- Starring
- Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali
- Director
- Sam Esmail
- Rated
- R
- Genre
- Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Where to watch
- Netflix
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
In 2013, amid the Obama administration, Panama authorities uncovered “advanced missile equipment” in the cargo hold of a North Korean vessel. On July 6, 2021, Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, the Executive Director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, presented his findings regarding the potential for a North Korean EMP attack on the United States. Dr. Pry emphasizes a key point that the West, including the U.S., tends to underestimate the capabilities of the reclusive and secretive nation. There is a heightened need for concern, especially in light of North Korea’s successful 2017 test of their H-Bomb, recognized as a “Super-EMP weapon.”
In a 2017 session, Congress concluded that a successful EMP attack by North Korea could result in the loss of up to 90% of the American population.
Leave The World Behind
When the Sanford family booked a weekend getaway at a luxurious Airbnb in the New York countryside, they had no idea that the country would soon find itself amid an unprecedented attack that would shut down… everything.
Executive produced by Barrack and Michelle Obama, Leave The World Behind is a post-apocalyptic thriller that nearly succeeds. The premise is terrifying, especially for those who are up on its real-world plausibility and how quickly the world would likely spiral out of control. Clearly taking notes from the former president’s first-hand knowledge, the filmmakers thoughtfully craft several chilling moments that should have you seriously reconsidering your Tesla while you stock up on heirloom seeds and survival books.
Thanks largely to some excellent cinematography that exquisitely captures and enhances the film’s sense of disorientation and general wrongness, Leave The World Behind is a slow-burning film that manages to build tension throughout, even though very little happens. It’s a testament to the filmmakers that with such a thin script and peopled with thoroughly unlikable characters, the film only really collapses upon its conclusion.
Easily the film’s biggest star, Julia Roberts gives a mostly flat performance that is seriously hindered by some horrifically amateur and clunky dialogue, not to mention a cartoonish character arc that feels like an elitist who has only ever heard of racism from Al Sharpton.
While the marketing makes it look as though Kevin Bacon plays a large role in the film, he only gets about five minutes of screentime, which is a real shame because, not only does he nail the role, but it’s a far more interesting character than anyone else in the film.
The rest of the main cast is rounded out by Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke, both of whom give fairly strong performances compared to the material they have with which to work. Ali plays the wealthy owner of the Airbnb with his usual smooth jazz delivery, and Hawke absolutely embodies the modern useless man who is incapable of doing much more than ordering DoorDash and waiting for his perpetually unhappy wife to bark orders at him.
In what seems to be modern Hollywood’s modus operandi, Leave The World Behind suffers from character behavior as inconsistent as the screenwriters need it to be to help them out of the corners they painted themselves into. A paranoid and racist Julia Roberts, who was in a panic at inviting (black) strangers into their rented house in one scene, demands just a few hours later that her husband leave both her children and her alone with those same strangers so that he can go to town for information.
The film is further hampered by poor character development that is mainly limited by a lack of opportunity given to otherwise experienced and talented performers and its childish and discordant portrayal of racism.
Ultimately, the film never decides if it’s a disaster film or one about personal growth and, therefore, comes up short on both. It’s a movie that shows many signs of being good, maybe even excellent, but its deux machina conclusion floats a turd in the cinematic soup that cannot be ignored. After all, what good is a thriller with a mundane ending?
Leave The World Behind Is Worth it
“James,” you ask. “How can it be that a movie you’ve rated so lowly can also be Worth it? The answer is that, if you ignore the finale, Leave The World Behind is an excellent cautionary tale about not being a useless man. Its premise is not only imminently viable, giving excellent real-world scenarios to be studied, but has also been thoroughly and regularly war-gamed in the Pentagon. Obama executive-produced the film and consulted based on his significant first-hand experience on the topic.
WOKE ELEMENTS
This will likely be another one of those films with which some disagree with me about the percentage of wokeness that we gave it. However, the individual instances only constitute a handful of eye-rolling moments. It isn’t the thrust of the film, and while it does take away from the specific scenes in which it happens, it doesn’t diminish the entire film.
Rrrrrrrrrrasicm
- One of the film’s most significant weaknesses is its unrealistic portrayal of racism as well as its actual racism.
- Julia Roberts, an advertising executive who lives and works in New York City, acts as though she’s never considered the possibility of a wealthy black person.
- What’s worse is that this trait quickly becomes her character’s primary arc.
