That was an excellent one.

Nice effects though.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Given that the movie was inspired by a massive best seller, and the cast is fairly watchable, it was rather strange that this movie turned out to be what it was. Makes you wonder if they adapted only part of the book.A preacher gets injured in a car accident and has a long painful recovery ahead. There isn't much about the afterlife - just a few minutes where he describes seeing relatives in heaven. But it didn't seem to make him deal with his ordeal any better. The main part of the movie seems to be his painful recovery and the awful things they had to do to his leg and arm. Also the financial problems are shown. It's more like a Lifetime drama. Many people criticze Hayden Christensen's acting but I think he was okay here. Wasn't much to go wrong with. Kate Bosworth looks very groomed throughout the ordeal.

My wife read the book maybe 10 or 11 years ago when it was first out and now we were able to watch the movie on DVD from our public library. It is an excellent human interest story of faith and perseverance. Of course it has a strong Christian theme, he is a minister and prayer plays a big role throughout the movie. But a viewer doesn't need to believe in Christianity or the power of prayer to enjoy the story of the trials of a man and his family recovering from a tragic traffic accident.Don Piper was a minister in the smaller town of Alvin, Texas, just south of Houston. It was 1989, he was returning home in the rain when a truck, driven by a prison system inmate, crossed over to the opposite lane on a 2-lane bridge and caused the wreck. Don was injured so badly that he was declared dead by a medic and the coroner, he had no pulse and he was bent in all kinds of ways a person shouldn't be. But another minister arrived on the scene and asked if he could pray for the dead man, and when he did and started singing, Don, the man declared dead, began to sing softly. He was rushed to a hospital in Huntsville, then later to a better hospital in Houston. He faced many months of hospitalization and numerous surgeries, it was feared he would lose one leg, he became despondent, but his family and friends kept him going.So what is the message here? Many will doubt that he was really dead for 90 minutes, just with a heartbeat so faint that it seemed he was dead. Others will believe he was really dead, he really went to heaven for 90 minutes, and it was a miracle that he came back to life. Regardless which side of that point a viewer is on the movie is worthwhile for the human survival side of it.It is a bit long at 2 hours, the time shown with Don in the hospital perhaps could have been shortened a bit, but overall my wife and I were glad we spent the time. Don and his family are now in Atlanta Georgia, and the movie was filmed in that area. One of the DVD extras features the real Piper family.Don is played very well by Hayden Christensen, and his wife Eva is played well by Kate Bosworth, whose husband incidentally was the director. She commented that making the movie has actually strengthened their marriage.

Hi all,After seeing 4.4 stars I was very close to passing on this movie. I'm glad I didn't. I'm a Christian and I very much enjoyed the raw human truths and emotions that were displayed in this movie.The movie was a faithful adaptation of the book, but I think it could have done a better job of explaining why Don was so standoffish. The book gives a better explanation on why Don has shut down. In essence, heaven is such a wonderful place to him that he becomes apathetic to the world around him. Don wants to die and doesn't understand why he has to go through the immense pain only to relive in a colorless world.That being said, Hayden did a great job. I was surprised considering the poor reviews.

I read the book and it was great and powerful....but the movie was terrible! if I were Mr. Piper I would not have allowed this awful movie to represent my story. The title is about Mr. Piper going to heaven for 90 minutes, but in this movie you get a few minutes of his tale at the end of the movie...and he speaks without any emotion about it at all. Movie lacked credibility and lacked anything to do with Christ...the pastor in the movie seemed cold and without any relationship with Jesus or his family. The book was all about the pastor and how the Lord worked a miracle in his life, but the author of this movie told the story and decided to leave out anything to do with God and the pastor's relationship with Him. God was the reason Mr. Piper is still alive today...but the movie does not want to identify this main truth. Horrible acting and dead movie.