‘The Last Rodeo’ Perfects Angel Studios’ Faith-Based Formula
(REVIEW) Angel Studios has had some big highs and lows over the past few years. It launched the global phenomenon “The Chosen” and released the surprise mega-hit “Sound of Freedom”. But it also keeps getting hit with controversies (like accusations of violating agreements with filmmakers, which lead “The Chosen” to part ways with the company) and has had difficulty recreating the financial success of its bigger hits with its other projects.
Most importantly, the studio has had trouble finding its feet creatively. Its brand is telling stories that “amplify light,” which largely amounts to telling stories that often affirms the values of American conservative Christians without being too offensive to liberals or non-Christians (something they’ve had as much trouble doing as you’d expect).
As such, they’ve jumped around from preachy biopics (“Cabrini”, “Bonhoeffer” and “Rule Breakers”) to sentimental sci-fi and post-apocalyptic stories (“The Shift,” and “Homestead”), all of which showed promise — and even growth for faith-based or faith-friendly films — but were a mess in the quality department.
With “The Last Rodeo,” Angel Studios has put out what is probably their best film to date and perfectly nails the faith-based inspirational drama formula in ways I’ve rarely seen. If this is a sign of things to come, then Angel Studios has a very bright future.
“The Last Rodeo” follows a retired and disgraced rodeo star (played by Neal McDonough) who enters a high-stakes bull-riding competition to save the life of his grandson, who needs an expensive surgery. Along the way, he must reconcile with the people he’s hurt throughout his life, like his daughter Sally (Sarah Jones), his best friend Charlie (Mykelti Williamson) and even God.
The film sticks comfortably to the formulas you would expect from a faith-based inspirational drama and a “old man comes out of retirement one last time” movie. What sets this movie apart is its execution.The dialogue feels natural, with the characters reacting to the familiar beats the way normal people would, rather than with saccharine cheese or preachy exposition of the story’s themes.
The characters strike the right balance of flawed without being demonized, with Joe and his daughter Sally’s positions and the ways they lash out being completely understandable, even if not always right. There is a lot of freedom to let quiet and emotionally powerful moments linger. When Charlie confronts Joe about how he hurt him, the pain is palpable, and the movie just lets us rest in that hurt and anger.
The dialogue strikes a smart balance between drama and humor, knowing when to stay serious and when to be funny. The film also understands the power of silence, letting the actors — who fully inhabit their roles — carry the moment. The cinematography and editing are skillfully and thoughtfully executed. The filmmakers know when to linger on Joe and Charlie as they move from arguing to laughing to reminiscing in a single unbroken shot, allowing us to feel the emotional transitions. They know when to focus on something as simple as a hat being picked off a rack, and how to cut between different angles of the bull ride to make it as thrilling as possible.
This highlights the difference it makes to have seasoned professionals from the broader film industry working in the faith-based space. Neal McDonough has had a long career in film and television, with roles in shows like Band of Brothers, Suits and Yellowstone. Meanwhile, Jon Avnet, who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with McDonough, has decades of experience producing and directing, with classics like Risky Business and Fried Green Tomatoes to his name.
The film’s depiction of faith is also among the best I’ve seen in this genre. It’s neither so subtle that it feels insignificant — like in “The Sound of Freedom” or “Rule Breakers” — nor does it feel forced, as in Homestead. Charlie and his wife are devoted believers, and Charlie confronts Joe for cutting him out of his life after Joe became angry with God over his wife’s death.
These scenes resonate because they are deeply tied to the story’s core: how grief led Joe to disconnect from the people who mattered most. It’s not presented as a sermon urging church attendance, but as an honest reflection of human experience. When our relationships fall apart, they often break down in two directions — between us and others, and between us and God. Healing one often requires healing both.
Not only does the fact that this includes God not feel forced, but it feels like the most natural thing in the world. Most people wrestle with God through the grieving process, and it’s kind of weird that Hollywood cuts that part of the story most of the time. Religion columnist and culture critic Terry Mattingly noted in his comments on “Avengers: Endgame” that the fact that the movie tried to tell a whole story about cultural grief without having any of the characters wrestle with God made the movie feel less honest and true, because that’s a huge part of what so many people do.
“The Last Rodeo” also correctly notes what Jonathan Haidt points out in “The Anxious Generation” about what social science research indicates about our relationships with God and others: We need both. We need a regular connection with our relationship with God (or some form of our highest values) to truly be connected with each other. In this way, connecting the breakdown of Joe Wainright’s relationship with God and others feels deeply insightful and honest.
This is what I always say is the value in faith-based industry films: They take seriously a part of life that Hollywood ignores. The problem was that for years, they did so badly. It’s gratifying to see them start to do it well. Faith is a normal part of life; faith-based industry films are starting to treat it that way.
This is also gratifying because it gives a place for actors and directors of faith to make projects that align closer to their values than Hollywood does. McDonough has been open about the fact that he missed out on opportunities in Hollywood and got typecast in villain roles because he didn’t want to kiss a woman who wasn’t his wife. In this film, his real-life wife plays the character’s late wife, so he can kiss her in the film.
This is actually far closer to the difficulties that Christians are likely to experience in non-Christian circles, as most places in America won’t discriminate against you for checking the religious box, but for some other value that religious people are more likely to have.
For example, as Religion Unplugged wrote in 2023 about faith in the sciences, one of the biggest ways religious people will face challenges in that area is in how they have a higher likelihood to prioritize their families, whereas the sciences tend to reward those who prioritize the work over their family (as do many industries).
The issue is less discrimination against being religious, but against choices religious people are more likely to make. But industries that are more sympathetic to the “family values” of someone like Neal are more likely to make the accommodations.
The film does fall into some contrived tropes. It’s never really adequately explained why they don’t initially try to get donations for the surgery (or help from Joe’s super-rich friend). But it doesn’t lean as far into these as most do, and the authenticity of how the characters behave in these situations makes up for it.
“The Last Rodeo” is the best Angel Studios movie to date and one of the better faith-based industry films ever made. For Wainright, this might be the “last rodeo,” but movies like this are a reason to believe that faith-based movies are just getting started.
“The Last Rodeo” is now playing in theaters.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.