- She apologizes to Ali’s character for her racism, and then, a few scenes later, he’s shown to be even more racist – but it’s treated as wisdom.
- When Roberts apologizes for being “the way that she is” to the even more racist-but-it’s-ok-because-she’s-black daughter, the film treats the moment as though she’s reached the 3rd level of the Buddha.
- The story didn’t need this unbelievable subplot. Without it, there was more than enough and far more believable cause for character conflict.
- What’s worse is that this trait quickly becomes her character’s primary arc.
- The black daughter is an actual racist, but the film treats her bigotry as wisdom.
- She says, “I’m asking you to remember that if the world falls apart, trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people.”
- I dinged the movie super hard for this BS actual racism. Without it, I would have marked it closer to 75%-80% Based.
- She says, “I’m asking you to remember that if the world falls apart, trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people.”
- Julia Roberts, an advertising executive who lives and works in New York City, acts as though she’s never considered the possibility of a wealthy black person.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
37 comments
Derek
December 18, 2023 at 11:35 pm
Movie was absolute trash. Felt like I lost brain cells wasting any moment of my life watching it. I felt actual shame for even finishing this God awful movie.
Please save yourselves. Just thumbs down this trash so it leaves your recommended queue.
Sweet Deals
December 19, 2023 at 11:07 am
I have to say, you’re certainly very magnanimous to be generous in your reviews. Even though you say the movie isn’t very good, you still try to praise it on whatever positive aspects it might have. You remind me of some men I know. They don’t like wokeness very much, but they’ll watch pretty much anything as long as there’s dramatic tension and lots of action.
Me? I’m a grump and I tend to be a lot more picky about things. I never intended to watch the movie in the first place, but when woke elements are shoved in, it feels like I’ve just found a used condom in my sandwich. No matter how good or bad the sandwich might have been, or if I’ve managed to find it before biting into it, I don’t want to eat around it or toss it and then eat the sandwich. Just knowing that someone intentionally put it there to contaminate my meal makes me feel ill and resentful. I could probably stomach a mediocre meal once in a while, but I prefer to avoid getting poisoned.
James Carrick
December 19, 2023 at 11:19 am
lol. Um… gross.
Believe me, before I started this site, I was far more selective with what I watched and watched very little new stuff for exactly the reasons that you articulated.
But I take what I do seriously and want to provide our readers with the best most objective content that I can so that they can choose for themselves.
Thanks for the comment.
shane brummer
December 19, 2023 at 3:37 pm
When you focus solely on tangible, explicit scenes or examples of wokeness, you are overlooking the broader, more nuanced messages and themes that are inherent in such discussions.
When you concentrate on a particular scene in a movie – you miss the underlying principles and values that drive these expressions. In this context, the tangible examples are just manifestations of a much deeper and broader ideology that is greatly problematic.
Moreover, by focusing on isolated instances, there’s a risk of oversimplifying or misrepresenting the concepts of wokeness. It’s not just about individual scenes but about a collective misrepresentation and ongoing process of indoctrination.
In summary, while tangible examples of wokeness are important and can illustrate broader issues, they should not be viewed in isolation. It’s crucial to engage with the overarching messages and erosion of foundational systems that these examples represent, understanding that wokeness is a dynamic and multifaceted concept deeply rooted in the pursuit of eradicating our way of life to enhance institutional power and demolish structures of competency.
Once again, your woke-ish approach to a deeply woke movie is very troubling. You are highlighting individual scenes, instead of articulating the broader narratives. You should perhaps consider giving broader explanations as to why certain scenes might be included.
James Carrick
December 19, 2023 at 4:06 pm
Thank you for your input.
Sweet Deals
December 20, 2023 at 9:34 pm
The short version:
Wokeness isn’t merely about displaying a bad thing. Vulgarity wouldn’t be shocking or funny if it wasn’t considered offensive or silly, and it’s possible to illustrate the existence of racism without endorsing it. Wokeness is about persuasive deceit; it’s trying to use emotional manipulation to trick you into thinking that casual racism (and other “woke” ideas) is normal and you’re not only supposed to accept it, but conform to it. Even if you’re immune to the idea and shrug it off, the more times the lies are repeated and supported, the more likely the audience will start thinking that casual racism is something they can ignore or will unconsciously start believing and emulating the thoughts and behaviors shown.
Being an objectively terrible movie is a separate issue, but the presence of wokeness can spoil a well-made one because audiences don’t like to be tricked or forcibly blackmailed, especially when they’re smart enough to know better and when they’re afraid those that don’t know better might pick up a bad influence. In fact, sneaking wokeness into a well-made movie or tacking it onto something people are emotionally attached to is a very strong persuasive tactic because it makes the harmful ideas appear more legitimate and virtuous than they are. However, since modern wokeness tends to prioritize ideology over narrative, they tend to believe adding wokeness will increase their social score and is a quick and easy way to make an objectively bad film better. This, ironically, makes it easier to avoid.
Dave
December 28, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Or you can trust people to find the examples and construct the pattern. I’m going to try to say this as minimally judgmental as possible but your comment comes out as though you are the only intellect capable of following breadcrumbs. Have more faith in your fellow man…half of them anyway.
Random
January 24, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Can you please make this crowd sourced? I’m not interested in one guy’s opinion. I’d rather see what the hive-mind has to think.
Scott
December 19, 2023 at 12:01 pm
I think it should get a 0% non woke just for being produced by the obamas. I wouldn’t watch for that reason alone. And when you have something that th former president in involved in saying white people shouldn’t be trusted it should go into negatives. That tells you everything you need to know about him and why a lot of things are the way they are.
The Original John Doe
December 19, 2023 at 9:26 pm
Only films that are rated “non-woke” should ever be considered for the “worth-it” list. There is no point in having this website if that standard is not upheld. People come here to find “non-woke” films so the “worth-it” list should only contain the very best of the strictly “non-woke” films.
The radical left knows that even sneaking in a few seconds of wokeness into a film does lots of damage over time. So please keep the “worth-it” list devoid of any film that contains any shred of wokeness. Thank you.
James Carrick
December 19, 2023 at 9:59 pm
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
The Worth it section of our site is the most subjective and will remain a place in which our reviewers can make recommendations.
It is our goal to provide tools, not marching orders, to our readers, and we have complete faith in their ability to decide for themselves how many rat turds is too many in their cornmeal.
To enhance your experience with our site, I’d like to encourage you to explore our sorting feature. It’s a powerful tool that allows you to tailor your movie searches based on specific criteria such as genre, themes, and whether a movie is both Worth it and Non-Woke.
For the last week, we have been working on further expanding this tool to allow our readers the ability to sort by the percentage of Non-Wokeness (you’d think it would be easy – I know I did). We’re getting close, so stay tuned.
The Original John Doe
December 20, 2023 at 8:55 pm
First off, I have yet to see anyone but yourself post any content to this website so I am just curious who is the “we” and “our” that you keep referring to. It looks like a one-man show – a good show at that but still a one-man show. Not a “we” or an “our”
Second, I am aware of the sorting feature. It has its uses. However, I am going to double down and say when you (not the “we” or “our”) create a website titled “Worth it OR woke” for basically saying is it worth ii OR is it woke, you can not then go ahead and say it is worth it AND woke It underminds your entire website.
It would be if you opened up a Texas BBQ restaurant and then recommended vegan options to your customers. People going to a Texas BBQ restaurant are not looking for vegan and if they are then they are lost. Same thing here. If someone comes to this website looking for a woke film recommendation then they are lost or you are attracting the wrong crowd.
James Carrick
December 20, 2023 at 9:46 pm
We (as in you and I) are going to have to agree to disagree.
As far as my use of the pronouns “we” and “our.” We have a contributor who writes our video game reviews. Furthermore, were this not the case, using the Royal We would still be grammatically correct when referencing a business, even a sole proprietorship (which this is not), because the business is considered to be its own entity.
The Original John Doe
December 22, 2023 at 7:28 pm
So you admit that from the time this website was created until Halloween 2023 when the first video game review appeared on this site, that basically the “we” is really just “YOU”.
Also, a website, run by a single individual (you before the video game reviews appear) that does not sell anything and is free to everyone, is not a business under any definition, and thus your reasoning for hiding behind the “we” pronoun is not correct.
Furthermore, even if you consider the fact you currently have another individual who writes video game reviews currently, unless you both contribute to the same review then it is never appropriate to use the pronoun “we” and pretend like your individual effort is multiple people. When an author writes an article for a news site, they take sole ownership of their own words and do not hide being the “we”
Lastly, I guess we can agree to disagree, on listing woke-ish films, but it is unfortunate that you are set in your ways as now I will just use the website “https://www.notwokeshows.com/” which is also run by a single individual and never recommend non-woke films. In fact that website lets people send in examples of wokeness that the author might have missed (because he is not as self-righteous as yourself) and then the TV show, film or game is classified as WOKE once the reference is confirmed. That site does not allow for even a shred of wokeness in its listings.
