Ed's Review Dot Com

Cloud Ten Pictures, Namesake Entertainment,

Brad Johnson, Chelsea Noble, Kirk Cameron, Clarence Gilyard Jr, Gordon Currie, Daniel Pilon, Neil Crone, Colin Fox, Christie MacFadyen, Jay Manchester, Janaya Stephens

The story of a day when millions of people disappear from the Biblical prophecy of “The Rapture” when all the faithful rise to meet Christ leaving the unbelievers behind. Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron) is a field reporter and is investigating the “Eden Project” which is finding a way to grow wheat in the desert to provide food for Israel and to potentially end hunger in the world. But when all the righteous are taken, the soon to be Anti-Christ arrives and is seeking to take control of the governments of the world.

This is the original film, based on the Left Behind series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. There were a number of sequels made to this film (at least two of them are carried by Netflix) and the remake in 2014 starring Nicholas Cage. I understand that the books are pretty good, although I have never had the urge to read them. This movie does not have a big studio behind it and therefore doesn’t have much of a budget. So there are many holes in the movie despite the somewhat far out premise of the film. This one differs greatly from the Cage remake that was done as a pretty much religion free action adventure based on one of the characters from this book, Rayford Wright (Brad Johnson) and his daughter Chloe (Janaya Stephens), whereas they have a much smaller part in this film. The acting is not stellar and the cliche’s are all throughout. The abrupt ending also leaves off where the next story will begin. There is obviously no resolution as the author has 15 more books to write on the subject. The religious elements are pretty much in your face throughout, although the concept of The Rapture is an interesting idea for a movie. But there are a lot of things wrong here that make it less enjoyable. My feeling is that if you have a strong religious bent and are interested in the interpretation of scripture of the last days of the world, then it’s probably best to pick up the books and start reading, and if you’re not interested in the religious element and are looking for action and adventure and an interesting take on an extreme situation, then catch the 2014 Nicholas Cage version as it’s much less preachy and covers the exciting part of the airliner trying to get back home part which is nowhere to be found in this film at all. The characters are here, but the daring adventure is not a part of the real story.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday June 2, 2015

• Camp X-Ray
• Focus
• Jupiter Ascending
• Killing Jesus
• McFarland, USA
• Monsters: Dark Continent
• The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

Stoney Lake Entertainment,

Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Whelan, Jordin Sparks, Lea Thompson, Quinton Aaron

Rayford Steele (Nicholas Cage) is a pilot. He’s also a cheating husband on an “urgent called out to work at the last minute to fly to Paris” journey which is really a well planned getaway for him and the cute Flight Attendant Hattie (Nicky Whelan). However high in the air, suddenly a whole bunch of people, children and a some adults, suddenly disappear leaving simply a pile of clothing. The pilot is missing, but Rayford is left behind to try to somehow calm the passengers and figure out how to get the plane safely back to New York. But what are they coming back to? Millions of people have just disappeared and cars and trucks have simply crashed, there is destruction and devastation everywhere in this action-adventure remake of a religious film from 2000 based on the book.

The rapture, foretold in the scriptures has arrived, and the faithful have been taken. This is the non-religious high adventure version of the chaos that is left behind. The idea of the scriptural “rapture” has always captivated my thoughts, especially as a small child. what would it be like if suddenly people simply raised up into the air to meet Jesus as he returns in his glorious second coming. This is the layman’s look at what it might be like. They’ve given us a interesting back story and setup lots of suspense as things don’t go so well up in the sky over the Atlantic with no one answering on the radio, no idea what’s gone on, and many freaked out parents wondering where their children went. The folks on the plane along with Captain Steele and the only flight attendant left, Hattie, try to figure out what could be happening. It also has a crazy Airport style landing where the airport is beyond reach and out of service due to crashed planes and vehicles all over the place. This is a true disaster movie with Nicholas Cage in one of his typical roles. He is trying to be there hero here, but it’s not going to be easy. How is this like the original film Left Behind, The Movie from 2000 starring Kirk Cameron? Not very much, at all, actually. That is an in your face religious movie that doesn’t let up. The story is mostly political and religious and preaches a lot. The names are the same, and it does contain a pilot on a plane where people just disappeared. This 2014 one on the other hand, has very little religion in it at all. This is definitely the secular interpretation of the story. The fact that this “rapture” is predicted in the Bible really has little to nothing to do with the story. Yes, Rayford’s wife is very religious (so she’s gone) but he and his daughter are left due to their “flaws”. This is a strange twist because you have to realize the ones that are left behind are the “losers” and the good people aren’t around anymore. The point is that if this had been aliens or something equally bizarre, the same story would evolve pretty much the same way. Religion isn’t a part of this one. So how did i like it? Well, I was not bored with this story at all, and I didn’t feel preached at in the least. The action was good, and Nick Cage did a really decent job showing a bit of emotion, not the usual rage he gives us. This was an opportunity for him to reach out and he pretty much pulled it off. The level of suspense was good, and though some of the tricks he pulled to try to land this flying death trap were a bit far fetched, the whole premise is so bizarre that it hardly matters. I felt that this is a solid 3 film, interesting to watch, and bringing up a lot of things to think about that never occurred to me before. All in all I felt this was a decent film, and if you’re interested in airplane disaster movies, this isn’t so bad. Don’t expect too much, and i doubt you’ll be gravely disappointed.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog