Left Behind [The Trilogy] : Any Good?

[Angel Tarragon]

I really like watching movies that focus on post-apocalype. I know that Left Bind deals with the aftermath of Rapture, but I don't know anything else about it. Is it a good series, is it worth buying? It's currently available @ Amazon for $17.

 

[Mark Chance]

I really like watching movies that focus on post-apocalype. I know that Left Bind deals with the aftermath of Rapture, but I don't know anything else about it. Is it a good series, is it worth buying? It's currently available @ Amazon for $17.

IMO, no. Derivate stories all but plagiarized from earlier works. Lousy prose. Even worse theology. They're the religious fiction equivalent of those romance novels that have Fabio on their covers.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[Orius]

I'd probably say no. I personally wouldn't watch them myself.

This is going to be a bit difficult to talk about with the whole "no religion" rule, given the very strongly religious themes in "Left Behind". But in any case, from what I know of the books, and probably any movies based on them, is that the basic plot is that God has taken all the true belivers up to heaven, and those left behind are suffering in the final days before the Last Judgement. There's supposed to be a sort of message about the whole thing, that the people left on Earth are getting what they deserve for being sinners or something. Like I said, forum rules dictate that I pretty much have to step around this carefully.

 

[Steve Jung]

I haven't read good things about it. Telephones are almost a fetish with the characters, the after-effects of the Rapture are glossed over, the characters don't act like real human beings. Here's one man's opinion of it. Every Friday he posts his thoughts on a chapter or two of the book. He's been doing it for years and he's almost done the first book.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Ah! Steve beat me to the Slacktivist link. That's really, is one of the best literary analyses I've ever read. He's spent the last 5 years just reviewing THE FIRST BOOK (which several forays into criticizing the movies, which he likes marginally better).

Steve is right. The authors can't seem to move the plot forward without it involving phone calls. Characters act incoherently, the plot is a total railroad, and people seem to have forgotten about the rapture 15 minutes after it takes place! And, let us please not forget that the authors' Mary Sue protagonists are given the obvious porn star names of "Rayford Steele" and "Buck Williams."

 

[BlueBlackRed]

I was dragged to watch the first Left Behind movie back when it was in theaters.

I now know why wolves chew off their paws to get out of traps.

Worst movie ever.

 

[Fast Learner]

Glad to see other Slacktivist fans here!

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

I've heard the same things about the series, but the sad thing is that doesn't matter. Owing to good marketing, they sold like hotcakes on a wet day at the end of November. Pish posh bad to writing, plotting, characterization, etc...

In terms of good post-apoco books with the religious vibe, have you read The Stand?

 

[Remus Lupin]

In terms of good post-apoco books with the religious vibe, have you read The Stand?

There was a lot to like about "The Stand," but I found the last third of the book to be very disappointing. The pointless killing off of major characters, the pointless trip to Las Vegas for no plot related pay off, and then, finally, a literal DEUS EX MACHINA at the end!

 

[Rackhir]

I do blood donations at the Red Cross regularly and they have a set up where you watch movies while you're doing it. One time having exhausted the good films and being mildly curious I watched "Left Behind : The Movie". Oh the horrible things it did to logic and common sense.

That slacktivist blog's disection of the first book is terrific. My favorite bit and one that the blogger keeps coming back to is that all of the children have disappeared in the Rapture. Since they are considered innocents and this includes for example babies in the womb. So roughly a quarter of the population of the world has disappeared, all of the children, all of the babies.

Yet nobody is bothered by this. There are no traumatized parents, horrified and haunted by the sudden and mysterious ripping of children from their arms in an instant, disappeared, never to be seen again. There are no effects on the economy, despite the fact that all products and services that are child related are now as useful and meaningful as flint knives.

The Slacktivist is almost to the end of the first book and he's indicated that he will probably do the first movie once he's done with it. It's quite a long read, but it is worth spending the time to go back and read his analysis from the beginning BTW.