My thoughts on the "Left Behind" movie

Recently, I saw the new “Left Behind” movie starring Nicolas Cage.  In short, while the cast did a good job, and it is undeniably entertaining, I still can’t recommend this film.

My biggest problem with this movie isn’t primarily what was said in the film, it’s what wasn’t said.  Let me explain.  The three main characters are Rayford Steele, Chloe Steele (his daughter) and Cameron or “Buck” Williams.  In the book that the movie is based on written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, these three eventually learn that Jesus Christ had taken (or raptured as it is commonly referred to) all the Christians to Heaven, and they had been left behind.  Ultimately, they each chose to become a Christian, even though their decision was a costly one because it meant facing a dark seven year period known as the Tribulation, where being martyred for their new faith was likely.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t present Rayford, Chloe, or Buck putting their faith in Christ.  Rayford does begin to piece together that it was just the Christian passengers who were gone, and he deduces that he knows what the event was because his Christian wife had previously told him.  But he still doesn’t become a Christian.  To be fair, he is preoccupied with trying to make an emergency landing because the plane is leaking gasoline, something that didn’t actually occur in the original book.  Buck’s conversion to Christianity isn’t shown, either.  He is on the same plane as Rayford, and he is too busy trying to calm the other passengers down, and help Rayford in whatever way he can.

The absence of Chloe’s conversion story is the most glaring.  She finds that her mother and brother were among those who disappeared.  She subsequently goes to a church where she finds that just one pastor was left behind (the fascinating story of why he was left behind is strangely never told in the film, but it is in the book).  This pastor tells her what had happened, but Chloe doesn’t want to listen; she actually goes and almost commits suicide until her father’s phone call finally gets through.  This one is the most disappointing because, by the end of the film, Chloe is actually the hero, but not because of her newfound relationship with Christ, as it should have been.

If you are interested in seeing a movie that does follow the original book quite well I would recommend the first “Left Behind” movie starring Kirk Cameron.  It not only showcases the conversion of the main characters, but also covers other important events such as the rise of the Antichrist (who somehow doesn’t even appear in this new movie).  Stick with the original movie, and avoid this new film.  Don’t misunderstand: I’m not saying this new rebooted Left Behind movie is a bad movie, by any means.  It’s entertaining.  I’m simply saying that the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ (a major presence in the original book) isn’t conveyed in this new film.  It is altogether ignored.

Kevin