Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
Reviewed by: Douglas M. Downs
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Excellent! |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | 11 to Adult |
| Genre: | Christian Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 34 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2002 |
| USA Release: |
WayoftheMaster.com is a ministry of Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort that trains Christians in how to use the law in evangelism (and much more). An excellent resource with literally hundreds of hours of material!
| Featuring | Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Chelsea Noble, Clarence Gilyard, Gordon Currie, Janaya Stephens |
| Director |
Bill Corcoran |
| Producer | Cloud Ten Pictures |
| Distributor | Cloud Ten Pictures |
Prequel: “Left Behind: The Movie” / Sequel: Left Behind: World at War
Remember the 60’s film “A Thief in the Night”? It’s still a vivid memory for me. The images and the message left an indelible impression on my memory. There is no doubt that a clear presentation of the end times in light of today’s events can be a dynamic way to prompt people to examine their heart. The “Left Behind” series accomplishes this in a creative and evangelical way. These compelling stories authored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have inspired another generation to find faith in Jesus Christ. Every book in the series has topped the New York Times Best Sellers list. Four of the novels have debuted at #1!
Desecration was the best selling novel for the year 2001. This is an amazing feat for books that are unashamedly Christian. I know that some enjoy debating the theological premises behind their interpretation of the rapture and the tribulation period, but I think that all Christians can agree on the fact that one day Jesus Christ is going to return. The secondary challenge with a popular book is how to bring it to the big screen. LaHaye and Jenkins’ books are very engaging and imagination is a powerful force to recon with. (Just ask the director and producers of the “Lord of the Rings” series.) The reactions from the first “Left Behind” film were mixed. The movie was released on video and then Christians were encouraged to invite their friends to the theatrical release. I personally thought that the first movie was OK, but many of its weakness were because of time constraints. On a positive note, the first video was #1 the first week of release and beat “Toy Story II” and “The Green Mile”.
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force is quite good! It is a first-rate translation of the book and it definitely stands on its own. “Tribulation Force” actually even makes the original better, because of more attention given to character development. All of the principal actors of the first “Left Behind” have returned for the second. This is always an important ingredient for any series or sequel. I initially thought that Kirk Cameron was miscast in the original—he just didn’t personify at all how I imagined Buck Williams to be. But Kirk has matured more and really carries the sequel. He definitely has established himself as “Buck” for every film that may follow.
The same is true for Gordon Currie as Nicolae Carpathia. Gordon is able to bring about the subtle, yet deceptive transformation of a man perusing leadership under the power of evil. I enjoyed the performances by the rest of the cast… I just thought that Cameron and Currie truly delivered the goods.
The film “Left Behind” presents the chaos that will happen as a result of the Rapture event. “Tribulation Force” picks up the story just 7 days after the multitude of unexplained disappearances. Buck (a lead reporter for GNN) begins to establish himself as a voice of assurance to a chaotic world that is looking for answers. Ray Steele (Brad Johnson) is still struggling with the pain that his wife and son are gone. His pain is deep and heartfelt. He does receive some reassurance from his daughter Chloe (Janaya Stephens). Both have become Christians as a result of the world events and now give their energy and support to Pastor Bruce Barnes (Clarence Gilyard).
Pastor Barnes provides an important role on several fronts. He helps to supply answers to the grief-stricken by applying the prophetic truths of the book of Revelation. He also is active in organizing a “tribulation force” to help spread the Gospel and to expose the work of the Anti-Christ. The church—open as a triage center for the wounded—balances Barnes’ ministry.
Those who know the book remember that it doesn’t take long before Nicolae extends an invitation to Buck to help him with publicity. Ray is also hired as one of the pilots for Nicolae’s private jet. The rest of the film unfolds this “what-if” saga with the unveiling of a one-world religion and a one-world monetary system. This film also realistically portrays the scoffing and mockers of God, particularly in one scene where Pastor Barnes gives an invitation to repent, yet several people leave.
Christians who were disappointed with the admittedly weak gospel message in the first “Left Behind” will be happy to know that evangelist Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (partners in evangelism ministry at WayoftheMaster.com) rewrote part of the script to include a stronger evangelistic message using the Law to convict of sin. Way to go Ray and Kirk! May God use it mightily!
It is my sincere hope that viewers who may have been disappointed with the first film in the series give this sequel another chance. I do know that reading the books before hand is not required, but can greatly enhance the viewing experience. This film is more than an example of Christian entertainment at it’s best—it is another opportunity for thoughtful reflection and prayerful examination of our lives before God. I highly recommend “Left Behind II” and would encourage the actors and staff at Cloud Ten Pictures to keep up the good work!
[Excellent! / 5]
[Excellent! / 5]
[Excellent! / 5]
[Excellent! / 5]
[Excellent! / 5]
[Excellent! / 5]
The characters give the depth that the lacked in the first one and the story, though strayed from the actual book, was entertaining and smooth! I highly suggest this move to anyone, saved or lost! I hope this movie will do extremely well as to inspire other Christian movies to be created in this caliber!
