Bad Movie Month #06: Left Behind (2014)

"Huh?"

Left Behind (2014)

Directed by: Vic Armstrong
Produced by: Michael Walker, Paul LaLonde
Written by: Paul LaLonde, John Patus
Budget: $16,000,000

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Welan, Jordin Sparks

"Left Behind" is the second attempt to adapt the titular novel series to the big screen, this time with a significantly larger budget but far smaller chance of sequels.

The Steele family is falling apart; Raymond (Cage) is an adulterous airline pilot who can't seem to make things right. Irene (Lea Thompson) is a loving mom, but has recently become a born-again Christian. Their daughter, Chloe (Thomson) has only her younger brother Raymie to relate to.

But when a large percentage of the population vanishes one day, Ray must find a way to land his plane and keep the remaining people alive. Down on the surface, Chloe searches for her brother.

Oh, and Chad Michael Murray plays an investigative journalist, but I'd forgotten about him.

Anyway, lots of people, including every kid, vanishes and things go to crap.

I haven't read the original series, but I am familiar with it (Wikipedia synopses, what what) and most of the major plot points. When I heard the Cage was gonna lock up the main role in this movie, I was surprised. The Left Behind series consists of sixteen main novels, some graphic novels, and Left Behind Kids (I'm not sure if that's the official name), so I was a little skeptical at why someone like Cage would sign on for what would presumably be a long franchise. Yeah, turns out he only signed on for this one and it appears the sequel won't be happening anytime soon.

This movie is absolutely an attempt to cash in on the name of the series. The acting is bad, the writing is mediocre, and a lot of it feels like filler.

The Good
The actual Rapture (oh, spoilers) aftermath isn't bad. People start looting, there's chaos, and at one point Thomson walks past a news ticker reading things like "FIRES BURN OUT OF CONTROL" continuously, which is actually pretty funny.

Cage makes a fair show of emotion when he first gets back in contact with his daughter.

The Bad
While some of the scenes are handled with an alright touch, most of the movie is poorly put together. The acting itself feels wrong from the start, ranging from the scandalously gossiping flight attendants to Lea Thompson's incredibly goofy portrayal of a born-again Christian mother. Whenever the movie requires someone actually act as opposed to react, the performances dip. Dialogue is exchanged with the genre of each line changing. The best performance in the movie comes from the no-named junkie character talking to herself in the bathroom, trying to convince herself it's a bad trip.

The score feels like it was assembled from whatever could be found for cheap. There's a single licensed song over the credits, the street-dancers at the mall dance to what sounds like a sample beat, and an attempt to juxtaposition the Rapture aftermath with uprising, semi-religious sounding tones doesn't work.

Probably the worst part of this movie is how truly...reduced it feels. In what was no doubt an attempt to pull from all major demographics, the religious overtones from the original were reduced to a few generic lines. The religious crowd won't get anything out of this, because there's simply not enough. In a similar way, the areligious crowd will still avoid it, either based on the name or because there's nothing to scoff at while watching. As a thriller it has very little to offer aside from very mild versions of scenes from far better movies. Not even mega-fans of Cage will enjoy this, as it's one of his more unremarkable performances.

I realized after making this that it's been done before.

The Rest

Cage pulls out a family photo after the Rapture, and I half-expected Lea Thompson to fade out of it.

Should You Watch It?
There's not really any reason to. Maybe if you wanted to punish your kids.

If you want a better "Rapture," go watch Leftovers on HBO or "This is the End."