Left Behind

This is a good movie. I own the older Left Behind series and I liked those as well. This movie is just as good, just a completely different style. In fact, the special effects are much better than the original Left Behind series with the exception of Left Behind: World at War (the special effects in that one were very good). The acting is excellent as you would expect in a Nicolas Cage movie. You should definitely watch it yourself and draw your own conclusions. My whole family really enjoyed this movie.Be advised that this movie is a departure from all past movies starring Nicolas Cage and some of his fans are sure to react negatively because they will not get what they are used to. Realize that this is a movie about a Biblical event and if such movies offend you, you may not enjoy it. However, if you fit that category, you should watch it anyway since it will do you no harm and might start you thinking about things that will lead to your greater good. Most great actors at some point in their career want to try something different and apparently Nicolas Cage is good at whatever he does.PROS:1. Most scenes are realistic and the dialogue is very believable most of the time. If you don't like to think about Bible prophecy, that's a sure sign you need to.2. Arguably there will be a peel of thunder when the Lord calls his people out; there was a peel of thunder in the background at the moment the rapture occurred in this movie. Personally, I think this is true and most rapture/tribulation movies seem to omit that detail.CONS:A large part of the movie takes place on aircraft; therefore from an aviator standpoint the script could use a little work on some of the sequences. For example scenes where the pilot is holding the control yoke with both hands (white knuckle stuff). Generally one would hold the yoke/stick with the left hand leaving the right hand free for other tasks. If you lost hydraulics you might grasp the yoke with both hands in a panic, but in an aircraft of that size, in such a situation nobody could move it.As long as I am pointing out technical oversights from an aviators viewpoint: 1. why is it that in all the discussion of in flight problems nobody suggested transferring fuel from the leaky right wing to the center tank or left wing? 2. In the Scene where the unmanned aircraft is approaching nearly head on, FAR's state "When 2 aircraft are converging head on or nearly so, each shall give to the others right". Even with the an unmanned aircraft approaching, this manoeuvre should be executed first which would solve the problem of an imminent mid air collision. After that, trying to establish radio contact with the other aircraft might be helpful, especially to other aircraft at that altitude who might be listening in. 3. At the last moment, the pilot initiates a climb to avoid collision; another bad choice. Since Air Traffic Control usually maintains flight levels with a minimum of 1000 ft above and below aircraft on converging vectors, a quick, moderate push forward on the yoke would have dropped the aircraft below the other approaching aircraft rapidly. A climb would be the last choice since it would be much slower than a turn or descent even in a jet.That's all the constructive criticism I have and anyway most people probable would not be aware of these things, so it would not detract from their enjoyment. This is a very good movie and I will certainly watch it again and add it to my library.SUMMARY:At first glance, I was a little puzzled at all the 1 star reviews. In retrospect, I feel sure many of them were expecting the usual Nicolas Cage fare, instead of a movie which depicts a Biblical event. Most such fans might not even be aware of the Left Behind series of books or movies and would not be expecting what they saw. I am glad I watched this movie.At any rate, I took the time to read most of the 1 star reviews (when there was 88 of them) and many are suspiciously similar. These cookie cutter reviews make me wonder about the motive for writing it. Personally I try to avoid pointing out flaws I have already seen enumerated in a *lot* of other reviews; it's redundant. For example, a many of the 1 star reviews reiterate "they own the books and love them but hated the Kirk Cameron movies and the Nicolas Cage movie is even worse, it's boring, couldn't finish it, the acting is bad, the script is bad etcetera". I'm always suspicious when there are lot of critical reviews with the same patterns and especially when most of the criticisms are blatantly false. However, I suspect most of these folks were just "piling on" because they did not see what they expected; that's a common knee jerk reaction.For those comparing the books to the movies, to capture all the detail of any good book in a movie is an impossible task as any avid reader knows. The producer just has to do the best job achievable. This movie is a very good one with skilled actors at a time when truly entertaining Christian movies are hard to find. If the movie is to make sense, the first thing the producer must do is limit the situations to be portrayed and much of this one (but certainly not all) takes place in the aircraft. The sudden disappearance of the co-pilot, one flight attendant and many passengers makes for a thrilling movie; how is the pilot to control the ensuing panic and get that bird back on the ground? After all, the buck always stops with the man in the left seat.For parents with small children and purists, there is 1 curse word (sh*t) in the movie and I might not have caught that except I am hearing impaired and always have CC on. The actress has her back turned and the exclamation isn't too noticeable. All of us have trouble bridling the tongue sometimes (something about out of the heart the mouth speaketh). The One who said "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement" is the only One who has a right to pass that judgement. Still the word is there and I believe parents who are trying to teach their children not to curse have a right to know this.This movie is absolutely a cut above any of the strictly secular movies because it delivers a message which is of real value. Ignore the negative reviews and watch it for yourself; I think you will be glad you did. Personally I believe the Bible is always right and "the Rapture" is the next great event on God's calendar. Definitely recommended.

