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Omen III: The Final Conflict

Omen III: The Final Conflict

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Final Conflict? Thank Goodness!
Review: So Damien Thorne is all grown up as the son of Satan. He's now ambassador to the UK, and he secretly plots world domination. Too bad the film's a disaster. Where to begin? Sam Neill's cardboard performance as Damien? The utter lack of tension in the story? There is one true scary moment concerning the former ambassador, but otherwise, this film is a colossal waste of time. You're better off watching the superior "Omen" 1 & 2 a second time than picking up this stinker.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Interesting, but Not as Good as Omen I and II
Review: The Final Conflict continues to carry the theme from the first two movies although the 'power' of this movie seemed diminished from the first two installments. I would have thought Damien would have ascended to a higher station in the world (e.g., President, leader of the UN) in the 'final conflict' between the forces of good and evil. The absence of an Armageddon type of scenario also took away from the magnitude this movie could have possessed. I wonder if a limited budget affected how the sreen play was developed? The sex scene was unnecessary although it appeared that Damien's relationship with the woman was part of his undoing. If one is interested in seeing an Armageddon version of Omen III go and rent Omega Code II - Meggido. David York plays a reasonable anti-Christ role and the special effects are somewhat more modern.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: One Big, Giant "HUH?"
Review: The first film, THE OMEN, is one of my all-time favorite movies, but the sequels go from watchable (DAMIEN: OMEN II) to downright baffling.

By the time we get to this film, THE FINAL CONFLICT, it appears that the filmmakers have completely lost touch with their source material and have no idea what they're doing.
Did any of them bother looking at the Book of Revelations?
I understand budget restraints and such, but how can you literally change biblical prophecy to fit their lame story?

The people who saw the original film and were filled with dread understood the coming evil embodied in the demonic child.
By the time they get to THE FINAL CONFLICT, they've got to be scratching their heads.
The Second Coming of Christ is going to be a tad bit more cataclysmic than featured here.
And the fate of the Antichrist is completely baffling.
THE FINAL CONFLICT is like making a movie about Adolph Hitler and he's assassinated in 1936.
Think about it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Attack of the Keystone Monks
Review: The third in "The Omen" trilogy features the dumbest collection of monks to ever grace the silver screen. Their attempts to do away with the Anti-Christ are so laughable that I thought I was watching a comedy. Sam Neill must have done this to get "established" in Hollywood. Thank God for him that better roles were to come. After the first knockout punch of the first two films, this one is a true waste.
The only saving grace is the Goldsmith score that single-handedly "resurrects" this turkey.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Bad Sequel, Bad Sequel!
Review: The third in the Omen series is only notable for the Jerry Goldsmith score which is a natural extension of the the first two. Obviously, the most expensive cost of the film because this one has no names, not a good script, and the dumbest bunch of monks/priests ever assembled.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: DAMIEN...ALL GROWN UP
Review: This 1981 film is the second sequel to the oustanding, 1976 gothic thriller "The Omen". The Antichrist, Damien Thorn (Sam Neill), is now all grown up and, having inherited the entire family maga fortune, is now in the process of fulfilling both his destiny and a biblical prophecy of calamitous proportions. Unfortunately for him, however, his very existence is in jeopardy, as the second coming of Christ appears imminent.

Damien is kept busy in this film. As Ambassador to England, as well as spiritual leader to a denizen of devil worshippers, he is the target of an assassination plot by a group of priests led by Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi). Damien keeps busy thwarting his would be assassins, usually by consigning them to a brutal demise. He also carries on a romance that ends badly. Damien is very much aware of who he is and where his destiny lies. He is also hell bent on destroying the Christ child, as it is only by doing so that he can survive and fulfill his destiny.

This is a relatively well acted film that suffers from a somewhat weak script. Sam Neill is well cast as the grownup Damien, giving a powerful performance. Rossano Brazzi is excellent as Father DeCarlo, the priest determined to end the stranglehold that the Antichrist has on the world. Composer Jerry Goldsmith contributes to the gothic atmosphere of the film with his chillingly creepy, musical score, just as he did in "The Omen" and in the first sequel. Due to its weak script, however, the film pales in comparison to its predecessors.

The DVD offers a commentary by the director, Graham Baker but little else by way of special features. It provides clarity of visuals and audio.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Final Letdown
Review: This installment of the 'Omen' saga is a major disappointment, though the basic plot has a lot of potential. Damien Thorne (the son of the Devil as portrayed by a flaccid Sam Neill) is now a charismatic 33 year-old politician and business tycoon well on his way to the Presidency-and the implied opportunity to unleash apocalyptic chaos on the world. The only fly in the ointment is a Biblical prophecy (and some very sketchy astrology) telling of the imminent second coming of Christ somewhere in England. In order for the powers of darkness to triumph once and for all the infant Jesus has to be hunted down and killed,so Thorne has himself appointed US ambassador to Britain . Along the way he has to contend with a band of monks who are aware of his true identity and will stop at nothing to kill him with seven sacred daggers.

