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.

The movie is very predictable. Everything goes wrong, then all of a sudden he is a straight A student. The movie always follows this cycle. It is funny that there are almost no cases of racism in the entire movie. You can almost predict what will happen next. All the problems Re solved way too easily. Kid gets new glasses, and gets good grades. He ditches the lectures and get an A on the conveniently important exam he had to pass. It doesn't even make sense to put this dramatic part of the movie - we all know he ia going to pass. And what the heck was this university student Ben? He looks like a 40 year old!! I honestly wish the movie was more centred on the two important surgeries than on those boring and predictable childhood stories. The photography is not memorable. There are beautiful locations, but no interesting camera work or good compositions. Even TV shows like House have done much better. Music is good... If you ignore the soap-opera dramatic background sounds used on intense scenes. They should have stick with the proper classical music. Overall it is an interesting story, but told on a movie that has many flaws that make it very predictable and boring. I can't imagine this being played on a movie theatre.

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.

I grew up hearing about some of Ben Carson's amazing surgeries and remember reading about him when I was a teenager, probably, so I was excited when I heard about this movie. I just watched it for the first time, and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. I can't believe it was a made-for-TV movie! This movie tells the story of how Ben Carson went from being a kid who was a failure in school and had a very low self-esteem to a famous, gifted surgeon. It tells some about his family life and about two of his famous surgeries. This movie kept me glued to it all the way through--it was like a good book you can't put down!