Given that I've never heard of the book or apparent prior movie that is the basis for this movie, it took me quite some time to realize it was just some religious movie. That the religious aspects came up towards the beginning did not give me any clue - just felt like a "thing" that happened, and the excuse for why Ray and his wife were having problems. (I mean, if they'd been having issues over finances, I wouldn't think of it as a "financial" movie.)I was otherwise enjoying the movie, and when I discovered someone was trying to shove their religious views in my face through this movie, it kinda ticked me off. Movies can have agendas and try to send messages, but I like to at least know that up front or be able to figure it out quickly. I was raised a Christian and went to Sunday School where we learned the Bible. And I'd never heard the word rapture before reading these reviews. This is not what I learned. For those who said this was Biblically "incorrect," well, whose interpretation? So I did some searching online -- evangelicalism. Big surprise. No wonder I've never heard of it. Sure, I was taught about the end of the world and the tribulations and the anti-Christ... but never the idea of believers being taken to the clouds to save them from the tribulations. After more reading, I discovered many of the passages quoted are taken out of context (a thing some like to do) and don't mean what you think. The word rapture is also not in the Bible.It was quite late into the movie that I caught on to what was going on. And I disliked that suddenly people were wanting to pray and appeal to God. Yeah, people pray when they're scared. I was already way too far into the movie by this time and wasn't going to stop watching it. (And I actually liked the scene in which we discover the pastor wasn't taken... because it matters more what's in your heart than if you "go through the motions.")So I just saw this as some paranormal disaster movie of some sort and wasn't sure where it was going. If we forget the religious aspects, I thought it was otherwise a fine movie. I disagree that it was bad writing, bad over-acting, etc. I found nothing wrong with the movie in general, and if anything, I took it to be more about how you treat your loved ones, and watching what you do today because who knows about tomorrow. As for Nic Cage being desperate to have taken the project... apparently his brother is a fan of the book and asked him to do it as a favor. So now you know.Also gotta love the number of people who think watching this movie is going to "bring people around." Doubtful. If they don't believe, watching this won't change that. I have no belief that people will suddenly just be taken from here and brought to heaven... and I still don't. If you told me there was a monster in the closet ready to attack me, hoping that I'll leave my room now that I "know about" the monster, I still wouldn't believe in the monster. Do you understand that point of view? It's like saying you believe the Bible because it tells you to - that weird sort of circular logic.I definitely would disagree with anyone who disliked it because it was too far off a book. Movies never follow the book (rarely), and I hate when people misjudge a movie due strictly to that. I'd say if you've read the books, it appears you might not like this. If you don't want religion thrown in your face, you might not like it. (If you're reading the reviews first, I guess that's already obvious.) Otherwise, you might like it. It feels much like a plane disaster movie. It's not great, but I thought it was at least fairly good. And no, Nic Cage did not spend the movie over-acting a bunch of sobbing.One thing I will say that seemed very realistic: the reactions of those left behind. Panic, looting, fighting. Yeah, we would act that way.

Not sure why I never watched this before, but it is actually really good. Well-acted, directed, and filmed. I don't believe in the rapture, but I am a Christian and I believe the end will be a cataclysmic event. I found this movie prophetic and inspiring.

Excellent!!!

The original films of Left Behind is the trilogy starred by Kirk Cameron. This one is with Nicolas Cage. Very decent version and it delivered. You will be entertained and will open your senses regarding the rapture. A sequel is coming later this year with Kevin Sorbo.

This can be a scary truth. Hug your loved ones, faithful or not. 1st watch 03/26/2023.

Although the special effects are dated, the storyline pulls you in and the characters are realistic. It doesn't follow the book to a T, but it dramatizes the Rapture in a way that captures what it might in fact be like.Its worth a watch just for that, and is entertaining to boot.

Suspenseful & I used a 1/2 a box of tissue to dry my tears! I recommend this movie! :) For anyone who sees this movie, I hope you don't have to fly anywhere, anytime soon! Amazing how many non-believing people "Find GOD" in tough times. GOD & His mysterious ways! ;)

Very good film a bit slow to get going but it was really good to watch, also no real violence or swearing that I can remember so if there was any it was so little I didn't notice it, good bit of suspense through the film as well, I'm not going to give away the story other than to say it's about the end times and those who are taken and those who are 'left behind '

I bought this as I have read the books with the same title, which I had enjoyed. I am a Christian and knew the storyline. I wasn't expecting anything great but thought it would be worth a view. I'm sorry to say that I was more than disappointed. In its defence the acting probably looked worse because the screen direction maybe wasn't as great as the Hollywood blockbusters. The story strayed miles away from the book and there was not much of a gospel message through it. Please bear in mind that this is a Christian movie when purchasing it. It is low budget and is not a high Acton thriller. It is probably meant to be used as an outreach tool. Hope that this helps

It shows what it could be like when the rapture of the bible believing Christians are taken by God Almighty to heaven before the start of the 7 year tribulation then the end of the world.Repent of your sins and ask Jesus into your life. (no I'm not nutty either)Praise the Lord.

A reasonably good stab at presenting the immediate aftermath of a world abandoned to total evil, while the righteous are taken to a place of safety, before they return to rule a totally transformed world.

Good film.