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

 

 

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