Left Behind - The Movie
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Movie Reviews of Left Behind - The Movie
Movie Review: Banal, Pathetic, Out of Touch
Summary: 2 Stars
I have always had a morbid fascination with that segment of the population that believes that the Bible is the only book one has to read, and that great literature consists entirely of the Left Behind series. I bought this movie to get a sense of this group.
Banal is the kindest word I can find for this tripe. Third rate actors, low-rent science fiction backdrops, and completely out of touch with reality. The movie opens with the Israeli agricultural "miracle." What it does not tell the audience is that Israel would be a dead state if it were not for the 20% of the Israeli government's budget funded by US taxpayers through the US Government's very unwise investment in this apartheid regime (see Jimmy Carter's new book) and if it were not for the blatant Israeli underground pipes that are literally looting the Arab aquifers at long range and from way beneath the earth. Israeli agriculture is not a miracle, it is a travesty--it consumes 50% of all the water used in Israel, and produces less than 5% of the Gross Domestic Product.
The movie goes downhill from there. Just to place it in a proper religous movie context, if the "Ten Commandments" was a perfect 10, this movie is no more than a 1 and certainly not even close to a 2.
Movie Review: First of series
Summary: 2 Stars
Well, the production and sets were rather good for a Christian Production company. Special effects were poor. And the acting was off par. with the exception of Brad Johnson who did a good job. Especially when he realizes that his wife and child are really gone.
I know that scripts always have to differ from the book. After all they are dealing with a visual media and 2 hour time frame. But this movie really changes many things. But if the book were written like this script, the book would have been half the size and probably had a more powerful impact.
The Special Edition DVD does have The Making of Left Behind, music videos, movie trailer, concert video and actor's messages. All the actors really seemed to believe in this project. Two options were also offered on this DVD, Spanish and closed caption. I would recommend you rent this or borrow from the library before you purchase it.
Movie Review: Disappointing, but not a total waste
Summary: 2 Stars
Like most movies, it's not as good as the book. I think it differs from the book in a couple of major areas such as one of the main characters, Buck Williams, in the movie was a T.V. reporter but in the book was a newspaper reporter, which I thought made him less recognizable when it came to later plotlines in the series. The movie also was less subtle about the main characters coming to Christ, and realizing what actually happened to those left behind. Some of the acting was a little bland.
I will admit I did find the DVD somewhat entertaining, and I might have liked it even more if I didn't read the books first. Overall I would suggest watching it, not expecting too much, before buying it.
Movie Review: God's written better stuff than this
Summary: 1 Stars
Kirk Cameron, who once upon a time had a career, plays Buck, a reporter who is famous for reporting live from danger zones. His latest adventure comes when he is reporting in Israel, during which the nation comes under attack by thousands upon thousands of fighter jets. (later referred to as bombers, though they're clearly CG F-18's) Let's think on this - you're telling me the Israeli Defense Force didn't notice thousands upon thousands of airplanes headed for them? No one saw them coming, heard them coming, and no radar picked them up?
As they attack, something randomly destroys all the fighter jets and Israel is miraculously saved. No one seems to ask who unleashed all these airplanes - in fact, this movie portrays a world full of gullible tools. Sometime after this incident a world event happens in which all the children - and certain adults, including world leaders - mysteriously disappear. The leader in the UN, Niccolae Carpathia, tells the world that it is the result of radiation from nuclear weapons. The funniest thing about this scene is that after saying that he pauses - when he did this I half-expected him to add, "Um...do any of you buy that?" He then announces that he is ordering all nations to disarm their nuclear weapons. As one can tell from past examples with North Korea and Iran, the UN is always very succesful in this.
Meanwhile Kirk does some investigating and finds out...GASP...it's the rapture! You see, all the signs are coming together. Israel was defended in enemies from the north (even though the jets came from all sides...) and people were taken to be sent to God while all the unworthy ones (in the super-religious mindset, those who don't wear their religion on their sleeve) are left behind.