James Carrick
December 22, 2023 at 7:42 pm
I’m not sure of your need to belabor this point, nor is it any of your business but we are a registered LLC with multiple revenue streams including but not limited to our online store, ad revenue, and our membership fees.
I have politely explained my point of view and gone above and beyond to provide you with quality responses.
However, you clearly wish to argue via ad hoc rescue ad infinitum. Which I will no longer entertain.
Furthermore, your ad hominem attacks on my character are baseless, poorly conceived, and will no longer be responded to.
I wish you well.
Dave
December 28, 2023 at 6:57 pm
There’s no way this is a person arguing in good faith. What a pathetic attempt by a regressive internet troll at a lame gotcha.
The site being run on a skeleton crew is MORE impressive, not less. Some bored limo liberal’s 14 yo gen z daughter probably wouldn’t be able to see that, though.
LA
December 24, 2023 at 2:17 am
This was all about wokness. In your review you failed to state all the slavery references. The 1619 radio channel, the White Lion tanker, point comfort, name of the beach and farm. etc etc. troupes like white woman liking black me and visa versa, dad and son lusting after the black girl. So pathetic . The dialog sucked and they must have thought they were being clever. I thought the film showed like a first year film student made it for a project. Too many drone shots and stupid (scary) music. Bad plot and acting. I feel like the obamas made it very clear about how they feel about whites.
RL
December 26, 2023 at 12:22 pm
The daughter was waaaaaay out of place, I have a hard time believing a man like Ali would raise a daughter like that much less let her get tattoos at that age and why is it the younger generation of black actresses need to grow a forest out of their armpits?…….yuck!
James Carrick
December 26, 2023 at 12:47 pm
lol. Gross. I missed the pit forest. Yeah, her character was obnoxious.
Trevor
December 26, 2023 at 8:50 pm
I watched it because I like Ethan Hawke a lot.
The characters were unlikable and weird. And I couldn’t help but think, after finding out Obama produced it, that this was some World Economic Forum predictive programming about Schwab’s much talked about cyber polygon take down of the US and maybe the West. Beware when the WEF talks about things like pandemics and cyber attacks. They have a habit of becoming reality. Kevin Bacon’s weirdo prepper character was obnoxious and behaved the exact opposite of how you should if you want to survive a collapse. Lone wolves get killed. People who cooperate survive. And then there was the black female character who says, “especially don’t trust white people.” I’m cancelling my Netflix because of that line. I have just had it with Netflix always pushing anti white garbage. If you swapped black for white in some of these shows, inner cities would burn. I remember getting 10 minutes into the Resident Evil series and the black female character saying “there were too many white people in our neighbourhood.” The divisive trash being pushed by entertainment makes me sick. I’ll go back to reading and just download older shows and watch on my Kodi.
Serge V
January 9, 2024 at 12:32 am
Pardon me, but you misspelled Leftflix
Prince Myshkin
December 29, 2023 at 10:49 am
The overall purpose and definition of this site should be clarified. This movie is woke. It’s conceived by proponents of woke, contains woke themes and approaches everything from a woke worldview. To highlight only a few scenes where it’s overt doesn’t do your viewers justice. It’s the overall themes that stay with you and provide a sick feeling as you watch the thin story. This movies tells us white people can’t be trusted (why? because we’re inherently racist is the answer), white men are either ineffectual or Maga doomsday prepper types, minority children are encouraged to be racist against the white “oppressors”, black men are wise and controlled, white men, young and old are lust-crazed, especially for black women, white women lust for black men, and soulless white children seek transcendence in old sitcoms. There’s nihilism here. And everyone says “f–ck” a lot, even the teenagers, the sign of a liberal mindset. To call the film “wokeish” misses the large picture. This film is woke period. By any metric. You can feel the ick of that as you watch no matter how “tense” or effective a few scenes are. The acting, the direction, the writing all work toward promoting this propaganda. Your review should’ve focused on the woke themes and then talked about the few scenes that were effective instead of vice versa. I thought this site told us which woke movies to avoid. Label this woke in capital letters. This one was definitely not worth it by any definition.
