For Greater Glory

Good intentions and a solid lead are drowned out by clichés in an over-long, crowded and bloated history lesson.

A scene from the film For Greater Glory. Courtesy NewLand Films

Director: Dean Wright
Starring: Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole
**

The film is a historical drama based on the real-life Cristero War, where a hired general (Andy Garcia) leads a quickly assembled group of Mexican Catholics in a war for religious freedom.

While it stays true to its message, the factual elements of Dean Wright's film get lost amid a sea of clichés, feeling so saccharine by the film's close that it's hard to take this true story seriously. Garcia is impressive, delivering (many) rousing speeches with aplomb, and while O'Toole and Longoria are notable additions to the supporting cast, the plot is too crowded to give them time to shine.

Throttled by too much happening on screen, For Greater Glory takes what should have been an involving, even shocking hidden part of history and turns it into a needless epic.