Left Behind - Alas poor Nicholas, I knew him well

Once upon a time there was a great actor who could set the silver screen alight with his presence.  Whether he was a burnt out alcoholic in Vegas, or a chemical weapons expert sent into a disused prison to take on terrorist ex soldiers, he was still great fun to watch and a guaranteed draw at the Box Office.

Where did it all go wrong for Nicholas Cage?

It seemed that, despite being popular with the fans, he seemed to give up on the cinema and be banished to straight-to-DVD releases.  I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve been browsing ‘New Release’ films online and come across one of Cage’s film that I’d never heard of.  Our of my love for his nineties work, I watch it faithfully.  Then I wish I hadn’t. ‘Left Behind’ is one such film.

Cage plays a pilot who’s flying his jumbo jet around the world when most of the world’s population disappears.  It’s a sort of supernatural event, but it could also be looked upon like most of the world’s population would rather inexplicably disappear than star in such a film.

Those ‘left behind’ are all pretty unlikeable sorts, none of which you’ll really care about.  Much of my viewing time was spent wondering which shade of ‘dark’ Cage has started dying his hair.

Without wishing to give away too much about the plot, I’ve looked at various internet message boards about this film and found that it has stirred up some online debate between those who believe in a –primarily Christian – God and those who generally don’t believe in anything.  Personally, I don’t find anything wrong with a film which is based on religious principals.  You don’t need to ‘believe’ to like the film, although I find it hard to believe that anyone – religious or otherwise – will find anything particularly entertaining about this film.

It’s just poor.  There’s little to say about this, other than to avoid it.  If you like Cage (and many of us still do), watch one of his old films.  If you like supernatural films then you probably own plenty which are a million times better than this.  It will only ever be remembered as – yet another – of Cage’s misfires.  But, just because I may not have faith in this film, I still have faith that he’ll one day star in a great film which will remind us of what he’s capable of.  I wonder if Stallone can get him on board for the Expendables 4?  It might be a stepping stone to re-launch his career.

3/10 Jabba the Hutt wipes himself down with this film