Let's be realistic.

Good concept, poorly executed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

First of all, I want to say that I did not watch the first one, and after seeing the movie, I couldn't understand how something like this was ever sold to the public in the first place. My first impression was that this had to be a cheap commercial for a Christian community or something.The acting was awful, the script was really bad and the dialogue full of things only priests would try to say in public. This could've been a great film, because the story is there, but the film makers destroyed it.I would only recommend this movie to religious people who love really bad commercials.

Aside from movies based upon the life of Jesus Christ, there hasn't been one good Christian film. Until now.Left Behind II is based on the events right after Left Behind, throwing us deeper into the slowly changing ruled by mastermind Nicolae Carpathia, who is quick to gain power.The performances are better in the film; its nothing special, sadly, but is not so cheesy. It has its clichés, but in the end, you've forgotten them. My favorite was Gordon Currie, who has so perfectly become the Antichrist in the book series that it'd be difficult to see another in the role (aside from maybe Cillian Murphy).But when it comes to sticking to the book, the movie does sidetrack a bit. The love story is shortened significantly and the entire ending of the book is left out, but it sticks much closer to the book than the first.Some of the newer scenes were awesome, my personal favorite being Carpathia shaking the hand of Rayford Steele. The scene is so creepy and thrilling, I'm glad they decided to add it in. The showdown is also nice, although I didn't like the whole angel subplot during it.Overall, I am glad to say the movie is good. Certainly not great but it so much better than its predecessor or successor, and should've been released on the silver screen. 6.9/10.

If you are fascinated by the end times I recommend this movie series. In the Tribulation force one week has passed and the world is in chaos until Nicolae is declared, in Buck's words 'president of the entire planet'. That means the Antichrist will rule ten kingdoms, which in turn will rule the world. Bruce stated that in the first movie. Then the religious scholar, Ben Judah is supposed to make the biggest speech in history. Of course Buck is assigned to it with almost full U.N. clearance, and Ray flies the plane. Buck plans to get footage of the witnesses at the Wailing Wall. He convinces Ben Judah to go and the get some footage. Unfortunately Nicholae stops the broadcast from reaching the world. Ben Judah hears the truth though. After that the all gather in Jerusalem to hear Ben Judah's speech. The one Nicolae had was a 'fixed' version. Ben Judah goes thorough the prophecies and announces Jesus as the Messiah and Nicolae lashes out at God. I encourage anyone to watch this movie and the others to come.

I'm amazed that someone would be so naive as to think that a movie trying to present the good news of the gospel to a world that is already saturated with the polluted wells of mass profanity, immorality and violence for violence's sake would criticize a film for NOT having these features in it.In case the reviewer is interested, the Bible presents many accounts of people who sinned for our learning and instruction so that we wouldn't repeat the same errors without giving pornographic or explicit depictions that do more to encourage people to seek drinks from polluted wells of ignorance than direct them to the water of life, found only in Jesus Christ, who stated that once a person truly drank of the water of eternal life He gives will never thirst again.I agree that not all the acting in these films is "A list Hollywood acting". Much of what is in Oscar winning movies these days is not "A list Hollywood acting" either.People are entitled to their opinion that perhaps these filmmakers are relying too much on the message and not on the acting. I think many films rely too much on filthy language, big effects, and sensuality with much less plot and storyline than is shown in the "Left Behind" movies.So if you want more raunchy supposedly 'realistic' language and sin depicted, there are plenty of other movies out there to choose from. There is less and less originality in film today and more and more depending on moving the emotions or visceral than on reaching the mind of someone.I also wish the movies had stuck more to the original story. The same as I wished that the Lord of the Rings stuck more to the story and Oscar winners such as Chariots of Fire and Ghandi which also deviated from the stories. None of John Gresham's novels transferred to film stick to the story either. (Runaway Jury changed cigarette industry into the gun industry for example).Show me a film that is entirely sticking to the story and I'll show you an author that wrote a screenplay and not a book. :-) They are two different mediums and very rarely is the screenplay also written by the book's author.I rated this highly for what it attempted to do. I think the first part did not do very well in the first half and improved in the second half. This movie wasn't perfectly even either, but it did attempt to get a message that was in the book out in a way that was entertaining. Apparently even to those who thought it was funny.For the one that found it funny: did you equally laugh and find funny Tom Hanks in "Castaway" for performing the longest known commercial for FedEx in it's history? How about "Million Dollar Baby" for it's showing a 32 year old woman who can't box a lick and then supposedly becomes a one round wonder only to be taken out by a dirty boxer and left as a vegetable who no longer has an ounce of fight in her? She has the guts to tell her no good family to take a flying leap and then has no guts to live? These were hit movies, perhaps with better acting, but equally funny because the message outshone any script or plot and many people came away with the impression of "That Fed Ex movie" or "that Right to Die" flick. I guess these "Left Behind" films aren't alone in being funny or having script and other errors that for some can overwhelm the message, eh?