MovieChat Forums > Left Behind (2014) Discussion > Help me understand the hate for this mov...

Help me understand the hate for this movie.


Seeing as there is religious discussion on the matter, I find important to initiate my post by stating this: I'm an AGNOSTIC and an ATHEIST individual.

That explicitly said, I want to understand why people bash this movie or even hate with their guts. Last night, browsing through my 'to watch' list on Netflix, I saw this Nic Cage movie about an airplane crash. The title of the movie in my native language (portuguese) isn't anywhere descriptive of the movie, it's simple Apocalypse, which doesn't equate at all with the "Left Behind" title and meaning.

It didn't take much time for me to discover what the movie was about, the "Left Behind" concept was pretty old for me (Thanks The Simpsons :) ). I said, well, I like airplane crash movies and with the 'left behind' concept might make it even more interesting to watch.

Throughout the whole movie, what I saw was a pretty basic action movie with some nice touchy/drama scenes. Nic Cages was he at his usual performance, which can range from poor to mediocre to good depending on the scene. The rest of the cast was okay, no one really stood out as either really bad or really good, just about the average. Some scenarios did seem a little too cheap but I can't fault that much if the budget was small (Which everything indicates to).

The plot is consistent, told very linearly and I didn't notice any plotholes. Some of the events may not happen in the real world the way it did in the movie, but it's an action movie, so suspension of disbelief is required.

So, the only thing that made me think you make people hate this movie pretty bad is the 'left behind' religious concept/idea. And while I do think it is a pretty cruel/evil concept for both the taken to heaven and those left behind, it's no new concept introduced by the movie and nor the movie didn't portray it incorrectly, so then again I fail to grasp where the hate comes from.

So, what am I asking, can someone shed some light on this? What point am I missing from the movie that made people borderline foam from their mouth just by watching it.

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"I'm an AGNOSTIC and an ATHEIST"

You can't be both

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Agnostic atheism. You can believe there's no God (atheism) while accepting that you don't and can't know there isn't one (agnosticism).

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You forgot the last part "a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God."

Therefore, you can't be both.

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You can call yourself anything you want... it's called free speech (protected by the U.S. and all 50 state constitutions).

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You don't have to fill out an application for membership to the various clubs and prove your entitlements.

By and large, religion or non-religion or what constitutes a god or belief in one/them is self-defined.

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Agnostic atheism. You can believe there's no God (atheism) while accepting that you don't and can't know there isn't one (agnosticism).

This is kind of a moot point. People who both do and don't believe in God already accept they can't know for sure (barring extremists). Furthermore, it's impossible not to take a side on whether or not there is a god; the idea of a first-mover, as an extension of cause-and-effect, is one of the most innate principles of the human mind. So, you can't be purely agnostic, either. Agnosticism is not a thing. It's an empty term.

How do you like them apples?

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People who both do and don't believe in God already accept they can't know for sure

Actually that's not the case. A great many people claim to not only believe in god, but to know for a fact that he exists. Some christians even refuse to classify christianity as a "religion" in their minds, because it's "a personal relationship with jesus". Unlike say islam, where they just think that allah is real. You may disagree with their stance (I do), but that is nevertheless their stance.

Furthermore, it's impossible not to take a side on whether or not there is a god

Nonsense.

the idea of a first-mover, as an extension of cause-and-effect, is one of the most innate principles of the human mind.

Um, if one takes the cause and effect principle as so fundamental then one cannot possibly believe there is such a thing as a "first mover". If cause and effect is a fundamental truth then a "first mover" is a contradiction in terms, as it would itself be uncaused.

Agnosticism is not a thing. It's an empty term.

Um, no. There are quite a few agnostics in the world. Quite a few agnostic atheists too - I'm one of them.


--
Christianity : A god who loves you so much that he'll set fire to you if you don't love him back

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FFS, WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO EVERYONE?!?

Atheist = does not recognise any god(s).

Agnostic = believes that whether there is or isn't a god(s) cannot be known. From 'gnosis'. Look it up.