James Carrick
December 29, 2023 at 11:02 am
We leave the comments open for dissenting views.
Prince Myshkin
December 29, 2023 at 11:23 am
Did I ask if you leave comments open for dissenting views lol? Weak response! I’m removing this book mark. You’ve failed in your mission.
James Carrick
December 29, 2023 at 11:35 am
NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOooooo
OOOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
ooooooooooooo!
To future narcissists who feel they are owed a litigation of our philosophy and purpose when our reviews don’t perfectly parrot their worldview, we/I have done so a sufficient number of times already. I invite you to peruse the site and comments section (literally this particular comment section).
Prince Myshkin
December 29, 2023 at 12:50 pm
It’s not narcissistic to say your site doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do and I’ll stop checking it out. You are the one making yourself the arbiter of what’s woke or not. The narcissism all lands on you. I watched this movie based on your recommendation that it’s “worth it.” By any objective measure, it’s clearly not. I’ve read all the other comments. Most agree. This is one of the most woke movies I’ve seen in a while and you failed at doing what your site claims to do. Warn us if the entertainment is woke. And I’d suggest you learn the meaning of the word, “literally.” You show your lack of credibility with such a response.
Tinker
December 30, 2023 at 5:59 am
Relax girl relax. This site is sweeeeeeet!
Scott
December 30, 2023 at 12:49 pm
From what ive heard this is much woker than the rating James gives it, but theirs way too much bashing him for his opinion on it. Go ahead and disagree but thats his judgment and he gives it as a guide for you to judge from there. He never claims to be the sole arbiter of woke or not.
I think he probably gives the movie way to much credit for the probably unintended message of dont be a p*$$y beta male that cant take care of his family and should have focused on the obamas intended message that white people cant be trusted because they are all racist idiots.
Disagree respectfully he’s not an undercover woke agent just because you think he should grade it more woke than he did.
James Carrick
December 30, 2023 at 1:03 pm
I appreciate it, Scott. One of the reasons that I chose to both rate the wokeness and delineate it on the site is for this precise reason.
I happen to think that the movie being almost half woke is a lot of wokeness, and under most circumstances I would never recommend it. However, the fact that Obama war gamed many of these scenarios while in office means that they are incredibly plausible. I happen to think that makes the movie worth pinching your nose to watch.
However, this guy is a West Coast lib posing as an unreasonable conservative to stir up crap. He’s posted under more than one name in this comments section alone.
Shabz
December 30, 2023 at 5:57 am
There was that clever intrigue this film brought about but i think wasnt executed all that well. Im not a prepper in the slightest but i loved that end scene finding that underground bunker!
The film could of been a heck of alot better. I also think it would of been better with unknown actors.
Overall i think this film was a classic netflix film, just big stars with very little substance to the actual story/film itself. Has Kevin Bacon really fallen that low down in his career?
Inspector Clouseau
December 30, 2023 at 10:21 am
Is this site run by an undercover wokester? Judging by the rating and the comments by this young dude, it sure seems like it.
James Carrick
December 30, 2023 at 10:45 am
And you are the same troll under yet another name from some other BS comments in this review.
Benjamin Dover
January 13, 2024 at 9:57 am
James,
You’re doing a great service for people with this website, and personally, I appreciate it. Whether I fully agree with everything you write is not the point. You’re giving folks a way to sort through all the BS that permeates every facet of the media these days, and for that, people should be appreciative. Keep up the good work and don’t let the trolls get to you!
Tess
January 18, 2024 at 2:35 am
Anyone associated w the Obama’s, for the little it’s worth, has lost my support.
James Carrick
January 18, 2024 at 7:28 am
I can’t blame you.
Martin
March 6, 2024 at 4:36 pm
You should perhaps consider giving broader explanations as to why certain scenes might be included.
Hannes
March 30, 2024 at 8:08 pm
Feels to me like they didn’t intend to make it woke. It’s just this virus that’s dig it’s way into these teenage-minded writers’ brains. Or I guess it it could be that it’s designed like that to bait non woke ppl into watching their propaganda….
Whatever the case it just fell on ###### boring characters acting out stupid woke stereotypes. I liked the weird vibe. It built up some tangible tension with the real world risks at stake. But too many questions went unanswered. Wtf was up with the panicked woman for example… The neighbour’s trashed house?
Also, thanks for this site mate! I’ll def look here before I watch a movie next time