Left Behind - The Movie

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and touching
Review: Being a fan of the book series I bought the movie mainly to support the Message and cause. After seeing the very bad and painful to watch "Omega Code" I expected a poorly done, hokey movie but was pleasantly surprized. "Left Behind, The Movie" was much better than I expected. The acting was very well done. The screen play was good most of the time. I found it to be slow occassionally but in general I enjoyed it. It was a great presentation of God's message to believers and others. It kept the interest and provoked questions of my 22 year old, non-church going daughter. Great job! Would have been good if it were longer but it did end as the first book did. Looking forward to the next one. Not sure it will do well in the theater, tho. It might be good to stay with video release.

Rating:
Summary: Left Behind
Review: I watched this movie with my 4th grader. FYI, anyone with children there is a part toward the end that involves violence (a scene where 2 people are shot). I had my son cover his eyes because I saw it coming and he didn't want to see that part anyway! When your fourth grader says "This movie really inspires me" than I call it a winner. I really enjoyed the movie. It did leave me wanting to insert the sequel in the VCR player so HURRY "CLOUD TEN" AND MAKE THE SECOND MOVIE! WARNING: Watching this movie could make a believer out of you....maybe that's a good thing.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!
Review: "I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob!" Larry

Having never read the book, I did not know what to expect. I've seen the quality of a lot of christian movies in the past and I must say "Bravo!!!" I can not, I say, CAN NOT, Wait for Part Two!!!! Cloud Ten...Thank You!!! Keep them coming!!!

Rating:
Summary: I read the book, and I'm a beliver....and this movie was bad
Review: The book was good, so I thought how cool it would be to make a movie out of it. I'm not a film maker so I'm not going to nit pick, but I am very disapointed that this company wasted what was a great idea. Had this moive held its own it had a chance to make lots of money in the theater. But after "Left Behind" opens in the theater, and it should have an ok opening weekend, that should be last we will ever hear of this highly undeveloped, waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad TV movie
Review: Well, I watched the whole thing last night, including all of the extra features. The disc was really disappointing in a lot of ways. There is NO closed captioning, either "on disc" or via the normal closed captioning that most shows have, where your TV intereprets the closed captioning signal. This made it hard for my mother in law to follow along, since she is older and hard of hearing. It didn't help that the sound editing was very poor, making a good bit of the dialogue fuzzy and hard to understand. The set lighting was pretty dark, and there were unusual shadows, and overall a pretty washed out look. It reminded me in production values of most "made for TV" movies that I have ever seen. The aspect ratio was 4:3, and I wonder what it will be if it ever makes it to theatres. The acting was OK, considering most of these actors are somewhat veterans of small parts in soap operas and sit coms, and movie bit parts. One or two bits of acting were truly bad, especially the second-in-command money guy, whose name I can't recall. Everyone was very earnest, and it was nice that they all wanted to make this movie with a great Christian message, but somehow the great Christian message just did not come through as I saw it. The movie itself is extremely mediocre. The CGI effects with the warplanes looked very obviously CGI. Some of the explosions were pretty good, especially the car explosion. The budget on this was only $17 million as I understand. They needed about twice that, better actors, better production talent, and so forth. I tend to think that this will be the only movie that gets made from this series of books. I seriously doubt that their plan of filling theatres in February will be successful, because I don't think many people will shell out again for the theatre after dropping money for the DVD or tape. When I bought this DVD it was a choice between this movie or Titan A.E. I am pretty sure I made the wrong choice.

Those of you who will violently disagree with this review, ask yourself a simple question. Did you really think the movie was all that good or are you just entranced with the subject matter. Sometimes it is hard to admit that you can make a bad movie about a good subject, and a good or great movie about a bad subject (e.g. Schindler's List or The Godfather).

One comment by one of the principals in the "making of" featurette really gave me a giggle. She said something to the effect that this was the most expensive, involved lavish production of a Christian movie ever. I just wonder if she ever saw "The Ten Commandments." With all due respect to this cast and crew, Mr. De Mille outdid them just a little.

Rating:
Summary: I love it!
Review: I've watched the movie twice and have loved both times. Some people complain about the 'diluted' salvation message but when you're trying to make a 300+ page book into a two hour movie some things do get "Left Behind" (couldn't resist)

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Adaptation with Truth of Salvation in God
Review: I have to say it, I love the books, the radio drama, and the movie. I understand that yes, it is not 100% to-the-book, but that is fine by me. Reason? First of all, the book is complicated, very complicated. The main characters move through such intricate events that to really bring a 100% adaptation, would mean the movie would probably have to be around 2 or more hours...that just isn't realistic. I forgive the movie makers for having to tighten the character ties...that is just how some things have to be. In my honest opinions, the actors do a wonderful job in portraying the unique characters (that are a bit of us...we're all a bit like Rayford, Buck, etc... even in our best of moments, some times we are egotistical, questioning, mad, etc...that's why so many love the series, because the characters are real)...and that's why I love the movie...

