“Left Behind” is the fourth adaptation of the “Left Behind” book series after an earlier trilogy of films starring Kirk Cameron. This film is a 2014 reboot and ignores the previous movies. Like many recent Christian films (“God’s Not Dead”, “Noah” etc…), it has been torn to shreds by militant atheists and biblical purists alike. Do not expect a visual representation of scripture and do not expect a blockbuster, this is a relatively low-budget flick that provokes some interesting questions.

The ‘rapture’ leads to millions of people (including the world’s children) suddenly disappearing off the face of the Earth. As the world plunges into chaos, we focus mainly on a plane where some passengers and crew members are among those missing.

Nicolas Cage (“National Treasure”, “Knowing”) reportedly got paid millions of dollars for 10 days work here. He plays a pilot that is flirting with the practice of adultery. He does a really good job and helps make this movie worth watching. Other character condemned to remain on Earth include a gambling a dwarf, a drug addict and perhaps most controversially, a practicing Muslim. I like that the movie was not afraid to show that people other faiths would not necessarily vanish as part of the rapture. However, it does leave open questions as I wonder whether all children in countries such as Pakistan and Iran were accepted.

“Left Behind” is by no means a great film but I thought it did a fairly good job of maintaining the tension. The special effects are nothing to write home about but they are tolerable given that this is not a big studio’s movie. Maybe it was the fact that I went in with very low expectations but I found myself enjoying this film. I’m giving this film a very faint recommendation but that is still a recommendation. I would like to note that the scene in “The Simpsons” parodying the “Left Behind” franchise is definitely worth checking out.