasn't just by chance and that it was the work of God. The moral of the story, not surprisingly, is that we should recognize God's existence and appreciate him for what he does. Understand where my comments about a biased retelling of the Cokeville Elementary Bombing comes from now? Again, the first half of the movie was excellent in my opinion, but from then on it was incredibly biased and even comical, to me at least. I can appreciate a film like "God's Not Dead", because even though it attacks Atheism and portrays it in a poor manner, it's not a story that ALL religious groups would be interested in watching. The incident of the Cokeville Bombing is known throughout the world, and is relevant throughout the world, therefore it shouldn't be tailored only to one group of people in the world. Those who believe in Allah should be able to watch it without being pressured, those who believe in things like chakra should be able to watch this movie without being pressured, and those who believe there is no god, like myself, should be able to watch this movie without being pressured.

Religious Propaganda

[jmcdo-62542 · 1/10 · 15 October 2015]

Unbelievable. Aside from the poor scripting and dodgy acting, I did not expect to be subject to this kind of religious imposing nonsense after reading what seemed to be an exciting drama/thriller. Honestly, movies like this are borderline propaganda and should come with a Jesus stamp right on the box/title. At the two-thirds mark - *spoiler alert* - the bomb goes off, and I'm left wondering what the rest of the movie is going to be about. Boom, done, right? No. They go on for another half an hour about all the little details that are "too coincidence to be a coincidence" so it MUST have been divine intervention. Thank you god for saving all those innocent children from the violent psychopath you brought to that elementary school. The lord works in mysterious ways..

DO NOT WATCH.

Good movie about terror and faith

[treetracer · 7/10 · 16 October 2015]

This movie won't be winning any awards for acting, although a couple of the kids were pretty good. And not the best special effects, but they did great for the budget they probably had to work with. Definitely did NOT get 80's fashion and hairstyles down, and I guarantee they took artistic liberties with the story. What movie doesn't?

But look past that and you'll see a decent movie about a horrific event and how a tiny little town in Wyoming handled it. Real people, a real event, and how they overcame it all through prayer.

If you don't believe in prayer or divine intervention, you'll hate this movie because you won't be able to see past your own bias.

Bad Directing

[mattzbrowne · 4/10 · 21 October 2015]

Sorry but although this movie is based on real life events this has to rate in the top worst visual effect movies ever, absolutely terrible. I enjoy movies like this honestly, however, Bad acting, overly dramatic, stereotypical character personality just isn't a good movie. The director needs some serious training and imagination. I gave it a 4 out of 10 only due to the nature of the movie being inspired by true events and the basis of the story line and plot is as good as any movie of this nature you would expect to see, and given the right director and probably more critically acclaimed producer, it would have made a fantastic high ranking movie. What a shame.

Never heard of this event

[steeleronaldr · 9/10 · 9 February 2021]

When I watch a based on true events movie I really get into it. First off because someone lived it, the story isn't some jibber jabber and the acting is above average. With the Superbowl on and I'm not a sports fan I started searching for something watchable and came across this movie. Religious man I am not but I also don't rule it out either. Here we have a school (elementary school at that) held hostage because our protagonist feared kids were being brainwashed. What starts out as a married couple and their daughter along with two other guys, when 3 back out due to the intended plan the couple go ahead with their plans.

I wasn't expecting much but another hostage movie and what I got was far more than I expected. A movie where there is no hero but a group of people pulling together to make do with what they had and that was their faith in God and their patience. Every actor including the children were great and very believable. I recommend this movie and warn you that it's not big budget or loaded with special effects just good acting.

Great Christian Film, don't miss this one

[kkrogue · 7/10 · 13 June 2015]

This is one of the best Christian films I have seen. It is on par with God's Not Dead and Heaven is for Real. I remember when this event actually happened and had heard about some of the events of the movie but I was struck by the incredible story and the intense scenes as well as the emotional impact this movie had on me. I don't know when I have been so impacted by a movie. A must see. I have seen other movies by T.C. Christensen but nothing he has done has been anything like this. The entire audience was riveted to their seats and I watched many people leave very emotional. I am going to track down the book and see if I can also research the story more thoroughly. I loved seeing the many children, now grown up, who appeared during the credits.

Not what it seems.

[subscriber-8 · 3/10 · 10 October 2022]

If you are looking for a good faith confirming movie along the lines of the many good Christian movies out there, then I am sorry, but this isn't one of them.

How true this movie is to actual events, I can't say, but I can say this... As the movie progressed, I became increasingly dubious.

While the movie portrays itself as one of Christian faith, the theology in the movie is not. While it doesn't state it anyway (but a bit of follow up research confirms), this is a Mormon movie, with what I can only assume is their theology.

I for one believe in both prayer and divine intervention, but the idea that one's ancestors could intercede and appear as Angels was a real warning sign for me. There are plenty of other teachings in there too which are not aligned with mainstream Christian teaching.

