Review: David (of Goliath-killing fame) is an enjoyable Disney-esque musical adventure

Our year full of faith-based movies is coming to an end with one of the most ambitious of all of them, Angel Studios' David, which takes one of the most popular stories of the Old Testament and turns it into an animated musical epic that feels like a spiritual successor to The Prince of Egypt. As a Millennial, I know that's not something to say lightly, but directors Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes have done the work, and put in the care, to make their film stand toe-to-toe with the bigger studios' offerings. This is a great-looking movie packed with memorable songs, and it handles enough of its story beats well to end up an overall rousing affair (especially for Christian audiences).

Back in my Christian days, which are quite long behind me now, I was always drawn to the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, which is where the story of David falls in the Bible. The Old Testament is just packed with stories that lend themselves to easily to the screen, and I'm happy to see filmmakers really tapping into it, and especially in animation (shout-out to the solid Book of Joshua: Walls of Jericho, as well).

The Legend of David: Breath of the Wild

David, in many ways, seems to be following the Disney playbook, positioning the shepherd-who-would-be-king as a plucky, bright-eyed hero in the midst of a larger adventure. He meets a colorful cast of characters, sings some songs (and grows up mid-song, a la Simba), and proves himself in a variety of scenarios. This isn't breaking any new ground in the narrative department, and the story-telling is where the film ultimately loses some of its footing, but because it's drawing on a classic story with well-known beats, it's able to confidently move along, sometimes with quite deliberate pacing. While the film flirts with a two-hour runtime (counting credits), it doesn't ever drag, at least, which is honestly pretty impressive.

For the uninitiated, David is a young shepherd from a huge family (I swear there were like a dozen siblings here) who is told by the prophet Samuel that he has been chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. The problems are many: David is young and doesn't particularly want to be king -- he longs for a life of freedom and adventure, not being boxed in. Being anointed will put a target on David's back, and his family's, because Saul is still very much alive and kicking, and has become obsessed with clinging to his power. And then there are the various enemies of Israel waiting in the wings to swoop in and bring the nation to its knees: the Goliath-including Philistines, and the bone-wearing, thoroughly creepy Amalekites. (The Amalekites are a haunting presence on the fringes of the story until they aren't, and provide a lot of cool visuals throughout.)

It has almost a Hercules arc to it, a young boy destined for greater things who has to navigate those changes. But rather than being the son of a god, he's the chosen one of the God, a man after God's own heart, as the Bible verse says.

The centerpiece/inflection point of the story is the obvious main attraction: the showdown between David and Goliath, the towering Philistine soldier who seems impossible to bring down. The film does a great job of building to that moment, establishing the stakes, and heightening the drama. The threat of Goliath hangs over Saul's head like the Sword of Damocles, threatening to end his reign and bring Israel into another era of enslavement. The showdown, when it finally does happen, is rendered with expert composition, a reverent silence, striking visuals. 

And it sets into motion the back half of the film, in which David is brought into Saul's palace and raised as a second son (alongside Jonathan, a loyal friend). One of my favorite things about David is how well-rounded a character Saul is. He so easily could've been a cartoonish or one-dimensional antagonist, an obstacle standing between David and his throne. Instead, he's shown as a parallel and a foil to our young hero, a one-time reluctant king who has lost his way. Saul's characterization is more complex than David's, whose main conflict is basically retaining his faith in the midst of difficult circumstances. 

Obviously, that's a common enough theme in Christian movies, but it's not always that interesting to watch, and in this case, it made the film feel like it's treading water a bit. Once David ages up into manhood, the film loses a lot of steam as it devolves into political drama and military machinations, David on the run while enemy armies wait in the wings to pounce on a champion-less Israel. There isn't as much narrative momentum at this stage, because we aren't entirely clear on what David is trying to accomplish. It feels like he's just killing time waiting for God to magically plop him on the throne rather than being active in any meaningful way. It's hard to depict a character who believes in God's will but is also being faithful to the current king who presumably shouldn't be king anymore. Not easy story-telling to pull off, and it isn't really pulled off here.

Did I mention hot how he is?

While the film stumbles through these narrative hiccups, it often regains its footing with fantastic musical numbers. A team of seven songwriters worked on the film, and rather than feeling like too many cooks in the kitchen, they served up a veritable feast of catchy and impactful songs. The best of all is "Tapestry," which basically serves as a musical thesis statement for the whole film. The song is about how no song arrives fully written, nor does a pot arrive fully formed. Everything, and everyone, is a work in progress, and you might not always realize why the tapestry of your life looks the way it does, but you just have to trust the process (or, in this case, God). It's a stirring message for anyone to keep on keeping on, and trust that things will work out in the end.

As is always the case with faith-based movies, there's a good chance your take on the film will be colored by your personal religious beliefs. I tend to approach Christian movies from a more anthropological place nowadays, seeing how they compare to what I watched in my youth, seeing how these messages are packaged for modern audiences. David is clearly a movie that wants to instill faith in its audience -- and at pretty much every dramatic point of conflict in the film, the answer is to believe in God -- but I think there's enough other stuff to entertain audiences who might not be on the film's dogmatic wavelength. It obviously worked well enough for me!

David hits theaters on December 19.