On Wings of Eagles

☕Thus says AI: 78/100

✝️ Rating: Thus Says AI – 78/100

This solid faith-based historical drama earns praise for its powerful portrayal of sacrifice, suffering, and God’s sustaining grace. Joseph Fiennes delivers one of his finest performances. Yet the film occasionally mutes Liddell’s explicit Christian convictions—understandable given production challenges, but frustrating for viewers seeking deeper spiritual depth. Still, the message resonates powerfully through Liddell’s deeds, not merely his words. Worth the watch. 🏅

🎬 On Wings of Eagles in a Nutshell

This 2016 drama follows the second chapter of Eric Liddell’s remarkable life—the chapter Chariots of Fire never told. After winning Olympic gold in 1924, Liddell traded fame for faith-driven mission work in war-torn China. When Imperial Japan invaded, he chose captivity over safety. What follows? A haunting, unflinching portrait of a man whose unwavering trust in Christ transformed a prison camp into a quiet testimony of grace under crushing pressure. ​

🎬 Plot Synopsis

Liddell’s decision to stay changes everything.

The narrative opens peacefully: Eric loves his wife Florence, teaches English to Chinese students, and ministers with genuine warmth. Then comes the Japanese invasion of 1937. Rather than flee with Florence and their daughters (plus an unborn third child) to Canada, Eric surrenders everything familiar for a rural mission station in Xiaozhang, serving the poorest and most vulnerable.

Subsequently, the Japanese round up foreigners and intern them in “The Courtyard of the Happy Way” (Weihsien Camp)—an ironic name for a squalid prison. Here, Liddell’s faith is stress-tested relentlessly. The camp commander, recognizing the famous Olympian, challenges him to a race, offering gourmet food as incentive. Liddell wins but nearly collapses from malnutrition—he’d secretly given his rations to starving children and fellow prisoners. Enraged, the commander throws him into an underground pit.

Later, a young orphan boy Liddell sheltered is electrocuted by deliberately reactivated electric fences—a scene that epitomizes the camp’s cruelty and tests Liddell’s composure. Through it all, a single love letter from Florence becomes his spiritual anchor, reminding him of God’s faithfulness amid abandonment.

The film culminates as Liddell’s health deteriorates. He strikes a bargain with the commander: race once more, and allow medicine into camp. What happens next depends on whether grace operates in a POW camp.

💭 Themes & Messages of The Most Reluctant Convert

1. Sacrifice as the Highest Calling

Liddell doesn’t stumble into captivity. He chooses it. He watches his pregnant wife leave for safety, knowing separation may be permanent. The film asks: What does Christian obedience cost? For Liddell, it costs everything—comfort, family reunion, his very life. Yet he never regrets it.

This resonates with Matthew 19:29: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Liddell lived this reality. The film shows it unflinchingly.​

2. Faith Expressed Through Deeds, Not Doctrine

Here’s the film’s most theologically interesting tension: Critics rightfully note that Christ’s name is barely mentioned. Sermons are absent. Gospel presentations don’t dominate. Yet Eric’s faith blazes through his quiet, relentless service. He referees hockey matches to prevent violence. He comforts the dying. He shares meager rations. He resists the commander’s ideology without preaching back at him.

One internee called him “Jesus in running shoes.” His faith was incarnational—lived, not lectured. For viewers familiar with 1 Peter 2:21-24, this approach won’t disappoint: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Liddell followed those steps in a concentration camp, where words ring hollow but character rings true.​

3. Surrender as the Route to Strength

The title comes from Isaiah 40:31: “They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”​

But here’s the paradox: Liddell’s strength doesn’t come from running. It comes from surrendering his will to God’s. When imprisoned, starved, beaten, and facing death, he doesn’t collapse. Why? Because he’d already surrendered his future to Christ years before. Surrender precedes strength.

