Profecía 3: El ascenso

I waited with anticipation for this film to appear on dvd and must say I was rather disappointed overall.

My main problem is the lack of cinematic polish that the other two films had. Although the first two movies were DTV they never betrayed their roots as DTV productions. This film uses the typical "lightening flash" edits accompanied with "thunderous crashing" noise so often used in glossy grade B thrillers. If this effect is used sparingly then is can be very effective - if overdone (as in this film) it becomes very tiresome and annoying. The overall impression is that it was made on the cheap - a fact the other two movies hid.

The film is, even at 80mins, heavily padded with too many unnecessary flashback and flash forward sequences that do not advance the story one jot. Rather than develop the story they seem content to remake Terminator 2, with an unstoppable Angel playing the part of Arnie. Even the music is copied from Terminator. This is particularly disappointing considering how inventive the other two films have been. Lets put it this way they're the only movies that have made me study the Bible!

Christopher Walken has all the best lines in the script, but again for budgetary reasons he has very little screen time. A number of characters return for this final outing but the opportunity to develop the characters further or give them a active role is wasted.

On the plus side the young actor who plays Danyal is very convincing in the role. I hope we see more of this actor in future. The special effects are very impressive as is the underlying story. The true nature of the Angel Pyriel is (in light of current world events) very disturbing and thought provoking.

Overall the film suffers in comparison to the others. Not a bad film just a waste of a good idea and interesting characters.

I give it 4 out of 10.

Anti-God Danyael Rosales is a street preacher. He's also a Nephilim, half-human and half-Angel. Gabriel (Christopher Walken) is in the audience when he's gunned down by a blind assassin. Gabriel has to protect him as angel Zophael (Vincent Spano) comes to take out his heart. Joseph (Steve Hytner) witnesses Danyael's resurrection and tells his girlfriend Maggie about the ongoing battle.

This is undeniably straight-to-video B-movie. It's hitting the conventional beats. Walken is playing a good guy in this sequel, and it doesn't feel right. He doesn't have as much fun. This feels very conventional which is a bit of a letdown. This franchise has been rather messy and chaotic. Through it all, there is Walken. This one is less messy, and Walken is less fun.

The Prophesy 3 was somewhat disappointing but still an above average flick. I would say it is the least of the three movies. The finale did not seem to be worth making a trilogy about. Plus it is somewhat confusing what happened at the end. The scope of the first two films led me to expect something grander. On a positive note, the special effects in this installment were the best of the trilogy.

The pace was a little stop-and-go for my taste: too many flashbacks and too long between the action. The humorous parts were funny but at the same time it undermined the atmosphere that the series is based on.

Christopher Walken again stole the show. He has perhaps the best delivery of any actor and can manage to handle lines that should have never been in the script. The two costars I thought lacked screen presence (or at least compared to Walken).

Overall, this was an enjoyable ending to a surprisingly good trilogy.

Well the third part of the installment is enjoyable. It has some weaknesses, but overall I didn't mind watching it.

The Weaknesses: No recognizable angelic names in it (with the exception of Gabriel). The bad guy (Zophael) is a total no-name, so you don't really know how to rank him (powerful/not powerful), which wasn't really a problem in the first part. There you knew that Simon was more powerful than Uziel; that Gabriel could beat Simon's ass; and that Lucifer could smack them all to hell in a handbasket.

Funnily this works to advantage for the movie as you don't really know which side of the factions Zophael and who actually is the good/bad guy until somewhat in the middle of the movie.

The actors aren't all that good (with the exception of Walken, Spano - who brings that charisma back to the angels that was so severely lacking in the second part- and the Coroner who has grown to be one of my favourite characters in the three movies)

Strenghts: The storyline is closed. I won't argue that it's the most coherent storyline, but it at least makes some moderate sense in itself. The musical score has always been one of the big things about the trilogy and they kept it -wisely- unchanged for the most part. This time around we have more funny scenes and even some jabs at the original 'The Prophecy', while not making it campy and keeping all the good bits (fights, heart ripping, supernatural powers etc.). Some of the moves seem very Matrix-like, but that was already the case in 'The Prophecy II', so I don't really know who copied from whom (It just seems so similar: Humans fighting against some overly powerful and nigh unkillable opponents in cool long dark suits). No matter: It's fun to watch. This time we also don't get treated to some candy sweet religious thing in the end, where the main character suddenly becomes a devout Christian - that's a big plus.

Overall, I'd recommend seeing this film. Best if viewed together with the other two or you will not get many of the references.

7/10

This was the first Prophecy movie I watched without missing any part of it(missed half the second one, and the first one came one like a week later). I really recomend watching this movie, especially if you saw the first two, and wondered what Gabriel's life as a human is like. Although the plot isn't as interesting as in the the previous movies, it's still really good. This is deffinetly one of those movies you can watch over and over, and never get tired.