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.
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