Turns out the appropriately named Mr. Carpathia is behind a plot to rule the world and control its food supply, and intrepid reporter Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron, better than you'd expect) is onto him--with a little help from some biblical prophecies. Suffering the problem that befalls most first installments in a series of books and movies, Left Behind busies itself with the task of introducing characters and setting up expository plot lines, and audiences may be frustrated by the lack of action--Rayford's somewhat labored crisis of faith takes up a good chunk of the film. Still, it's an intriguing premise that should satisfy fans of the novel and possibly pick up a few more converts along the way (be warned, though, this is a modestly budgeted film that looks more like a cable TV movie than the latest James Bond extravaganza). And, if like a fair number of the film's characters, you can't figure out that someone named "Nicolae Carpathia" is a bad guy, then, well, you need to bone up on your evil villains. --Mark Englehart