...but failed miserably. My family just grabbed this film off the shelf at the rental place - we had no idea it was a Christian film. About halfway through, they really start hitting the viewers with the "jesus stick" which really doesn't appeal to non-Christians and takes away from any dignity the plot may of had (barring all the other horrible elements of the film).



As others have pointed out, this film is an awkward blending of Christianity and Mayan predictions of the end of the world. Could of been an interesting idea but it was presented very badly, just thrown together with little explanation, making it difficult to suspend disbelief. The way the Christian element was presented was rather sudden, with characters going from a secular existence at the start to suddenly speaking as if to a congregation. It felt forced and heavy-handed and unlike any Christians I know in real life.



The digital effects were horrible, the weather effects looking "painted-on". The hail scene was downright laughable, defying reality, and the earthquake scenes were obviously done by a crew who have not experienced or researched earthquakes (I come from an earthquakey place myself). Other elements were very distracting in their lack of forethought. Like the two men in a two-seater plane flying from California to the Yucatan without refueling and retaining the ability to speak to one another without headsets (a personal pet peeve). Just two examples, but the film is plagued by these sorts of holes. The science-speak is like this as well - at least most films TRY to make the lingo believeable but anyone off the street could pick apart everything these people say.



The acting wasn't the worst I have seen; I think the actors simply had horrible dialogue, trite and over-the-top, with bad directing. The movie tries hard but because the plot is so thin, everything comes off as laughably over-dramatic. I don't know if it was my audio set up but it also seemed like they used a lot of voice-overs. In a few spots you can see actors speaking but no words are heard or you can hear dialogue but no one is moving their mouths.



The cinematography itself isn't too shabby with some lovely scenic shots and a few interesting compositions here and there. The lighting is done well, although in many places (like in the temple, for instance) it is painfully fake. Some artistic camera movements are over-used to the point of distraction, seemingly incorporated "because they could", not because they should. The editing between scenes in the first half is particularly dis-jointed and abrupt, making it hard for the viewer to immerse themselves in what little story there is.



Overall, I could see what the creators of this film were going for, and I could see how it could of been done well; it could have done justice to Christian viewers without alienating outsiders but in the end it had so little cohesion between elements that the film fails to be anything other than dull and even laughable in every department.