MovieChat Forums > Left Behind (2014) Discussion > I bet the low rating is by militant athe...

I bet the low rating is by militant atheists

posted 10 years ago by Yorick_Brown
17 replies | jump to latest

Look, I'm an agnostic myself and I have no sympathy for fundamentalists but I happen to find extremist atheists to be even more annoying.

I at least have some respect for faith that fundamentalists have.

I just saw this movie a few hours ago and while I found the premise to be cheesy, it was actually a surprisingly exciting and well-acted action drama and much more deserving than the 3.1 rating it has right now.

Just give credit to where credit is due already.

When the stars are the only things we share
Will you be there?

-Benjamin Francis Leftwich

[–] ejonconrad 10 years ago

Any time a conservative or religious movie tanks, people always whine about some sort of conspiracy by liberals and/or atheists.

Look, about 70% of Americans are Christian, and about 40% of Americans believe in The Rapture, so it's ridiculous to blame the 3% of Americans who are atheists (I'm not counting agnostics among your "militants") for the fact this movie failed. It's just an objectively terrible movie.

I'm an atheist, but I'm willing to treat the Rapture the same way I treat vampires, hobbits, The Force, aliens, demonic possession, ghosts, and anything Stephen King cooks up; that is, I'll suspend my disbelief for a decent movie. I loved The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Last Temptation of Christ, even though I don't believe the magic parts in the least.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a good movie by any yardstick.

To tell the truth, I actually kind of enjoyed the Kirk Cameron version, in a schlocky sort of way. At least it had a plot and some sort of internal consistency. This took a small part of the book and turned it into a lame adventure story by taking something that should have been a minor inconvenience (landing a plane with one pilot) and throwing increasing ridiculous roadblocks. For example, if a pilot sees another plane on a collision course, he gets out of the way and asks questions later. All action movies are contrived at some level, but there are limits.

Finally, if you're going to make a religious movie, go all in and *make a religious movie*. They watered down the religion to appeal to a "broader audience", and ended up with something no one really liked. In the end they ended up with something no one particularly liked.

Can't blame atheists for that.

[–] Yorick_Brown 10 years ago

Any time a conservative or religious movie tanks, people always whine about some sort of conspiracy by liberals and/or atheists.

Conservatives can be very paranoid, evident by their silly disbelief that some anti-liberal documentaries weren't Oscar-nominated.

But I'm just talking about its suspiciously low rating.

Look, about 70% of Americans are Christian, and about 40% of Americans believe in The Rapture, so it's ridiculous to blame the 3% of Americans who are atheists (I'm not counting agnostics among your "militants") for the fact this movie failed. It's just an objectively terrible movie.

Both acclaimed and panned movies flop. I don't care about that. I'm just annoyed at this flick is so low rated here when it isn't as terrible as expected.

To tell the truth, I actually kind of enjoyed the Kirk Cameron version, in a schlocky sort of way. At least it had a plot and some sort of internal consistency. This took a small part of the book and turned it into a lame adventure story by taking something that should have been a minor inconvenience (landing a plane with one pilot) and throwing increasing ridiculous roadblocks. For example, if a pilot sees another plane on a collision course, he gets out of the way and asks questions later. All action movies are contrived at some level, but there are limits.

Do you know that for sure and understand official flight procedures?

Their seemed to be nothing wrong with the pilot initially trying to contact the other plane before he realizes that no one is listening.

Finally, if you're going to make a religious movie, go all in and *make a religious movie*. They watered down the religion to appeal to a "broader audience", and ended up with something no one really liked. In the end they ended up with something no one particularly liked.

Their intention was to make a more secular movie with the rapture as just a way of setting up the conflict and emotion.

When the stars are the only things we share
Will you be there?

-Benjamin Francis Leftwich

[–] ejonconrad 10 years ago

Do you know that for sure and understand official flight procedures?

Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a private pilot's license. In a situation like that, the pilot's first move would be to avoid the collision, *then* get on the radio and try to figure out what happened. Like any other vehicle, there are specific rules for how to avoid each other without accidentally hitting each other in the process. Someone on the "goofs" board clearly has a lot more experience than me, and has weighed in on this with more detail.

