As I write this, the prior most recent posting about this movie is from December 2014, well before Ben Carson made his announcement to run for the Presidency. To my mind, there's no finer human being on the planet than Carson, a soft spoken individual who strikes a chord with people when he speaks, especially with the common sense approach he takes to issues that plague current society. It will be interesting to see how far he goes in his quest and what tangible impact he makes on the political scene.

Reading some of the other reviews here, there are those who doubt that the Ben Carson story presented here is actually true. One needs to pick up the book upon which the movie is based, and read the Ben Carson story first hand. His is a remarkable journey proving that if someone like him, growing up in impoverished circumstances with little hope of a future, can actually rise above those surroundings to accomplish whatever he's determined to do. Much of the credit is due to a remarkable mother who believed in him and brother Curtis, setting them on a life long path of reading, learning and accomplishing things that others would think impossible.

The events in the movie are all documented in "Gifted Hands" the book, and if anything, the book is more compelling than the film because one gets a sense of Carson's innate humanity in dealing with the circumstances and situations which forged his life. One reviewer on this board dismisses the knife incident as if contrived for the film, but this event was a seminal moment in Carson's life that made him realize that a singular instance of thoughtlessness could doom one's life forever. Through the power of prayer and applying his own determined initiative, Ben Carson has become a role model that parents of any race can direct their own children to emulate.

Story of Ben Carson head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., in his best performance in a long time, as Carson . It's a performance that doesn't make you question his Oscar win for Jerry McGuire all those years ago. The story is structured around Carson 's attempt to separate Siamese Twins who are joined at the head. Carson is hesitant to do so since anytime a similar operation had been tried one or both of the children had died. As the doctor tries to find out a way of saving both children the story flashes back to events in his life to show us how he got to where he is today. Its an uplifting story and if the film occasionally plays like a movie of the week you really don't mind since the performances are so strong that everything is smoothed over. I really liked this movie a great deal and was completely blindsided by it, I really didn't think I was going to like it. Worth a look.

Most of the movie is incredibly slow moving, as we follow Ben and his brother from elementary school through high school, in "dreadful" Detroit. It feels compelled to show his terrible temper. Half way into the movie, after courting his wife, he is accepted to John Hopkins Hospital as a intern and specializes in head trauma and brain surgery. He pioneered the revival of hemispherical surgery in profound cases of epileptic seizures, where the malfunctioning half of the brain is removed. In 1987, the famous German Binder twins (renamed here as the "Rousch Twins") were separated. Both had separate brains though conjoined skulls. They never thrived and remained far from normal (one vegetative) and both ended up institutionalized. In the movie the operation is a full success. Is it entertaining? Cuba Gooding Jr. does a fair portrayal as Ben Carson in a very uneven film. Quite graphic at times. I did not enjoy it.