Middle of the road SciFi take on Apocalypse-Rapture could stand some fleshing out.

Rating: 6/10 (16 March 2009)

Saw a special viewing tonight before the general release. My overall impression of the film was good, and I would recommend seeing it.
Let me start by saying Cage is far from my favorite actor, and his performance here is about what I expected. There are three scenes that qualify as special effects, a plane crash, a train crash, and the ending. I'm not sure if the effects are good enough to stand up to repeated viewing. They are good the first time because they catch you by surprise. An aluminum subway car cuts thru or destroys multiple reinforced concrete support columns and shreds another train headed in the opposite direction good action, but the physics aren't plausible. You have to "read a lot between the lines" in this movie to understand what drives the character personalities. We don't really know why Cage drinks and we are left to wonder why he goes into a blank stare at the end of his lecture. I would have liked to know more about the relationship between Cage and his father and "Lucinda" and her daughter. There is a fair amount of religious undertone in this movie including strange alien like figures that seem to turn into glowing angels complete with wings. There could have been a lot more Sci in this Sci-Fi flick especially considering Cage's character is an MIT professor. The drama felt hollow and emotionless. I wanted to feel for the crying mother and infant on the subway, but felt nothing. Same when Cage cries as he gives up his son  I didn't feel anything. Some movies make you feel angry or sad etc  really working your emotions. This movie left me numb, empty, nothing. Cage goes thru two major disasters in just a few days and after each we just get a blank stare from him and the line "don't let Caleb watch the news". I feel like the story could have been told in more detail. The Sci-Fi buff in me wanted a lot more science. The drama lover in me wanted some real heart rendering emo. Sadly, this movie does neither very well.