[Excellent! / 3½]
[Excellent! / 5]
[Better than Average / 3]
[Excellent! / 3]
As in the books, the story was sacrificed to make room for sermons. I won’t ignore the fact that some people will find Christ through this film. As a Christian and an artist, I found this film thoroughly offensive. We need to be looking to the works of the great artists of Christendom’s past if we are to truly impact culture through art.
The writings of Lewis, Tolkien, and Charles Williams were clearly Christian, and yet never felt the need to pander to the lowest common denominator. They weren’t afraid that someone might misunderstand their work, but were confident that God would use the words they wrote to bring men and women into a closer relationship with God. It seems as through most Christian artists today (including the creators of “Left Behind”) feel that audiences need everything spelled out for them.
This isn’t the model we are given by Christ in his parables (the ultimate artist and storyteller). He rarely explained the meanings behind his storys, trusting that God would make the meanings clear. We need to do that as Christians and artists. Just putting a sermon in the middle of a film is not going to bring people to a relationship with Christ.
[Average / 1]
The movie did have its good points and Gorden Curry was perfect for the role of Nicolea Carpathia. Now comes the second movie. With a bigger budget, I was expecting Cloud Ten to be able to hire more competent screen writers and director. I was expecting them to really put together a good tight movie, complete with good pacing and editing. That was not the case.
This film does appear to have slightly better production and slightly better special effects but the pacing is terrible. The dialogue has not been improved, and most of the dramatic tension that was present in the first outing has mostly dried up here. Instead of telling a story, the movie marches along, spitting out information about the world and characters like a machine, only pausing occasionally to preach. Chemistry between the actors is almost nonexistant.
Even Gordon Curry is starting to stumble over his role because of hopelessly incompetent writing and direction. Everything that I feared the first film would be, the second film is. In previous cloud nine pictures, the actors carried the films because they had too. And because they didn’t have anything to stop them. And they did a good enough job most of the time. Here, the actors are not given a chance to because the Lalonde Brothers are too busy doing three things; showing they have a larger budget this time, setting up the scene for part three, and trying desperately and unsuccessful to hide that they are incompetent as film makers.
The budget masked a lot of the flaws in previous Cloud Nine films; they just appeared to be low budget independent movies, which they are. Here, in Left behind II, the budget brings all the flaws of the film out into the forefront. All the bugs show up even more even in the light.
The Lalondes are alright when all they have to do is set up a camera and let the actors carry a show, but when real direction is attempted, they fail miserably. They should use the larger budget to invest in better screen writer and better directors.
[Better than Average / 2]
The conflict in this film was weak, if not almost non-existent. It took 48 minutes before the action began to pick up and the climax lasted for about 20-30 seconds. I’m not even certain that I could find an “Inciting Incident” that acted as a catalyst for the “tension” of the film. I gave this film series a second chance thinking there would’ve been some improvement, and I was very disappointed to find that I had a hard time staying awake. There were 11 sermons, and only 4-5 scenes of actual dramatic tension. Is this really drama?
Again, truthful message, but not persuasive or entertaining. Story was sacrificed for sermon. If your looking for theology, I’d save the money and either attend church or read Revelation than see this movie. If your looking for story… read the books.
[Excellent! / 1]
The themes are obviously spiritual and imply a literal reading of the final biblical book, “The Revelation of John.” There is some “over-acting” and the giving of the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia (referring to the biblical “Nicolaitans” and the “Carpathian Mountains”—also called the “Transylvanian Alps”), a “Transylvania”-“Count Dracula” accent is cartoonish. But the overall story is engaging. It is helpful if you’ve read the books and seen the first film, but it is not necessary to have done so to enjoy this second installment…
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1)The belief that all of history is a story under His control is a major message of the Bible. If this assertion is true, then what part do individual Christians play within this story? 2) Understanding that the indescribable nature of prophecy is beyond our mental and linguistic ability to describe, how should we approach the symbolism in the Revelation of John? How do we know which descriptions are symbolic and which are literal? 3) The prophecies of the Old Testament have not convinced most Jewish scholars that they are fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, so knowing the apocalyptic prophecies of John may not convince some people today of God’s hand in history. What is difficult for you in understanding or believing these prophecies and what difference does your belief or lack of belief make in your life?
Now having said all that… although this movie is very good and any of my unsaved friends who have seen it have also enjoyed it—it is true that it does not compare production-wise with a mega-million dollar Hollywood production. Ask yourself why that is! How much money have we Christians dumped into Hollywood crap that we should be offended by? Put your money where your heart is!
If we all make an effort to make God honoring movie production more profitable, the industry will continue to grow and we will all reap the benefits!! See the movies, buy the movies, have your church buy the movies… Enough said.
My Ratings: [Excellent! / 4½]