"Even now in Heaven, there are Angels carrying savage weapons!" - The Prophecy (The Prophecy (DVD))

Member Name: ILoveJackDaniels

Product:	The Prophecy (DVD)
Date:	21/03/02 (3255 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Christopher Walken, Black Humour, Wars of Angels

Disadvantages: Virtually Nothing

Christopher Walken has a very busy few years in the early 1990s, releasing no fewer than six movies in 1995 alone, of which five saw him doing what he does best - playing the villain. One of those movies, as you have no doubt guessed by now, was The Prophecy, written and directed by Gregory Widen (The Highlander, Backdraft), and though filmed on a modest budget, is one of the most entertaining black comedy/horror movies in recent years.

War in Heaven provides the plot, with the Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) leading half of Heaven's Angels against the other (loyal) half in a war that has killed millions and millions on Angels both sides, with humanity at the center of it all. When God gave man a soul, he raised him above all other of his creations, including the Angels. Since that time, the Angels have been locked in conflict, neither side able to gain the upper hand over the other. That is, until now.

The 23rd chapter of Revelations (fictional) tells of this second war in Heaven, and tells of a man born with the darkest, blackest of all souls. It predicts that this dark soul will lead the rebel Angels to victory over the loyal Angels. Gabriel has sent one of his rebel Angels, Uziel (Jeff Cadiente, best known as Brandon Lee's stunt double), to find the dark soul, and a loyal Angel, Simon (Eric Stoltz), has been sent to prevent the rebel Angels from taking the soul. When they fight early in the film, Simon defeats and kills Uziel, and that is when we meet Thomas Daggett (Elias Koteas).

Thomas used to have faith, until one day, God showed him just a little too much. A vision he had of the second war in Heaven turned him from the cloth many years ago; he has since become a cop, and when police discover the body of Uziel, with a copy of a book written by Thomas in his days as a priest at the scene of the crime, he is called on to investigate. Simon was seriously injured during the fight with Uziel, and so hides the dark soul in
the body of a small girl, Mary (Mariah Morning Dove Snyder), at which point Gabriel himself descends to Earth to find the soul.

I won't give any more away about the main plot, for to do that would spoil parts of the film, save to say that it is not lacking at any point. The small touches are what make this film truly entertaining. The movie has been described as both dark comedy (Gabriel having to enlist the help of the just-dead as zombies because he can't drive is just one example of the frequent dark comedy touches) and horror (hearts being ripped out, the Devil himself putting in an appearance, corpses and violence aplenty), and truly is a combination of both.

The special effects are not awesome - they are small touches and additions, and as such, serve their purpose perfectly. The sight of the various Angels perched like Gargoyles high above the humans at various points in the film is an image that stays with you long after the film has finished, and the short glimpses of the war in Heaven, though perhaps not as grandiose as Gregory Widen would have liked, are savage and even more memorable.

Christopher Walken is brilliant, as ever, showing utter contempt for humans ("Talking Monkeys") at every moment and delivering some equally brilliantly funny and evil lines throughout the film. His almost distracted, self-amused performance works in his, and the film's favour, allowing the viewer to not take the film too seriously.

The dialogue is brilliantly written, a combination of biblical rantings, dark humour and violent references, though I felt that the human characters could have used a little more fleshing out. Even so, all of the cast put in a fine performance, especially Virginia Madsden as a schoolteacher, Catherine. Also worth a note, though whether he was playing a human character or not is very much up to the viewer to decide (undead springs to mind), was Adam Goldberg (that guy who played Mad Eddie
in Friends), as Jerry, Gabriel's chauffeur.

One of the most notable performances, albeit a short one, was put in by Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer, with some superbly chilling and memorable lines ("I can lay you out and fill your mouth with your mother's faeces; or, we can talk.", "I'm always open, even on Christmas." and "Little Tommy Daggett. How I loved listening to your sweet prayers. Then you would hop into bed, afraid that I was hiding under it. And I was!"). He plays the character superbly, and for weeks afterwards you may well find yourself quoting him, to the dismay of any sensitive friends within earshot.

Overall, I believe that The Prophesy could have been better. Had he had a bigger budget to work with, Gregory Widen may have been able to show us the war of the Angels he had imagined, and the film may have been slightly longer (it currently runs at a trim 97 minutes), however with a limited budget, he has truly assembled a brilliant cast and created a memorable and entertaining movie.

I would happily admit that this film is not for everybody, however ask me to name three flicks I'd be happy to take with me to a desert island, and this would be one of them.





CAST

Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction, Things to do in Denver when you're dead, Sleepy Hollow, Antz)
Elias Koteas (Fallen, Lost Souls, Almost an Angel)
Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction, Jerry Maguire)
Virginia Madsden (Candyman, Highlander 2)
Viggo Mortensen (Carlito's Way, Crimson Tide)
Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction, Needful Things)
Adam Goldberg (Friends)



RATING

UK - 18
US - R



INTERESTING TRIVIA

"Christopher Walken told a source that he prepared for his part as an angel in 'The Prophecy' by doing 'a lot of perching and walking around like a chicken.'" - Daily News, New York, 21/8/1995 <
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The film was also released under the name "God's Army".



MY FAVOURITE QUOTES

Simon - "I remember the First War. The way the sky burned, the faces of the Angels destroyed. I saw a third of Heaven's legion banished and the creation of Hell. I stood with my brothers and watched Lucifer's Fall, but now my brothers are not brothers, and we have come here where we are mortal to steal the Dark Soul, not yet Lucifer's, to serve our Cause. I have always obeyed, but I never thought that War would happen again."

Lucifer - "Little Tommy Daggett. How I loved listening to your sweet prayers. Then you would hop into bed, afraid that I was hiding under it. And I was!"

Gabriel - "I'm an Angel. I kill newborns while their mamas watch. I turn cities into salt. And occasionally, when I feel like it, I tear little girls apart. And from now till kingdom come... the only thing you can count on... in your existence... is never understanding why."

Gabriel - "I'm getting so fed up with you."
Catherine - "Go to Hell!"
Gabriel - "Heaven, darling, Heaven. At least get the zip code right."
Catherine - "It's all the same to you, isn't it?"
Gabriel - "No, in Heaven we believe in love."
Catherine - "What do you love Gabriel?"
Gabriel - "Cracking your skull."

Summary: