FILM REVIEW: The Prophecy (1995)

[diebitter]

This is a film about angels waging war with each other in heaven, and the battle has reached an impasse, neither seeming able to win. And so the battle comes to earth. Garbriel has come down, and seeks a human soul corrupted, but also wise in the ways of war, to help win. And other angels have come down too, to either help him or stop him.

Christopher Walken does his great stuff as Gabriel, and the rest of the cast is pretty great too. The male and female human leads slowly figure out what's going on, and where this soul resides, trying to stop Gabriel getting it and perhaps winning the war in heaven (for the bad guys). Eric Stoltz also plays a 'good' angel Simon, trying to prevent this, and is excellent in his small part. Where he finally faces Gabriel, obviously about to die, he utters a line that is moving (in the context of the movie) and simple: 'Oh. Gabriel. When was it that you lost your grace?' In addition, there's a nice, menacing turn from Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer, proving a suitable nemesis for the frankly-scary Gabriel.

Also, the film is a bit of a reunion of Pulp Fiction players, have Walken, Stoltz and Amanda Plummer, and when I first saw it, I remembered thinking, 'is this gonna have the whole cast in?' as it went on!

There's also some comic lines that integrate very well into this, an essentially serious film. Example: from Gabriel: 'Study your math, kids. Key to the Universe.'


Before my verdict, I have to admit I've never seen a film with angels I didn't like. Oh, I'll qualify that, specifically angels with wings (and so excluding the dire 'City of Angels'). Barbarella, Constaintine, Dogma, yep, all goodies, and this is no exception.


Overall, an interesting, engaging, thought-provoking, and very entertaining film that definitely deserves to be watched, and the sooner the better.

OVERALL: 4/5
REWATCHABILITY: High, would stand up to 2+ times a year if you have the time

RATINGS (out of 5):
1 - don't bother
2 - okay for a single watch, if you've got time
3 - Definite watch if you get a chance
4 - See it very soon, at least once before you die
5 - See it immediately, no excuses


Opinions/comments/arguments please, especially if you think I missed anything worth discussion/expansion, or violently agree or disagree.

PM me any you'd like reviewed sometime.