I have no issue about the making of the movie - people should certainly be allowed to share their faith - but the lack of mention that it is based around Latter Day Saint teachings, which the vast majority of Christians would consider to be unbiblical, I think is deceptive. And that alone makes me question much of the rest of the voracity of the movie.

It wasn't a bad movie and was even a bit of a tear jerker. But the lack of openness suggests to me that it wasn't an honest movie.

I was moved

[Sandra-durand80 · 10/10 · 26 January 2020]

Listening to the children's testimony gave me chills, but in such a great way it's hard to explain. I wished I had watched this sooner. Beautiful movie based on a true story.

different ways of seeing things

[enrique-romo · 7/10 · 17 October 2015]

It is wrong for Christians to make movies? and is it good for the Jews or atheists make movies?

I laugh such comments are something like children of Donald Trump, that what they say is just right, that what they think is just right and the rest who think differently from them are those who are evil or wrong.

if a Christian wants to make a movie, go ahead. If a Jew wants to make a movie, go ahead, the same for an atheist.

that everyone express their ideas and thoughts, his way of seeing things and not because it is different from what we think we should criticize.

some believe in the architect of the universe as the creator of everything around us, well, the universe is the unity of diversity, it is the unity of those who think differently and different ways of thinking are so respected, then the unit is given.

An Honest Review

[k_gazo · 5/10 · 5 July 2023]

I will start by saying that neither my husband nor I had heard of this event prior to watching the movie, and chose it solely from the small thumbnail on Prime that appeared to have children holding something.

I am still trying to figure out the opening scene of the movie. I plan to rewatch it to see if I missed a key link to the movie. Otherwise I am not sure why it opened the way it did.

Once the movie got going, we both realized the script was terrible. The acting really wasn't as bad as I originally thought. There is only so much an actor can do with bad lines and a choppy narrative. I would have enjoyed learning more about the protagonist's background and motivation. We quickly saw that the movie was faith-based, but the lines questioning God seemed forced into the script and out of place. I really can't fault the actors, and as the movie progressed we did see more emotion evoked.

The first half of the movie unfolds the events of the Bombing. The protagonist delivered lines awkwardly and felt stereotypical. The children and adults seemed way too calm and quiet. I think scenes should have depicted the severity of the situation better than they did and that the script should have also reflected this. Instead some lines were delivered almost comically and we found ourselves chucking at how bad it was.

The second half of the movie on the other hand, surprised me. I was not expecting the director to finally delve into the families lives. Disclaimer! I am Pagan to best describe my faith and my husband is Indigenous. We do not follow or believe Christian teachings but we do believe people should follow what speaks to them. I was not offended by the religious tone of the movie, in fact, that much was apparent within the first 15 minutes. Everything depicted in the second half of the movie spoke to me in my own way. I felt awed by the power of intention that day and I think it's brilliant the survivors chose to focus on a miracle rather than a tragedy.

Again, the questioning of God felt forced into the second half, and I really think it could have been approached in a more fluid way. That said, I think the second half of the movie really saved the first half.

I think the movie is for anyone. I don't think one has to be a believer to enjoy it. People just have to be able to withstand terrible writing, awkward scenes, forced emotion and a lack of background detail to get into it. The spiritual aspect was a non-issue. People criticizing it are biased in their reviews, but so are the people giving it 10 out of 10 because of their religious beliefs. If you just watch the movie for what it is, you will see exactly what I mean.

Watch if you believe in angels

[catherinecccfahy · 3/10 · 27 March 2021]

A good story they based the film off however VERY bad acting, and ruined it even more by making out Angels or god saved the kids???? Absolutely not, avoid this film its terrible.

Big nope

[kymmgiggles · 1/10 · 7 September 2020]

Horrible movie. Such an intense subject and at times they made it seem almost comical? You should be ashamed.

Powerful message presented a little confusing

[gambted · 6/10 · 9 June 2015]

My brother's wife had a sister held as a hostage in the school. So, the events personally affected me as I knew people who were involved. I want to bring up first, that I believe the miracles that happened and that there is a caring Heavenly Father watching over us. The message of prayer and angels are faith-promoting and wonderful. However, I found some elements a little confusing. I was a little confused at how Doris (the female kidnapper) would show doubt and maybe even disdain for her husband prior to the kidnapping but then go full in to do it. I also had a hard time with the main character's acceptance/non-acceptance of the miracles that occurred. Even with those two points confusing me, I felt the powerful message intended to by conveyed by this movie. I feel that the two short-comings I have described has made the movie good. I just feel that it could have been done a little different to make it great.