You can be both, you idiots. You can also be a gnostic atheist, an agnostic theist, or a gnostic theist.

The level of education, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills of the average American is absurd. I am actually embarrassed for you people. Do humanity a favour; if you were one of the 'YOU CAN'T BE BOTH! DIAF! BLAARGH!' people, don't breed. Your intellect is far too low. We don't need more of you.

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So, what exactly is your opinion of the average American's critical thinking skills? You seem a little undecided.

Please click on 'reply' at the post you're responding to. Thanks.

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Oh, for crying out loud. Atheism means not having a belief in any deities, so yes, you absolutely can be both.

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"You can't be both"

Well, that's like your opinion, man. I could go on in a lenghty post about how you can be both, but I don't really feel like doing it. It's enough to say that I truly believe in the Agnoticism and the Atheism.

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Here are some issues myself and others had with the film...

-- Horrible soundtrack that sounds like stock music.

-- Bland cinematography and direction. (How many shots or scenes can you name that you thought looked good? A small budget is no excuse for unimaginative camerawork.)

-- All characters are poorly written and, at best, adequately acted. (Are there any characters you'd consider interesting and 3-dimensional?)

-- Very slow first 30 minutes full of heavy-handed character exposition.

-- A frustrating effort, especially in the first act, to portray the atheistic as smug and the believers in God (like the mother) as put-upon victims.

-- Nicolas Cage spends most of his (surprisingly limited) screentime in the cockpit. He also gives a fairly restrained performance, which means his bad acting isn't even as fun to watch as it is in his other films.

-- It's a 110-minute long action/disaster movie in which there is only one set-piece, and it is, to make matters worse, a less-than-great set-piece.

In summary, many people dislike the film because of the near-complete absence of anything to like. The film is either poorly or blandly made in all areas. That dislike then grows into hatred because the film not only has a religious message but presents that message in such a way that it feels condescending.

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Disagree on all points, save for the music.

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I'm an atheist (no agnosticism about it), but my hatred for this movie had nothing to do with that. I can suspend disbelief for the sake of a movie - if it's a good movie. I mean, it's not like I believe in Hobbits, vampires, or The Force, you know.

In fact, I kind of enjoyed the 2000 version, in a schlocky "so bad it's good" way. At least it held together logically.

Mostly, I disliked the fact they took a tiny part of the book, and stretched it into a whole movie by throwing in lots of totally contrived "action". The entire movie tried to build tension out of a situation that had no tension; namely, the problem of landing a plane with one fully qualified pilot rather than two. You just can't get around the fact that's not a big deal.

Then of course there was Nicolas Cage. He can be great (Raising Arizona) or he can be awesomely bad (Wicker Man remake), but he almost never simply phones it in like he did in this movie. You could almost see him questioning the life choices that racked up so much debt that he's forced to take roles like this.


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Bruno,

Do you live in the US? It's pretty common for Christians to dominate the culture, use shaming and claims of 'oppression' to try to control situations, spout ludicrous, contradictory beliefs as if they were fact, and actually take pride in their ignorance and self-centred behaviour.

As a result, many (and the numbers are steadily rising) other 'normal' Americans are putting their collective foot down and no longer quietly tolerating religitards and the dreck they consider entertainment. The Left Behind story is, itself, frankly stupid and mired in half-baked appropriations of other religions' mythology.

As someone who lives a deity-free life, I actually have no hate for the movie itself. When compared with other action movies though, the incredible flaws in the story make one wonder how the film got made.

...if it weren't for the constant push from the religitard crowd.

Think of it this way: viewed on its own merits, this story has some major problems. It's not unlike if I were to make the movie Die Hard, only in my alternate reality, I'm going to make a plot where it's never explained why Hans Gruber and henchmen come to Nakatomi Plaza, and halfway through the action, I'm going to write into the plot that John McClane gets the ability to teleport backwards and forwards through time, but only by eight minutes. Why? Ummm...because my script works in strange and mysterious ways. And lastly, at the end I'm not going to have a shot-out. Instead, I'll just fade to black when they are still shooting on the roof, because that seems like a good place to end it in case I get a sequel, plus my source material has actually been hotly debated for hundreds and hundreds of years.

