There is a war in heaven and hell is about to break loose (The Prophecy (DVD))

Member Name: FairyWBO

Product:	The Prophecy (DVD)
Date:	03/04/04 (167 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great story, makes you think, brilliant cast

Disadvantages: effects aren't too good

I first saw this film many years ago and have had to put up with watching it on an old crackly video tape. Mainly worn out to the amount of times I have watched it, as it is one of my favourite films. Imagine my delight when I saw this in the bargain basement of CD-Wow for less than £8. You of course can guess that I ordered it immediately and watched it as soon as it arrived .

Why is the film so good in my mind.. Well it is basically the story, the way the characters are played and of course it has Viggo Mortensen playing the devil :oP

The Story
*********
(You may want to look away now incase I give too much away or its too scary.... Or go find a settee to hide behind! :oP )

According to a missing chapter of the bible the angels are at war over us. That is basically the whole premise of the film. God wants us in heaven and the angels don?t. Well not all the angels, of course there are ones on our side or they would have to be fighting god and that would never do.

So the Arc Angel Gabriel has come down to retrieve something that has been prophesised in that missing chapter, the soul of a truly evil man, with which he can win the war. He is not on our side that is for sure.

Also trying to get the soul is Simon, another angel, who is on our side. He wants to get to the soul before Gabriel can get his hands on it and ends up having to hide it from him.

Also involved is a talking monkey (that?s what angels call us) called Thomas. He was going to be ordained into priesthood but kept getting visions of the war of the angels and so became a cop instead (logical choice I suppose!)

He gets involved in the case when a man without eyes is found dead after falling out of a 5th storey window and a book that Thomas has written is found in the room he was rather un-gently pushed out of. Also in the room is a newspaper with the obituary of a famous war veteran.. Pointing Thomas in the directi
on of the dark soul.

When the man
is taken for examination they discover the bible with the missing chapter in his pocket and Thomas works out that he is in fact an angel.

Both Gabriel and Thomas make their way to Arizona where the soul in question is to find that Simon has indeed hidden it somewhere. In a little native American girl of all places!

Now come the Native American rituals as the girl is living in a reservation , as basically the doctor didn?t do much to make her feel better after being possessed, and what could be called special effects only they aren?t that special. But the story is so good it sort of doesn?t matter.

Up pops the devil and ?..

No more will I tell you as that is basically the whole story, if you want to know the outcome.. Watch it :oP

The Characters/Cast
******************

I suppose the real star of the film has to be Christopher Walken who plays Gabriel. Well it is his name that is blazed across the front of the DVD box. And rightly so. He plays the angel with a dry wit and an evil glint in his eye. I cannot see him in another film without expecting him to put his finger to his mouth to ?Shush? whoever is talking.

Thomas, our hero, is played by Elias Koteas, who I don?t recall seeing in anything else before or after this but according to some sources (IMDB.com) he was in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as Casey Jones, who wears a mask, and loads of other films I have never seen, so that explains that! He plays Thomas with a kind of faith that makes him really venerable, as he seems to want to go back to believing, but at the same time tries to distance himself from the whole angel war. He also has a sense of humour which always helps.

Simon is played by Eric Stoltz, someone I have seen before! Mostly I knew him from Fluke, but he has also been in Pulp Fiction, Killing Zoe, Jerry Maguire and loads of other things. Even though Simon is on our side, you
do wonder exactly how good this angel really is
!

Amanda Plummer is best known actresses in this, but she isn?t in the story for long, but she is excellent while she is on screen. Gabriel uses her as a chauffeur for a while, and you just can?t help but want to put this poor woman out of her misery.

Viggo Mortensen is Lucifer, he doesn?t come in to the story until the end, but he sticks in the mind forever. He is just what I?d imagine he should be (if that makes sense) charming and scary at the same time! He was practically unknown when this film came out, and this role was enough to make me watch out for anything else he was in. Imagine my delight when he turned up as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings lol

Virginia Madsen is Katherine, the teacher in the school that Simon hides out in.

Moriah Shining Dive Snyder is the little girl that Simon hides the soul in

And Adam Goldburg is poor Jerry, Gabriel?s first chauffer.

The DVD extras
**************

Basically there are none. You get the normal select a scene bit and a few subtitle choices, but that is it.. No documentaries, no cast or crew talk-overs, just the film. But that is all I wanted anyway. I tend to find that now I am more used to owning a DVD and the novelty has worn out, I hardly ever bother with the spare Disc packed with goodies anyway.

*******************

Certificate 18
Running time 94 mins
Produced by Joel Soisson
Written and directed by Gregory Widen
1995

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I wouldn?t recommend this for a bit of light entertainment, but it is a great horror/thriller for when you want to think a bit!

Happy viewing
Sarah :o)

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