I have already bought four extra copies, given two away as presents. The message toward the meaning and the power of the Church and the evil of Satan... most of all, the meaning of the end times... I really suggest people get out there... get some movies and hand them out...that is a bit expensive, maybe, but just think of how well this can be used as a witnessing tool... Satan is real and is true, abortion, evolution in schools, school shootings, alternative religions and lifestyles... all so prevelent today...but God's word is true and real... and prophecies are coming true...and the rapture will occur... we need to spread the word of God, and this series (in book through video formate) is a great opener to doing just that...

Rating:
Summary: Watch It Now, While You Can Be Sure It's Still Fiction!
Review: "Robert Ludlum meets Stephen King"--that's Amazon's official word on this title. But I can assure you, this movie has far more to offer than that.

From a purely secular perspective, we have Big Money Globalism aiming at global despotism. Yes, I'm sure that people will scoff at the fervid rhetoric of the reporter looking for a scoop, and insiders warning him of dirty dealing at the crossroads. Yes, you've heard it all before, from Pat (A Republic, Not an Empire) Buchanan, Howard Phillips, and others. But can you have forgotten about the UN Biospheres Initiative? "Ten useless tracts of real estate"--sounds just like those "UN Biosphere Reserves" that our own government TODAY has yielded up to the UN. And did you know that a few of the best-known names in international banking actually own pieces of the Federal Reserve? If you really think about it, you can identify Jonathan Stonagal and Joshua Cothran's real-life counterparts, and the banking corporations they head. So scoff however you like, but how do you really know that a plan, just like the one described in this film, hasn't already been set in motion?

Turn now to the Middle East. The rhetoric gets hotter all the time, doesn't it? And Russia is ALREADY mixing in. How soon before they and their Arab allies scramble their entire air force to erase Israel off the map? Furthermore--what is the center of the dispute this time? Ah, yes--the Temple precincts.

Finally, I leave you with the new "Digital Angel" intradermal GPS transceiver now coming to market, ready for every man, woman and child to receive one and be trackable wherever they go. "And he causeth all, both rich and poor, small and great, free and bond, to receive a [cattle brand] on their foreheads, or their right hands,..."

As "Dirk Burton" says heatedly to "Buck Williams," it all fits. As I said--watch it now, while you can be sure that it's still fiction.

Rating:
Summary: 1 1/2 thumbs up!!
Review: Based upon the best selling book series of the same name, this movie obviously has some big shoes to fill. Has it done it? Yes and no. As far as the storyline goes, it has stuck, with a few exceptions, to the storyline of the first book in the "Left Behind" series.

Kirk Cameron turns in a magnificent performance as Buck Williams. Gordon Currie turns in one fine performance as the man that will epitomize all evil-the Anti-Christ. Clarence Gilyard turns in an excellent performance as well.

For a small budget, this movie fares quite well. The scene of the planes exploding over Israel, though, is not exactly up to par, but other than that, special effects, etc. are all quite good.

Should you buy this? That's a matter of personal choice, but I would highly recommend it. This has so much more going for it than other Christian movies of the past (I'm thinking in terms here of the "late night" offerings of our local VTN station) and is well worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Great for fans. Others may be Left Behind.
Review: Fans of the best-selling "Left Behind" book series and Evangelical Christians will probably enjoy this big screen adaptation of the first book. Others may be confused.

"Left Behind: The Movie" looks at the events immediately before and after the Rapture through the eyes of several nonbelievers.

The Rapture is the physical transportation of believers to Heaven, sans personal effects, prior to return of Jesus Christ to Earth.

Cameron "Buck" Williams (Kirk Cameron, Growing Pains) is a top correspondent for the Global News Network, whose logo from a distance is indistinguishable from CNN's. Rayford Steele (Brad Johnson, Soldier of Fortune, Inc.) is a troubled airline pilot who avoids strains at home by spending more time on the job. There he shares a mutual, but unacted upon, attraction with chief flight attendant Hattie Durham (Chelsea Noble, Growing Pains). Steele's withdrawal alienates daughter, Chloe (Janaya Stephens), and wife Irene (Christie MacFadyen), who has turned to religion for comfort.

The movie does a surprisingly serviceable job at capturing the twists and turns of the book, though readers will note minor changes in location and story line. These are probably due to the film's reported 17 million dollar budget.

The film's biggest flaw is an assumption that viewers are familiar with the story and the Bible. Events occur suddenly, with little or no setup. If this is intended to build dramatic tension, it fails. Often we must wait until much later to learn what happened. This is a shame since reporter Buck Williams could have been a perfect narrative device to move the plot along and fill in the holes.

The acting is more TV-style than big budget. Still Cameron and company perform better than many actors in low budget films released by major Hollywood studios. Kirk Cameron is curiously passive for a hard edged journalist who earned the nickname "Buck," for bucking the system. In fact, following the Rapture, Williams vanishes to the home of his videotape editor instead of going out and aggressively reporting about the disappearances, as he does in the book. He then mysteriously rejoins the press corps for the finale.

Johnson is stiff and misses some of Rayford Steele's emotional complexity.

Stephens is refreshing as the rebellious daughter, though she's a redhead here, instead of a blonde.