Review: SOUND OF FREEDOM is a Heavy and Emotional Film with a Powerful Message

I posted a trailer for Sound of Freedom last week and while there was a lot of support for the film, there were also a lot of people telling me I shouldn't be promoting this kind of movie and I really don’t understand why anyone would be against a film that sheds light on the horrors of child sex trafficking and the true story of the people who risked their lives to rescue kids who were kidnapped and forced into it. 

As a father of three girls who I love with all my heart and soul, I would be devastatingly broken if anything like this ever happened to them and there are parents out there who are actually living this very nightmare. 

Sound of Freedom is about these kids and it puts the spotlight on a major issue in the world that people don’t want to talk about and pretend doesn’t exist. It just doesn’t make sense to me that some people are offended by this movie. I guess, for me, I just hate politics. I’m not a fan of how it turns people against each other. I didn’t even know there was controversy surrounding this movie until after I posted the trailer! Now I’m writing a positive review for the movie at the risk of being shit on because I believe the film has an important message. I’m just a dad with kids and I believe that this film has an important message. When you take out all of the politics, that’s what you get. I’m not even going to touch on any of that stuff.

Originally filmed in 2018, Sound of Freedom is inspired by the life of Tim Ballard, who is a former special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2013, he founded Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that works to prevent the sex trafficking of children. Ballard said: “I was working on a couple of cases that fell outside the jurisdiction of the United States, and I had to quit my job to finish the cases. One of the first operations was this enormous hit in Colombia. It made national news and then the producers came to us and said, 'This sounds like a movie.'"

Sound of Freedom tells the true story based on these events that sheds light on the grim reality of child sex trafficking. It is the inspiring story of Ballard’s journey, who is played by Jim Caviezel in the movie, and he risks everything to bring a ray of light and hope to the most hidden corners of our world, seeking to save children chained in the dark. The goal for the film is to be a global movement, destined to end the trafficking of minors.

In the film, after rescuing a boy from scumbag child traffickers, Ballard learns the boy's sister is still captive and he embarks on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to rescue her and get her back to her father and brother. 

This is a heavy and emotional film and it’s simply one of those important stories that needs to be told. It has a powerful message behind it that, for me, isn’t hard to get behind. There’s a lot of evil in this world and Sound of Freedom exposes that and the horrors that those evil people bring to children and their families. 

It’s a good movie too that is well-made. While the message is the most important thing about this film, it does have a strong script, solid production value, and wonderful performances from the cast. I also want to point out that Ballard is not portrayed as an over-the-top action hero in the movie. He comes off as being real and human and everything he accomplishes in the film feels earned.

The movie is also having a successful box office run right now and even beat out Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the Fourth of July with $14 million. Indiana Jones pulled in $11.7 that same day. It’s made over $40 million at the box office right now, which is impressive for a film that hardly had any marketing. On top of that, the movie has a 77% critic score and a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. So, I’m not the only one who liked it!

I just want to add that if you can put politics aside and support a movie that is trying to get an important message and story out into the world… awesome!