"The Prophecy II" may not be as good as those, but I'd still have to put it up there as one of the more respectable horror sequels, particularly when the direct-to-DVD aspect is considered. It maintained the dark, dreary tones of the original while expanding on the story, and doing enough things differently as to make it seem like more than just a rehash of the first movie despite having a fairly similar plot. And it doesn't even look cheaper than the first movie like you might expect it to. To be perfectly honest, had you told me "The Prophecy II" had been released in theaters I would have seen no cause to doubt you. This is a decent looking film with a neat style to it, and playing it back-to-back with the first one wouldn't seem clashing in the least.
Much like the first film, "The Prophecy II" is essentially a manhunt picture. Since the joint isn't big enough for both him and Lucifer, Gabriel (Christopher Walken) is sprung from Hell and then sets out to find a women who has unwittingly become the vessel of a half-human, half-angel child, who will be the one to turn the tide of the unending war in Heaven in favor of the loyal angels. This has all been orchestrated by Michael (Eric Roberts), who is pulling strings from a distance while our main "good side" protagonist, Danyael (Russell Wong) does his thing and tries to keep her safe. For the climatic battle they end up in Eden, which has apparently been renovated into an industrial complex. And it's in the United States. Who knew?
Since Gabriel needs a helper to assist him with annoying human things like driving and using a computer, he enlists recent suicide Izzy (Brittany Murphy) by keeping her alive, because being the Angel of Death, he can do that. These are probably the most memorable bits for me of "The Prophecy II," as the chemistry between Walken and Murphy is fantastic. And despite Brittany Murphy kind of becoming a joke since she died she was a pretty good actress. I've got to admit that even though I'll always remember her as that hot redhead from "Clueless" since I grew up on that movie, had I seen this first my mind would probably go here because she was awesome.
And we get totally timeless lines from her like "You're keeping me alive because you don't know how to use DOS?" Timeless!
My favorite bit is a scene in a diner which showcases the three things this film does best: Brittany Murphy's acting, Walken being funny, and Walken being a badass. After Gabriel absconds with a cop's gun and radio (the technology of which blows his mind) and sits down with Izzy to ask her how they work, Izzy immediately grabs the gun and shoots herself. Of course this does nothing which makes her even more depressed. Walken dryly responds in his trademark Walken way, "Are we having a communication problem?" It's fantastic.
When Izzy tearfully asks him why he's doing what he's doing is when the scene turns from surrealist black comedy to awesomely badass. Much like the first film, "The Prophecy II" contains some truly phenomenal dialogue, most all of which is saved for Gabriel. When asked about the "why" of it all, Gabriel responds by softly growling, "Let's understand each other. I sang the first hymn when the stars were born. Not that long ago, I announced to a young woman, Mary, who it was she was expecting. On the other hand, I've turned rivers into blood. Kings into cripples. Cities to salt. So, I don't think that I have to explain myself to you." All of this is happening while he's putting the metaphorical screws to her by turning her hands black with decay.
In fact, don't take my word for it. Check out the scene for yourself.
The ratio of lines of that nature to humorous ones for Walken in this film tends to be slanted a bit more towards funny, which is fine because of course he's hilarious. What's interesting to me about that is that despite Walken getting some outright guffaws out of me, "The Prophecy II" is nowhere near a comedy. The reason for that is that Gabriel is simply a sadistic being who is having a lot of fun tormenting these "monkeys," and he's enjoying himself. So in that way the comedy almost makes it more intense, because it's illustrating how heartless Gabriel is. It's not enough to make you not laugh at it of course, but upon reflection it's a very interesting dynamic.
And you can't convince me that Walken didn't have some ad-libs that made it in the final cut. One of the lines I'm positive was off the cuff was one of the biggest laughs for me, which came during a chase scene when back-seat driver Walken irritatedly reminds Brittany Murphy "Don't hit the dog." Why Gabriel cares about a dog when he's the Angel of Death is beyond me, but it's funny. That all comes back to the reason to watch these movies - Seeing Christopher Walken having fun. It's infectious.
"Your soul tastes delicious."
There are a few short comings with the film, though. It's clear they didn't have the budget, which means there are a few moments which smack of unsatisfying. Foremost among them is when Danyael reveals that he's an angel to our female lead, Valerie (Jennifer Beals). All we see is the shadow of his wings on the wall as he unfurls them, and her gape-mouthed reaction as she sees what the movie didn't have the cash to show us. On the other hand, the scene when Gabriel rises from Hell in a parking lot is fantastically well done and looks incredible using what appears to be only practical effects. So I don't know. Maybe they blew their F/X budget on that. Priorities, I guess.
There's also an issue with the camerawork, particularly at the end. When we arrive in Eden, nearly every scene is filmed in a Dutch-angle, meaning the screen is slightly tilted to the side like you're cocking your head at 45 degrees. It's an old technique used to convey unease which dates back nearly a hundred years, but it's an easy thing to abuse for no good reason, and this movie is guilty of some overindulgence. The best uses of the Dutch angle go completely unnoticed. When you realize the film is doing it, they've probably used it too much.
"Hi, I'm Eric Roberts. Why are you tilting your head?"
And while I praised the casting, they could have done better than Russell Wong. He's not bad really, he's just a bit bland and unmemorable, particularly when he's essentially taking over for Eric Stoltz from the first film, while also being Christopher Walken's counterpart. That's a tall order to fill, and he's nowhere near as good as Stoltz or Walken.
And it's too bad Elias Koteas and Viggo Mortensen didn't reprise their roles, even though Daggett is only in it for 15 minutes and Lucifer has one line, but it still would have been nice to see some consistency. But I do have to hand it to our Daggett de jour, Bruce Abbott for two things: doing a respectable Elias Koteas impression, and looking a lot like Adrian Brody. Well done, sir.
Another issue that arises is that all the angels, good or bad, look the same. They're all beefy dudes with long hair and black trenchcoats, all of whom look like either a terrorist from "Die Hard" or Glenn Danzig. And imagine my surprise when I look at the credits and find out that Glenn Danzig was actually in the movie as one of the angels. I don't know how I was supposed to spot Glenn Danzig in a crowd of Glenn Danzig impersonators, but sure, why not. I'm just saying that Henry Rollins had better be in the next movie. At least I'll recognize the voice.
Why do I have the horrible feeling that Marilyn Manson is going to show up in "The Prophecy 5?"
Actually, come to think of it, a movie based on religious mythology which casts rockstars would be pretty awesome. I'd have David Bowie as the Devil and force him to wear his Jereth costume. Iggy Pop would be God. He still wouldn't wear a shirt. It would be glorious.
Quick, get Alice Cooper on the phone. This project would be a huge step up from "Dark Shadows."
THE BOTTOM LINE - "The Prophecy II," despite being a tad under budget, is a respectable sequel to a frankly underrated film. The ending is surprising enough to make me really curious as to what's coming next, and Christopher Walken is so damn entertaining that it would be worth watching even if everything else around him sucked, which it didn't. This is a decent flick, although I'm growing a little apprehensive as to what's coming next in the series, as this could go downhill quickly.
beautiful Brittany Murphy
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