The biggest complaint about movies adapted from books is that the films do not do the books justice.

“Left Behind” (Rated PG-13; 110 min) is a reminder that it is OK to deviate away from source material.

“Left Behind” is a disaster movie adaptation directed by Vic Armstrong and stars Nicolas Cage, Lea Thompson and Chad Michael Murray.

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Rayford Steele (Cage), Buck Williams (Murray), and Chloe Steele (Cassi Thompson) are having what seems like a normal afternoon. Both Rayford and Williams are on a flight to London and Chloe is on her way home from college. The biblical rapture hits, and the three find themselves among those left on earth. Now they must fight to survive in a world that has turned to hell.

There is nothing wrong with movies that have a religious or spiritual theme; the problem comes when a film says nothing new.

Why would anyone reboot and create the same movie, but with bigger named actors?

This is not the first attempt at adapting the “Left Behind” book series. There was a series of movies made in the early 2000s that served as the beginning of Kirk Cameron’s transition into mainstream Christian films.

While there are a few differences between the two adaptions, they are essentially the same and both suffer from similar problems.They seem to follow too close to the book.

The film is too focused on getting its message out and making sure every viewer of the movie is prepared. The movie even ends with a bible quote, which refers to the idea that no one knows when the rapture will come, so always be ready.

This story is an uninteresting way to use the rapture. Both the movie “This is the End” and the TV show “The Leftovers” have proven the rapture can be a compelling starting point. It can have hints of post-apocalyptic nature to it and prove to be complex character drama.

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The movies’ characters are some of the blandest featured on the big screen. This seems to be a contradiction to the point of the film, being that all of the main characters are supposed to be those left behind.

It is unclear what the characters have done to be stuck on earth. Even when it is talked about, the crimes seem to be misdemeanor in comparison to what could have been shown. Buck Williams seems to be stuck on the earth only because he is a liberal journalist. No other reason is given.

The landscape in this film seems to be very uninteresting as well. While it is not at the war stage of the rapture, the world does not seem like it’s on the verge of ending. It barely seems like a small riot.

To say the acting in this film is abysmal would be to understate how bad it is. When Cage and Murray are the best actors in your film, something has gone wrong. It is hard to even be critical at times because of the acting. The actors in this movie seem to be below a high school level of acting.

Do you have access to paint drying or a brick wall? Go watch both of those things for almost two hours. It will be better than watching this movie. Sitting in the corner of a noiseless room with the lights off, is better than watching this film.

Jacob Pierce can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @JacobPierce1_DE or at 536-3311 ext. 273