THERE WAS NOTHING THAT STOOD OUT for him that would warrant grabbing your attention. He was a polite man who bagged groceries at a store. Then one day a shopper at the store recognized him, recorded a video of him and posted it on the internet; it went viral, as they say. You see there was something unique about this man because the general public would never guess someone with his former career would be a bagger. He was an actor on a past, long time television show. I am willing to bet a majority of you are thinking right now, how does an actor wind up becoming a store bagger? The only reason I know about this individual is because it was on the news. I admit I was shocked but I had no feelings about the job this man was doing now. Sadly, there were some people who posted derogatory comments, job shaming the former actor. I found the comments to be rude and uncalled for; what did this man’s livelihood have to do with these people? Only those around the store bagger might know his story; it is no one’s business.      I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS APPLIES to the former actor, but I have watched some people who were driven to do only one thing in their life. Just take a look at those athletes that have made a name for themselves. For example, the participants at the Olympic games. When the telecast of the games does a focus segment on one athlete, more times than not, the athlete has done nothing else but train for this moment since they were a small child. I sit there and wonder what will happen to them if they do not get a medal; do they have something to fall back on to make a living? I know a man who wanted to be an opera singer. He studied hard and practiced all the time until he became one. It was not easy because after school he was on the road most of the time taking any singing job he could find. HIs jobs were with small opera companies, nothing that was famous or prestigous. After a few years of this hard schedule it started to take a toll on him; he wished he had a backup plan. Seeing the writing on the wall, he went back to school to become a music teacher. He was lucky in making this transition, unlike the war hero in this dramatic biography.      AFTER SURVIVING A CRASH AND CAPTIVITY Louis Zamperini, played by Samuel Hunt (Dead South, Chicago P.D.-TV), came back to the states to start a new life. Unfortunately he had no idea what life he would be able to live. With Merritt Patterson (Kid Cannabis, Wolves) as Cynthia Applewhite, Bobby Campo (The Maestro, The Final Destination) as Pete Zamperini, Gary Cole (One Hour Photo, The Good Wife-TV) as Dr. Bailey and David Sakurai (Iron Fist, In Order of Disappearance) as Watanabe “The Bird;” this sequel offered nothing for the viewer. I am sure the true story of former Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini had more to it then the poorly written script for this film. Following a genetic, typical, formulaic story; I was bored early into the movie. I have said this before and I will say it again, I do not have an issue with these faith based movies. However, I have not seen one yet that had good acting or a decent script. All the writers of this type of movie care about is to stress the power of faith in a heavy-handed way. It seems these type of studios only focus on one thing and have no knowledge on how to make an enjoyable picture.

1 1/2 stars