Victims of the Pestilence
Having risen to power, Nicolae Carpathia (Gordon Currie) has almost the entire world fooled when it comes to his propaganda including President Fitzhugh (Louis Gossett Jr.). That is when there is an assassination attempt on the President's life and Fitzhugh's eyes are opened to the truth that Carpathia is the Antichrist as prophesied in the Bible. Worst of all is Fitzhugh's belief in Carpathia's vision has left the United States vulnerable to what ever Carpathia throws at it.
I've been around long enough to know when I see the words "Left Behind" in a title there is a good chance that the movie may be Christian based. Being Christian based does not bother me as I try to approach each movie I review with no preconceived ideas and judge them on how much they interested and entertained me. And as such "Left Behind: World at War" did both but at the same time having found out it was the third in a trilogy of "Left Behind" movies took some time to work out where things were in the bigger picture. And that maybe an issue for a casual audience who watch this and who have no background in the bible as they may struggle to understand what is going on.
But "Left Behind: World at War" is certainly interesting as well as entertaining with more of an action vibe than you might expect from a Christian movie. In fact this movie also features a lot more recognizable actors than you might expect from a Christian movie. This is certainly a far cry from some of the Christian movies I remember watching as a child back in the 80s and whilst it understandably has a Christian message which it is trying to get across whilst dramatizing the events in the book of Revelations it does it surprisingly well.
The big question for me is whether "Left Behind: World at War" works for its audience and that leads me to ask who the audience is? And the simple answer is that this is firstly a movie made for a Christian audience, maybe for Christian parents looking for something with a message for their children to watch and whilst some of it seems corny I am sure it works. Does it work for a more secular audience? I am not entirely convinced as whilst their will be those who cry foul of what they see as Christian propaganda there will be those who give it a go and maybe find themselves lost if they have no basic knowledge of the events prophesied in the book of Revelations.
What this all boils down to is that firstly "Left Behind: World at War" works even if you haven't watched the previous movies but I am sure it is better if you have. Secondly it works for its intended Christian audience as a movie with a message but for non Christian audiences who do not know what is prophesied in the book of Revelations it may lose them.
