If HBO’s The Leftovers is too grim and depressing for you, but you still need to get your apocalyptic fix, look no further than Left Behind, which essentially utilizes that show’s same premise but adds in one key ingredient: Nicolas Cage. I know what they say – fool me once, shame on you, and all that – but the dramatic first trailer for this flick, which appears already destined for the bargain bin, is surprisingly solid.
A remake of the Kirk Cameron-led film of the same name, Left Behind centers on a small group of individuals who deal with an inexplicable cataclysm in which millions of people around the world suddenly vanish. Though Cage is billed as the star, and his character is front and center for much of the trailer, also highlighted is Switched at Birth actress Cassi Thomson, playing the daughter of Cage’s protagonist. A lot of her acting appears to be done through a veil of tears, but Thomson does seem somewhat more emotive than most of the female leads in these types of low-profile disaster pics.
Unlike The Leftovers, this movie looks like it’s just going to focus on the immediate aftermath of the Rapture, with airplanes suddenly left without pilots, cars careening out of control, hospital beds vacated, explosions lighting up the night sky and general chaos sweeping across the country.
Whether Left Behind is going to be worth the celluloid it’s filmed on remains to be seen, but after Cage surprised us all with his amazing work in Joe, I’m not counting the film out just yet. If anything, at least it will probably treat the Rapture with more excitement and less abject misery than The Leftovers.
Chad Michael Murray, Lea Thompson, Nicki Whelan, Jordin Sparks and Martin Klebba all co-star. Left Behind opens October 3rd.
Published: Aug 5, 2014 01:23 pm