Get it? GET IT?!
Apparently (although the Bible sources are taken from scattered passages that really have nothing to do with one another) this is a sign that the anti-Christ is coming. This turns out to be Niccolae (though the audience has known this the minute we found out he had a slavic accent) who reorgnizes the world into ten regions and kills the two bankers that put him in power. This last part is bizarre - he's supposedly shooting them with a silencer though the sound effects are extremely loud gunshots. He fires two shots afterward and only THEN do the guards outside react. Huh? By the way, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but did the writers really think the UN had that kind of power? To just redraw borders? This whole movie requires you to buy into a lot of rubbish...which is not good when you're trying to present religious "truth" alongside it.
To top it all off, it just ends after Niccolae is revealed as the anti-Christ. The story was continued in several parts, each one just as weird and unbelieving as the last. Hey, might as well see it just to give it a chance...or laugh.
Based off the huge hit book, you would expect some quality. Yet "Left Behind - The Movie" comes across as a made-for-TV flop that is just your typical religious fair, with characters who act like they've never heard of anything like "Christianity" before. The super-religious can tell us it will change our lives and shout, "But it has a good POINT!" but that doesn't change the fact this movie has poor filmmaking, writing, and plotholes that Fat Albert could slip through.
Movie Review: I Stayed Up Late for This?
Summary: 1 Stars
Given the tremendous sum of money that this series of novels has garnered, prior to its adaptation to the big screen, this movie is a dismal failure and a testament to the sacrifice of quality in favor of fiscal stinginess. There is no excuse for providing a loyal fan base with a cheap B-grade level, not-quite-good-enough-for-prime-time hack job, however Cloud Ten Productions has managed to hash out 95 minutes of visual drivel that even a low-budget Third World airline wouldn't bother scheduling on their red-eye flights.
The Internet Movie Database offers this bit of insight into the "artistry" of Paul Lalonde who is the "creative" (*gag!*) half of the "fabulous" Lalonde brothers, founders of Cloud Ten: "With two degrees in psychology, Paul is able to apply his knowledge of the human psyche to the characters in his movies." One would expect that this level of academic acumen might justify having a better sense of casting for a movie than settling for the likes of Kurt Cameron, Janaya Stephens, and host of others that usually wind up as the expendable extras who are sliced and diced in a cheesy horror film. Cameron is one of the most over-rated thespians I've ever seen and given the pathetic display of his craft here I am proud to say that I have never seen an episode of "Growing Pains". Brad Johnson and Clarence Gilyard are the only surviving hope for this sleeping-pill-on-celluloid and it's tragic that their talent is wasted and that they are surrounded by untalented no-names who can't act themselves out of a wet paper bag. A Canadian to play Carpathia? Am I to be convinced that they couldn't find a European actor with a better accent than this DeNiro wanna-be? Any serious scholar of eschatology knows that the AntiChrist will arise out of the resurrected Roman Empire and there should have been an effort to find an actor to the task.
The whole production is a farce, the majority of which was shot in Canada (now there's convincing on-location environment for you) and shows no initiative of capturing the feel for the Holy Land. Having seen multiple films that have been filmed in the Middle East, this gets the "Let's Just Throw It Together And Forget About Authenticity Because We Assume Our Viewing Audience Are Morons Without A Clue" award.
The lousy special effects further rob this film of any credibility. The apocalyptic theme demands visual effects that should be inferior to none. After all, the intent here is to show the end of this world and provide visual shock-and-awe. It is more schlock-and-yawn and, like the song "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by the ending credits I still feel fine.
Sadly, this is a testament to what happens when a production company is chosen because of its claims to being a Christian film company, not based upon its ability to deliver quality.
Words fail me to pen my disappointment with this whole "Left Behind" film escapade. I would sooner recommend the End Times thrillers "The Omega Code" and its sequel "Omega Code II: Armageddon" for more mystery, action, intrigue, and one heck of a more enjoyable viewing experience.