To cut to the chase, this film is agreeably watchable and somewhat thought-provoking but not at all scary or horrific. There is an attempt for the horror to be more psychological than visceral. Despite a high body count, the spectacular set-piece deaths that were the hallmark of the first two films are sorely missing from this one. There is NOTHING that is even close to the dismemberments, impalings, and decapitations that made Omen 1 and 2 so compelling. The only moment that comes close involves a door handle, a revolver, and some typewriter ribbon (remember that?)- all orchestrated by an evil Rottweiler.

Making Damien an adult this time around puts the film at a disadvantage compared to it's predecessors. The idea of a young boy being the originator of tremendous evil is infinitely more disturbing than the rather banal assertion that grown men can be malicious. Worse, a large part of the attempted mayhem in this one is perpetrated by Damien's dull, one-dimensional human disciples rather than by overwhelmingly powerful satanic forces.

The star-wattage is much lower than in previous efforts despite Rossano Brazzi being mostly wasted as the head of the monastic murder squad. It would have been interesting to have had, say, Richard Burton or Larry Olivier (both of whom were living at the time and had no problems about starring in mediocre junk if the price was right) add a bit of gravitas to the proceedings a la Gregory Peck and Lee Remick in the original movie or William Holden in 'Omen 2'. In fairness to Sam Neill he tries his best with an extremely iffy script, but he's just too charming and doesn't exude the dark menace the audience needs to feel for his character to be truly unsettling.

The final thing that bothered me about this movie is that there is simply way too much daylight for a horror film! This might sound facetious but the majority of the locations are sunny, scenic, and downright NICE! Both the previous films had a darkly Gothic nuclear-winter atmosphere with the action taking place in desolate, ugly, shadowy settings- the kind of locales where one can't help but anticipate gruesome things happening. Large parts of 'Conflict' look like a Constable landscape or a tourist promo for the joys of Middle England- places where the only things anyone is likely to die from are boredom or a noxious attack of hayfever.
And that's pretty much it. Oh, there's a subplot involving a TV journalist (played by a wooden actress with a ghastly rustic Seventies wardrobe) who has an affair with Damien and whose son comes under his evil influence- it's superfluous to requirements and utterly predictable. The aforementioned murderous monks are kind of engaging but are so totally inept in their efforts to kill the Evil One that it's hard to feel any sympathy for them. This plotline also breaks the Code of Sequels by rewriting the rules set in the first film. It's years since I saw it but I clearly recall that Damien has to be stabbed with all seven daggers on holy ground for him to be truly killed-it's why the original movie ends as it does. This makes nonsense of the attempts on Damien's life that are attempted in a TV studio, and later on at a foxhunt- with just one dagger! All I'll say about the ending is that it's an anticlimax.
To wrap up, it's not all bad. The soundtrack is well done and is probably the most effective tool the film has for holding the viewer's interest. Back when this was made (1981)I believe that the thinking on sequels was that each one had less time, effort, and money spent on it because it would bring in smaller profits than it's predecessor. That thinking was very clearly in effect on this effort. Which is a shame since the basic idea is a good one and could have been put on the screen to absolutely stunning effect with a different cast, script, plot, and director. 'The Final Conflict' is sufficiently diverting to be worth a look on late night cable or as a dollar rental but really ought to be a final option under any other circumstances.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Quietly Sophisticated Supernatural Thriller
Review: This is a movie that bombed at the time, and it's not hard to see why. It was the sequel of a sequel of an oddball hit. The original cast was long gone. The final days of the Apocalypse and the Rise of the Antichrist would only appeal to a small audience -- and they would expect a vast special effects spectacle, with lots of explicit religious preaching.

Instead you get a quiet, thoughtful movie about a fully mature Damien Thorne, seeking to begin his rule as a billionaire and CEO, making long range plans to rule the world, but falling in love instead with a sophisticated, strong willed career woman and losing his eternal throne as a result.

In addition, what little action there is in this film consists of bungled assasination attempts by priests who wield "sacred knives" and jump out at Damien like mean street punks menacing James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Most of these scenes are unintentionally funny, some of them laugh out loud incredible.

The only scenes that really carry any conviction are the love scenes between Damien and his lady reporter. It's really odd what a strong, likeable character Kate Reynolds is. The first two movies represented women as merely weak victims or foul temptresses, but here is a modern woman capable of love and courage and commitment, who outwits the prince of evil.

A good movie, but the wrong movie for the wrong audience.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Christ VS Beast
Review: This movie is a gem among Omen lovers. A long awaited battle with Damien Thorn and Jesus Christ. The director did a fantastic job sticking to the propheses of the Bible. Even with Damien's death the sequel, Omen IV:The Awakening which I rated 4 stars which is not as good as any of the Damien ones but its worth watching.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well.....
Review: This one is ok. Not really scary. It's not the best, and not the worst. Good blood seen.


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