Documentary
85 min / 2008
Rating: 7/10

This is a nature documentary that starts at the stars and touches on just about everything else: lightning, squids, hummingbirds, snow crystals, DNA and butterflies are just a few of the highlights.

That’s both the strength and the weakness of the film. The footage is often as remarkable as anything seen on the Discovery Channel, or a National Geographic special, but each time a creature is investigated, we learn only enough to know we would really like to learn more… and then we’re on to the next bit of nature. But there is a method to this madness. The theme of God of Wonders is straight out of Romans 1:19-20: God has revealed Himself in the wonder of his creation. If we reject God, we can’t claim we did so out of ignorance – God, through his creation has left us “without excuse.”

And we get to learn a lot of intriguing facts as we’re swept along. Did you know there are 16 million thunderstorms per year? And that the average such storm pours down several hundred million gallons of water? And that a lightning bolt can be hotter than the surface of the Sun? Speaking of the Sun, did you know that the Sun could fit a million Earths inside? There are lots of fun facts here!

Cautions

Wonders gets off to a slow start with 3 minutes of quick cuts of nature footage without anyone telling us why we’re seeing what we’re seeing. However, once we’re 6 or 7 minutes in, it gets rolling. That does mean that even as this would be a great film to watch with a questioning friend – it could be a wonderful conversational springboard – it won’t work if that friend isn’t at least a little patient.

Conclusion

For families used to watching documentaries, this will be another fun one to check out. The breadth of this presentation means there’s sure to be something new to learn for everyone watching, from the youngest to the oldest. However, for families that haven’t watched documentaries together, this likely has too much talking to keep the younger members’ attention.

You can watch it for free in two different ways. It is available in “chapters” on the film’s own website GodofWondersvideo.org/chapters.htm. The advantage to watching it in chunks is that it’ll create the breaks needed for good discussions. But if you want to watch it for free in one go, you can do so below (though probably for only a limited time).