This echoes the Christian paradox from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The film demonstrates this truth through Liddell’s body and spirit, even as they’re breaking down.​

4. Love as Resistance

In a regime built on hatred, hierarchy, and brutality, Liddell’s quiet love becomes a subversive act. He loves the Japanese guards (without excusing their cruelty). He loves the Chinese inmates. He loves the orphan boy. He refuses to hate back.

This reflects Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Not because it’s easy. Because it’s Christ-like. The film never sentimentalizes this—it shows the cost. But Liddell pays it willingly.​

⚠️ Content Warnings

🩸 Violence & Gore

Severity: MODERATE-HIGH | Age guideline: 13+

This is not a sanitized film. It depicts Japanese brutality unflinchingly:

• Prisoners beaten by guards (head, torso blows—bloodied)
• Young boy electrocuted on barbed-wire fence (graphic, haunting death scene)
• Eric’s nose bleeds repeatedly from brain tumor
• Liddell’s feet bleed during racing sequences (malnutrition makes him physically fragile)
• Inmates starved, showing skeletal frames
• Underground pit cells (claustrophobic, degrading imprisonment)
• A prisoner escapes via sewage barrel (implied fecal matter, but not dwelled upon graphically)

Verdict: Violence serves the story’s gravity. It’s not gratuitous. But younger teens (under 13) may find torture scenes psychologically intense. Sensitive viewers: prepare yourself.​

Drug & Alcohol Use: Mild 🍷

Severity: MINIMAL

• Light smoking (cigarettes in a few scenes)
• No alcohol
• A subplot involves bribing guards (morally questionable, but shown critically, not endorsingly)

Verdict: Non-issue for most families.​

Profanity: Minor Concern 🗣️

Severity: MINIMAL | Instances: 3-4 total

• 2 light obscenities
• 1 mild profanity
• Context: Mostly in dialogue among Japanese guards; never gratuitous

Verdict: By PG-13 standards, clean.​

Romantic or Explicit Content: Moderate Concern 💋

Severity: NONE

• Marital kissing (tender, never heated)
• Suggestions of marital intimacy (off-screen, implied)
• Brief upper-male nudity (bathing scene, non-sexual context)
• No sexual acts depicted

Verdict: Entirely wholesome. The film treats Eric’s marriage with dignity, not sensationalism.​

🎯Verdict: Reasons To Watch

Reasons to Watch ✅

1. For Christians Seeking Inspiration. You’ll be moved. Liddell’s quiet faithfulness—his willingness to be small so Christ can be large—challenges comfort-seeking Western believers. In an era when many churches sanitize faith, this film reminds us that discipleship can cost everything. If you’re wrestling with surrender, with calling, with whether your faith is real—watch it.​
2. For Those Curious About Historical Faith. Liddell’s story is documented, credible, and humanizing. He wasn’t a plaster saint. He was a man—shy, thoughtful, uncertain about future plans—who made conscious choices to follow Christ. The film honors those choices without melodrama. You’ll recognize yourself in his hesitations, even as you’re awed by his faithfulness.​
3. For Adults Exploring Persecution & Resilience. On Wings of Eagles arrives in a moment when global Christian persecution is resurging. The film doesn’t preach about persecution—it lets you experience it through Liddell’s eyes. What does faith look like when government ideology demands worship? When you’re stripped of comfort, family, and physical health? This film answers, quietly and devastatingly.​
4. For Lovers of Excellent Filmmaking. Set design, cinematography, and Joseph Fiennes’ restrained, powerful performance elevate this beyond faith-film clichés. Fiennes carries the film with minimal dialogue—his eyes, his posture, his subtle expressions communicate faith. If you appreciate acting craft, you’ll respect his work.​
5. One Caution: Theological Clarity. If you expect Chariots of Fire levels of explicit Christian witness and gospel preaching, you may feel let down. The faith here is shown through deeds, not words. Mature believers will recognize this as a valid (even beautiful) approach. Others may crave more direct spiritual dialogue.​​