The Prophecy

Rating:
Summary: Strong Buy
Review: This movie can be watched over and over again. It is one of my favorites along with the sequel. Christopher Walken is exceptional and Viggo Mortensen is scary as Satan. Buy this and the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: good religious horror story
Review: there was some mention of this movie in the Constantine reviews so i gave it a shot. it was pretty good. Christopher Walken is one strange strange man which makes him an awesome pick for some of the roles he does including his portrayal of Gabriel. the story was kind of iffy in my opinion, but his acting made this movie that much better.

there were a few similarities to the Constantine story, but with much less special effects. there was a few interesting things going on, but the storyline isn't necessarily coherent. a priest turns into a cop after witnessing some type of disturbed vision when he was taking his vow into preisthood and now he is tracking down a soul of this supposedly most evil man on earth. ok. overall it is a good movie to rent if you really want something to not take seriously. if you are a fan of Walken's work, watch this.

Rating:
Summary: Sibling Rivalry on a Cosmic Scale
Review: This film is based on the biblical account concerning the fall of rebellious angels, led by Lucifer, who refused to bow, on God's command, to his new creation, the human being. Lucifer became tremendously jealous over God's love for these seemingly inferior beings. (Referred to humorously as monkeys by Gabriel in the film) After refusing to pay homage, Lucifer began to stir-up trouble in heaven, eventually leading to his banishment from the holy realm, enforced by non other than the Archangel Michael, taking thirteen legions of angels with him into exile. The Prophecy takes this biblical account further, referring to the last and alleged missing chapter of the Book of Revelations, by proposing that heaven was split between those angels loyal to God, and those intent on destroying creation all together. A terrible and bloody war was waged between the opposing angel forces in heaven, and the final battle, as the film speculates, will be waged, and finalized, on earth.

Christopher Walken plays the Archangel Gabriel. The character is hell-bent on decimating human kind completely, and his strategy is to capture the darkest soul on earth, who will then lead human kind to its ultimate destruction. Walken gives a compelling and charming performance as the disgruntled angel, only wanting "everything as it was before", that is, before human souls took up so much of God's attention and love in heaven. As Walken can do so well, he portrays a particularly nasty individual, yet at the same time, personifies the entire story's central theme, and that is, the results of "sibling rivalry" on a cosmic scale.

The story of the Fallen Angels, immortalized in Milton's classic epic poem, "Paradise Lost", is essentially a moral tale of sibling rivalry, children fighting over the attentions of a loving parent. "Father has always loved you more than I." And because of the child's behaviour and disobedience, refusing to get along with their siblings, are kicked out of the house, banished from the realm, and consequently make trouble for everybody else.

Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) puts in a convincing performance as the dark and brooding Lucifer; and Eric Stolze (Pulp Fiction) as the good angel, Simon, although a small appearance in the film, also gave a noteworthy performance.

The Prophecy is the first film of a trilogy - Prophecy II and III are also quite good, particularly II, as we gain greater insight into the reasons behind the warring angels.

For those interested in religious/occult thrillers, The Prophecy should not disappoint.



Rating:
Summary: Interesting Film
Review: I like this film alot. It does seem to have a bit of a low budget, but the effects are pretty good. The story is effective and interesting (it has many parallels to "Spawn," I doubt the similarities could be a coincidence.)

The acting isn't always good, especially by the guy who plays the police officer, but Christopher Walken is great, as always. Viggo Mortensen is very good as Satan.

On a sidenote, in the movie the "world's oldest Bible" is discovered in Latin. The book's of the Bible would have originally been in Hebrew and Greek, not Latin.

Rating:
Summary: Low budget misfire
Review: Christopher Walken plays himself once again. Viggo Mortensen has a powerful brief appearance. Virginia Madsen has nothing much to do. Elias Koteas proves he's a good actor. And that's all.

This 1995 movie is a low budget production with an ample premise, but this premise will dissapoint as soon as he movie begins to roll, so weak and full of holes it proves to be.

Rating:
Summary: A Christopher Walken classic ! ! !
Review: This movie had a very twisted plot however did fall on alot of correct Theological view points which gave it alot of credit!

Basically after the War in Heaven with lucifer, the angels rebeled and started a second war in Heaven because they were jelouse that God placed man/humans in His grace and not the angels, however this section was ommited in Revelations being Chapter 23.

A cop who had a vision while going into the priesthood years ago which scared him to leave to become a cop instead goes to investigate an unusual murder, which the victim has an old Bible with Him. However as no one else notices, This Bible has Rev Chapter 23 included.

Christopher Walken plays the part of Gabriel, leader of the angelic rebelion and fits the part so perfectly I doubt anyone could fill those shoes but Him 'Christopher Walken'...

Even just watching the movie for Christopher Walkens smart a** comments about people and how He places Himself above people is halarious but still goes along perfectly with the movie, plus I dont think anyone has a dark humor the way Walken can portray!

Excellent movie and although this review is for 'The Prophecy' I do also recommend 'The Prophecy 2' and especally 'The Prophecy 3' which all go hand in hand although you could skip part 2, jump to part 3 and not miss much. And yes, Christopher Walken plays Gabriel in part 2 and 3 as well!

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: I have the trilogy on VHS of this and just today decided to upgrade and bought the individual DVDs of this series.

The three movies are great entertainment (the first being my favorite - Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer is just totally creepy and to go from Lucifer to the King of Middle Earth is quite a feat). Christopher Walken is wonderful in his role as Garbiel. I personally was a fan of a book called "To Rein in Hell" a great Fantasy novel but is very similar to this movie in its content of how some angels are just unhappy with their situation in heaven. This movie and its sequels do capture the overall frustration of the angels and the helplessness of the humans in their wake. If you only see one of the three I do recommend at least seeing the first one to get the true flavor.

