In anticipation of ‘Sons of Thunder: Redemption’, I was asked to take a look at the original series, ‘Sons of Thunder’ (not to be confused with the Chuck Norris project). ‘Sons of Thunder’ is a faith-based series put out by the folks over at PureFlix.
Now, if faith-based series aren’t your thing, I’d ask you to stick around for not only this review, but the one to come featuring the sequel series.
I ride motorcycles, or as we say in my riding club, “we ride bikes”. Sure it conjures up memories of a group of boys pedaling down the street to the park when we were kids – and honestly it captures that same euphoria joy often enough. At its core, our club enjoys the wind in our face on a long twisty road (dubbed in the motorcycle community as wind therapy), camaraderie of fellow male and female riders, and sitting down to a good meal before turning back and doing it all again.
Now, when the biker is portrayed in media, it comes across quite different. Clubs + drugs + guns = killing & mayhem. And no, this isn’t to lay hate on ‘Sons of Anarchy’ specifically (although if you wear that SOA vest/patch combo on a bike, you might be asked to remove it by shady folk, and are DEFINITELY laughed at by the rest of us – sorry).
Bad Biker characterizations have been happening since Brando made the anti-hero cool long before Jax Teller, Walter White, or even Tony Soprano. Sorry, Kurt Stutter, you weren’t breaking new ground. And sure, the Hells Angels are real, as are other nefarious (or formerly nefarious) clubs.
When I lived in Myrtle Beach, I got to experience FBI surveillance helicopters every May during Bike Week. Why? The Angels were in town. In reality, what I saw were old grizzled bikers, that received a wild berth, and enjoyed plenty of free beers from hangers-on, hoping to hear a good story, and hopefully grab a selfie to show off on social media. it was all a bit… pedestrian. That’s not to say the HA doesn’t still have its hands in a couple dirty pots, but in the modern world, most “outlaw clubs” are more bravado and less cartel.
‘Sons of Thunder’ choses to highlight the “biker saint“, another movie trope that’s become popular in recent years. They do a decent job. Randal Reeder fills the bill (and the screen) as a hulking teddy bear with deadly skills, that he wields less frequently than the Bible verses he’ll jab you with.
The opening voice-over is a little heavy handed with the exposition and the Jesus talk. As a guy that grew up in church, a preacher’s son, and met his wife in Bible College – even I can admit that sometimes, you need to let the STORY speak for itself. However, as the episode unfurls, it becomes a bit less preachy, and a bit more an episode of ‘Renegade’.
Now, THAT is important, because coming later this week, ‘Sons of Thunder: Redemption’ comes out, and I saw that familiar renegade, Lorenzo (yes I was the jock in ‘Grease’) Lamas, himself. You can see the trailer here:
Season one of ‘Sons of Thunder’ is a little on-the-nose and scripture heavy, as some faith-based projects seem to be. That doesn’t make it bad, but it might deter some folks from jumping into its world. The potential audience is SPECIFICALLY the target audience. The sequel, however, looks to have upgraded the quality of actors, the action, the cinematography, and raised the bar to a show the un-churched, or un-interested, might find their way towards watching.
If you’re looking for a family-safe drama without loads of sex and drugs, definitely check out Season 1 now. I think you’re safe jumping right into the sequel without it, but in my opinion, it does enough right to be enjoyed. As always with faith-based projects, where sex is shunned, violence is accepted, although in this hero-visits-new-city-each-week style of show, it’s kid-of required.
Check out Season 1 and stay tuned for our review of Season 2!
Christian Lee
Christian has had many roles in life. He’s been a minister’s son, a poor student, a computer geek, a bible college dropout, a corporate suit, a traveling comedian, and a failure at much he’s tried. But he counts two huge successes in his life. He is husband to a wonderful wife, and father of two exceptional kids he wanted, a third ‘surprise baby’, and a in 2015, they met yet another surprise, as their fourth (and prayerfully last) child defeated birth control with her sheer will to exist.
Christian hosts a daily web series, the ‘After School Show‘ and the ‘What Are We Watching?‘ podcast with his son Carlin, as well as, DadSews, where he learns (and fails) to sew LIVE on camera.
Christian Lee
Christian has had many roles in life. He’s been a minister’s son, a poor student, a computer geek, a bible college dropout, a corporate suit, a traveling comedian, and a failure at much he’s tried. But he counts two huge successes in his life. He is husband to a wonderful wife, and father of two exceptional kids he wanted, a third ‘surprise baby’, and a in 2015, they met yet another surprise, as their fourth (and prayerfully last) child defeated birth control with her sheer will to exist.
Christian hosts a daily web series, the ‘After School Show‘ and the ‘What Are We Watching?‘ podcast with his son Carlin, as well as, DadSews, where he learns (and fails) to sew LIVE on camera.
