The formula for making a bad Christian movie is simple: Prioritize the message over the movie, the moral of the story over the story itself, and then shoot with a low budget and amateurish artists to make sure it never nears its potential.
Consider it the Romans 3:23 of the theater, the definition of Christian moviemaking sin: to fall far, far short of the glory of God.
Instead, “Left Behind” offers audiences just a series of sub-par characters each portraying a brief little morality play: a pastor who didn’t believe what he preached, a wealthy tycoon who regrets neglecting his family, a drug addict who only heard of Christianity at a summer camp as a child and a Muslim character playing the stereotypical “we’re not all terrorists on a plane” role, to name a few.
It ends up feeling more like a string of sermon illustrations than a compelling, cohesive story....