Rating:
Summary: Worth your while movie
Review: The Prophecy plays of the Catholic Church beliefs. Which is a good thing. You find Gaberial, one of the archangels of heaven, searching for a evil soul of a General in the military. Which ends up in a little girls' body. And there is where the plot takes place. Fighting for this soul and the saving of the human race.

Rating:
Summary: Winged Fury
Review: Gregory Widen, the writer/director of this film has presented us with the marrow of a quintessential apocalyptic horror film. Mostly he has been a writer [HIGHLANDER series, and BACKDRAFT].
There is a fair amount of humor in the movie, but it is masked in terrific action scenes. One of the strengths of the film is its perverse view of angels. They are certainly not the winged cherubs of Hallmark and children's storybooks. These angels are formidable, and they rush about wreaking havoc. They can roar like lions, and they can slay like beasts. Widen had the temerity to choose Gabriel to be his villian. It was audacious, like casting the Pope as a drug lord, and making the Vatican a crack palace. And he has angels losing their faith, falling prey to the pitiful emotions of jealousy and envy. As one character said," A whole existence spent praising God, but always with one wing dipped in blood."

The film was dominated by Christopher Walken as Gabriel. He wore a long black frock coat, ala Wim Wenders, and those coat tails flapped menacingly as the strutted amongst us. He seemed to accentuate mannerisms and gestures from his own persona, creating a character that will live in cinematic infamy. He wore yellow contacts some of the time, making his eyes look demonic. He sported corpse-pale skin, and his eyes burned out of that white face. He had dyed his hair jet-black, swirled back in his trademark pompadour. Whenever on the screen the scene would ignite, swirling with his own special electricity. The other actors appeared dim in comparison. It has been said of him that Walken can be scary just whistling a happy tune.

Widen's plot, although vigorous and original, is full of holes. The angels have to become mortal, or partially mortal, to exist on earth. But Gabriel can't drive, so he needs a "familiar", an undead assistant. Several of the angel characters are killed, with their hearts ripped out of their chests. Supposedly, they do not have a soul, so what are we supposed to believe actually happens to their life essence? Our soul is just the spiritual energy that will return to Heaven, where they already reside. What do they need a soul for? They are already on the other side. The notion that countless centuries have passed without any human soul being able to journey to Heaven is a bit harsh to grasp. What about the Big Guy, God himself? It is very existential to assume that God just sat back in his cosmic corner, and was willing to let humans and angels and demons work this out. Where is even the tiniest bit of logic in Widen's premise? How could this situation ever manifest itself without divine intervention?

Viggo Mortensen gave a powerhouse performance as Lucifer. This was a complex cameo; one that could have been wasted on a lesser actor. He gave it tremendous gusto, power, and a creepiness that was unforgetable. He had to find the balance between consumate evil and inescapable logic. This role preceded the RING trilogy, but he was always stardom just waiting to happen.

Elias Koteas, a fine actor, did a pretty good job playing the tortured hero, failed priest turned cop, Thomas Daggett. He, initially became a spokesman for the faithless, but when the very skies opened up and the devil ravens swarmed all about, and his immortal soul was on the line, he clung to his renewed faith and his very human soul with the tenacity of a drowning man. Virginia Madsen, the sister of actor Michael, played the teacher, Katherine. She was dedicated to the education and safety of her Navajo students. Her part, although not strongly written, was an important piece of the puzzle. She gave it the feistiness and vulnurability that it needed.

Rounding out the cast was Eric Stoltz as the angel Simon. He had come to capture the Dark Soul, and to prevent Gabriel from retrieving it. When he was mortally wounded, and he decided to "deposit" that evil essence within the confines of a young Indian girl, things began to roll forward at breakneck speed; ala THE EXORCIST. Stoltz found just the right blend of gentleness and ferocity.

The staging of several scenes was quite memorable. Theology, horror, humor, and anthropology mixed very well. It is a film that sticks with you. Even at that, perhaps it did not merit the several sequels that it spawned. I was challenged and entertained in equal portions.



Rating:
Summary: Walken wants your soul....you better give it to him or else
Review: Elias Koteas (Exotica, Fallen) plays Thomas...a was been preist who turned to become a detective instead. Koteas is investagating a murder in which a man was thrown out of a window by Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction, Kicking and Screaming) who plays the angel Simon, into the street and then hit by a car into the wall. The coroner says the guy is a hermaphadite and well you get the drift...he was a angel named Uziel. Koteas investages more into this reading a ancient bible. Meanwhile Stoltz transfers a dead colonel's soul into the body of a little girl named Mary and she becomes very sick. Enter Christopher Walken (Suicide Kings, Man On Fire) as the angel Gabriel who is pissed off becuase he wants that soul. He goes on a rampage looking for it. Koteas comes into town and meets school teacher Virgina Madsen (Candy Man, The Florentine) who is helping out little Mary in her situation. Madsen and Koteas drive out into the desert where they come into a reservation so they might find a cure for little Mary. Madsen encounters the devil himself and who in the form of you say, well none other then Aragorn himself mister Viggo Mortensen (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Hidalgo). Then the end has Mortensen coming and eating Walken's heart...yummy. The cast is top notch, especially Walken and Mortensen. Also starring Adam Goldberg (A Beautiful Mind, The Salton Sea) and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) as Walken's dead toadies. It does have some lulls but they are filled in with great acting.