Don't watch a movie about miracles if you are offended by religion

[mjeffs-39518 · 8/10 · 19 October 2015]

Here's what I don't get. Why did so many people who don't want to watch a movie about God or religion watch a movie with the word "miracle" in the title? I understand if you don't like that kind of stuff. I don't like horror films so I don't watch movies with the word "horror" in it. You can't complain about a movie being exactly what the title says it's going to be. It's a low budget film, but they did a pretty good job with it. It's great for what it is! And I expected it to be about God, religion, and miracles because I looked at the title. Go into knowing what it is and you will like it. If you go into expecting it to be a big budget Hollywood film you will be disappointed.

All in the end made 6 kids.. Almoust all😅😅

[dianagaman · 6/10 · 27 June 2021]

Good movie... But... Is a coincidence that almost all in the end have 6 kids???! 🤔😅😅

Based on a true story but not great

[TRISROUGE-83 · 5/10 · 28 August 2023]

The script was not the best and acting was not good either but when you watch this kind of movie you already know that it's going to be that way for most of the Christian movies.

This happened in the late 80's and it's a miracle each and every hostage survived that accidental bombing. But in real life 79 of the hostages were severely injured from burns and other injuries from the detonation.

All was going rather well until their testimonies mention dead relatives. I believe if they say they saw angels but I don't know what to think about the dead relatives acting as "angels". Though every single testimony gives that same explanation.

Regardless of what these kids saw inside, the amazing thing is the explosion went through the roof and that saved everyone's lives.

It's a story worth telling and it's a lesson worth analyzing because from the beginning it tackles with faith, the lose of it...an emotional religious war and the journey to rekindle that relationship with God. It's a journey worthy of being heard and something to learn from.

All that aside though, it could have been better as a movie. If I was reviewing the idea behind the movie I'd give it a 9 but execution wise it's a 5.

Great true story, Good actors and worth the watch!

[chasetraining · 8/10 · 21 January 2016]

I found this movie to be a feel good great movie and yes the acting and effects were not the best I still found it engaging and tugged at the heart strings

This movie was not made to win awards or make celebrities, this movie was created to let people know of the miracle that happened on that day 30 years ago and I believe it did just that for me.

There are a few parts that could've been adjusted probably with a larger budget, but if i wanted CG graphics and special effects I would watch something else

The fact that I had never even heard of this real life miraculous story until now makes me rate it even higher.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested, the world could use a little more movies like this.

well done movie about faith

[barbosa-vicki · 7/10 · 6 February 2023]

I found this movie touching and suspenseful, even knowing the outcome. I kind of wish it had been done in chronological order, in that it showed the children praying, as well as the parents, teachers, and high schoolers, after the event had finished. It would have made more sense to show them praying during the hostage situation. But even so, it worked as they did it.

I was thinking of showing this to my 9 year old grandson, because it does show the power and effectiveness of prayer. But after seeing it, I decided it's too frightening for him; and he's not an over-sensitive kid. But the scene with the villain screaming at the boy was just too scary for a child.

However I found it well worth the watch. The acting is solid, the scenery enjoyable, and the story not to be missed.

Proselytizing Camoflaged as Entertainment

[zigzagtom · 1/10 · 10 April 2022]

Not much to recommend this film. Although based on a true event, the film goes off the deep end in an attempt to convert viewers to a particular brand of religion. I don't object to that, but I wish I had been told in advance so I could have spent my time more productively. My rating reflects the irretrievable loss of the time.

A truly amazing story

[ewells-48899 · 7 August 2015]

Unfortunately in the city where I live, this movie did not come to the theatre, so I will have to wait for the DVD or VOD release of it to see it. This is not a review of the movie, but just wanted those that have not seen other movies that were done by T.C. Christensen to make sure and check out his other films.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002459/?nmdp=1&ref_=nm_ql_5#filmography Out of all of them he has done, my favorites and those I highly recommend would be - 17 Miracles, Ephraim's Rescue, Emma Smith: My Story, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. These are the ones I have loved and treasure and do highly recommend.

When people think of LDS cinema, they think that its cheesy, horrible acting, and many other things, but with T.C. Christensen and the movies he has done, that is not at all true. While there are movies out there under the banner of LDS cinema that do have bad acting, and so on and so forth, they still embrace the message of hope and share that with the world.

I hope that those who have loved this movie will indeed check out his other projects and/or the ones I have recommended Eric

From the Oh Brother Department

[lthes81 · 1/10 · 31 January 2023]

I gave it 1 star for informing me of this incident. The Mormon mindset saturates it. Also, I thought the open windows provided a chimney for the blast? At least 1 of the kids was told to stand by the window? I thought the blast went channeling through the bathroom area & out the window? No - the angels channeled it straight up! I think the director needed to get his stories straight! But what I can't comprehend is why did this school get the attention of so many angels when Bath, Michigan in 1927 went completely unprotected? That's a story much better told than this one, & far more deserving!!