The fact that xtians want to be able to launch a crappy plot and then criticise people who say that they wish the plot weren't crappy, added to this whole social monopolisation attempt, is the source of many people's rage. Sadly, I'm predicting that it is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

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"It's pretty common for [Democrat politicians and their supporters] to dominate the culture, use shaming and claims of 'oppression' to try to control situations, spout ludicrous, contradictory beliefs....."

Fixed that for you.

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I find it out and out hilarious and mind blowing stupid for someone to say Christians are dominating anything in culture these days.

Christians are about the one and only people you can easily bash these days with no consequences at all. In fact you are a hero if you do.

Try to insult gay people, black people, anyone but Christians and see how long you are hired or not run out of town.

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Well, that would actually depend on where you live. See, where i live, if i bashed Christians it could get me killed. I live in the deep South, heart of the Bible belt. So please with your rhetoric.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

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Totally agree m-wonderful. Here in the UK Christians are constantly mocked in the media. And unlike America, Christians aren't loud or shouty in the UK, the Christian tv programmes and presenters here are gentle and non-judgemental.

And the same hypocrisies also exist here - while Christians (especially white males) are constantly made a fool out of, anyone who dares makes the slightest derogatory comment or joke about other (non-white) races, homosexuals or islam will find themselves out of a job, or arrested.

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I try not to make my feelings on a religious film the center of a Science versus Religion debate. LEFT BEHIND (2014) is simply an underwhelming movie. It starts out slow; it drags. People are raptured; others react to it; Nicolas Cage has to safely land a plane. That's it. It's essentially a lackluster disaster movie, but with the Rapture instead of a tornado or earthquake. And for a story setting up what's supposed to be the eventual Apocalypse, you again remind yourself: THAT'S IT?!

What's amusing is films like Marvel's THOR, CLASH OF THE TITANS, and the upcoming GODS OF EGYPT all look to be like big dumb action adventure movies. Granted they're inspired by dead religions, but that's fun. I want to see more of them. So my point is why have Christian films not explored this kind of genre? When will there be an epic Apocalyptic action movie about Jesus leading an army against Satan and his minions? Seriously. Are people worried such a film would diminish Christian beliefs? Would the idea of Jesus killing things offend too many people?


http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

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I personally liked the original Left Behind series with kirk Cameron; the acting was good even though occasionally corny but all in all it was very well written and done.

This is a Christian series so anyone that hates the movie because of the content is pretty dumb. If you dont like it because you dont believe in God or you hate Christians, then thats on you not the movie.

i hated this version (2014) because the acting was terrible; the score/music was so amateurish it was kind of funny. The scenes seemed hokie and the sets were out of a high school play. It was obvious this was done on the cheap and people just didn't buy it.

Even though i dont like kirk cameron, the original left behind series (movies) with him starring in it are very cool and professionally done. The acting was very good as well. This one was a joke to be honest. in the 2005 Left Behind movie World at War, Louis Gossett jr. did a great job co starring in this film playing the president.

if you want to watch a good left behind movie, look at the original. this one was awful.

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I fully agree with you about the original version....much much better, I have to say. This one just reminded me of a pseudo Christian version of of one those campy Airport movies from the 1970s.....that I Used to like as a kid(lol).. But even they had better plots and acting than this drivel..

I would say anyone who is interested in the subject matter, should stick with the original Kirk Cameron version, do not waste your money and time (unless you have nothing better to do) on this..

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The movie was poorly acted, the dialogue is laughably stupid, the theme is equally as stupid because there really is no theme, other than mindlessly obey christianity and good sh*t will happen to you. What kind of a theme is that? And random sh*t occurs in the film for no reason at all, or things are way too over-the-top to the point that you want to laugh at it. This movie is literally (and i don't say this lightly) the worst film i have ever seen. But that's just my opinion. 0\10.

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