Note that the sky is *really* big, so if you're not near an airport, the chances of accidentally getting on a collision course are pretty small to begin with. If it happened with that much warning, simply nudging the controls would avert the danger. NO pilot would be stupid enough to keep trying to radio the other plane until it was too late to do something about it.

And while we're on the subject, the sudden disappearance of the copilot would NOT send the
plane into a dive. Even if the autopilot was off, it would continue to fly straight and level
or at worst continue on a controlled descent.

Also, if you turn back halfway to England, New York is not the closest airport.

Also, if you think about it, it doesn't make sense that the runways would be "full of planes". Even if *every* pilot except Steele had been Raptured, there''d be at most one plane per runway, and they've had hours to clear them, or switch to the crosswind runway.

Basically, none of the stuff they through at us made any sense whatsoever.

Their intention was to make a more secular movie with the rapture as just a way of setting up the conflict and emotion.

Then maybe there should have been some conflict and emotion. Remember, the original had the arrival of the Antichrist and the start of the Tribulation. An incompetent airline pilot really doesn't compare.

[–] Yorick_Brown 9 years ago

Basically, none of the stuff they through at us made any sense whatsoever.

Many of those complaints are based on you just being a know-it-all airplane nerd instead of being a suspense disbelieving viewer.

Then maybe there should have been some conflict and emotion. Remember, the original had the arrival of the Antichrist and the start of the Tribulation. An incompetent airline pilot really doesn't compare.

Maybe it would have been included in the sequel.

This first was the set-up and was very exciting and had plenty of conflict and emotion already without the overt religious implications.

When the stars are the only things we share
Will you be there?

-Benjamin Francis Leftwich

[–] malcolm-smith 9 years ago

No. Those comments by ejonconrad regarding the airplanes is nothing short of common sense.

The planes on the runway, for example, is common sense. The rules for avoidance are simple and straightforward.

[–] kwikane 10 years ago

Nah, this movie is just pure ass in a can, man.

[–] nephihaha 10 years ago

It's not the worst film I've ever seen to be fair. Despite the subject matter, the religious message is surprisingly low key considering.

--
It's not "Sci-Fi", it's SF!

"Calvinism is a very liberal religious ethos." - Truekiwijoker

[–] wallacesawyer 10 years ago

I like to think it's by film goers who wanted a better movie. Personal beliefs aside.

I didn't care for this movie that much, but that doesn't mean I also don't like CLASH OF THE TITANS or THOR.

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

[–] warshipspictures1 10 years ago

Or maybe it's just one of the worst films ever made

[–] knoxfan2008 9 years ago

I'm an atheist, and I LOVE Nic Cage. But I also really like many films that show god and religion in a positive light, like "what dreams may come", "Last temptation of Christ", "Dogma" and "Ben Hur".

So no, I rated it low due to the SFX, Acting, script, direction, lighting and cinematography to name a few. Stop crying because Christians also hate this film

[–] tuula-1 9 years ago

Should that not have been offset by the Christians giving it a higher rating it deserves?

Note that as an atheist, I watched a review of it, out of curiousity, and have not seen it, ergo I cannot honestly rate it. So I didn't. Most atheists would probably not want to see this film either.



[–] drlyon 9 years ago

This movie was awful. Period.

[–] johmil-18374 9 years ago

Its not the rapture stuff that annoys people its the way its told, it feels like propaganda. Secondly how you or anyone could accept the really bad acting, the strange airplane story (if this enormous thing happen Im not interested in a airplane), the extremely bad dialoge, the cheesy effect and the terrible and also bad timing on the film music. This is a text book example of a movie that fails in nearly everything. One of the worst of all times, they must have a bigger budget than the c-movies that can match this lousiness so they can't even say its the lack of money.

[–] Yorick_Brown 9 years ago

Its not the rapture stuff that annoys people its the way its told, it feels like propaganda.

How was it told that made it feel like propaganda?

A story about the rapture would inherently have Christian themes attached.

Secondly how you or anyone could accept the really bad acting, the strange airplane story (if this enormous thing happen Im not interested in a airplane), the extremely bad dialoge, the cheesy effect and the terrible and also bad timing on the film music. This is a text book example of a movie that fails in nearly everything.

I disagree entirely with that.

When the stars are the only things we share
Will you be there?

-Benjamin Francis Leftwich

[–] johmil-18374 9 years ago

Ok if you like the acting in this movie I have nothing more to say.