The Prophecy II

I watched the Prophecy and Prophecy II on the same night, both for the first time, so the comparisons were really obvious. Though PII is not a complete waste of time, it was hardly as interesting and exciting as the first. It did have some good points, however, and I would recommend it to anyone who loved the story of the Prophecy idea. The climactic scene at the end was excellent. Very creepy. DOS and PC lovers will like the humor as Gabriel tries to work a computer. :) The special effects sequences of angels flying above in the clouds was awesome. Even so, it lacked something that the first had. I'd give it a 6/10, and the first a 9/10. Let's hope Prophecy III will be better.

Actually, although a lot of what was in the Prophecy II isn't in the canonical bible, the angelology of it was in fact right on. I've done mounds and mounds of research on the subject of angels. And what was written in the Book of Enoch as well as in much of the medieval angel speculation is accurate. And it is a film, let's remember.

It's an interesting twist on the perception of heaven. I don't know if I'd call is laughable on second guesses when you actually look at the derivations of the research instead of relying solely on the Bible. If you're really interested, you can look at the non-canonical scripture that was accepted in the times of early Christianity on reluctant-messenger.com I don't know, sometimes I get frustrated thinking that people who think the Bible, although the primary text is the ONLY text of the religion.

Just a thought.

If you liked the first film, you'll quite probably like this one too. It's a little more tongue-in-cheek and like most sequels not as good as the original, but it's still Walken as Gabriel with all that entails. The action is still good. Eric Roberts could be better, but he plays Michael not Gabriel. I think the humour was a little more obvious in this one, too. If you didn't like the original the skip it.

If you're reading this review, chances are you've already seen & liked the first Prophecy and are debating whether to continue the saga. Either that, or maybe you're just a weird person who likes to watch sequels before seeing the original. Whatever waxes yer wings...

In either case, if you are interested in dark, religious thrillers about angels doing nasty things, you MUST see the Prophecy trilogy. Yes, I know there are 5 Prophecy films, but we'll just focus on the first 3 for now.

Much like Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi, the first 3 Prophecy movies tell a continuing story about 1 character: Gabriel, the Archangel of Death (played by Christopher Walken). Although the films' plots are mostly independent of each other, the theme of Gabriel's quest is a continuing story that doesn't wrap up til the end of the 3rd movie. Ergo you can't stop at Prophecy 1. You have to watch all 3.

That's all you need to know, but if you want to know more about Prophecy II, here it is. By itself it's a worthwhile flick. What makes it special is the surreal blending of dark suspense and cozy humor, as in the first Prophecy. Although we lose some of the quirky characters who made the first film so memorable (such as Jerry the oozing sidekick, Rachel the catatonic chauffeur, and most of Joseph the stand-up comedic coroner), we get a new one who's just as memorable: Brittany Murphy as Izzy the suicidal emo girl (long before the term 'emo' came into being).

Walken and Murphy maintain the wacky humor that made the first Prophecy so characteristic & human. The other characters are there for action and furthering the plot, which is pretty straightforward as far as angels-fighting-a-war-on-earth movies go.

The music isn't quite as lush as the first, although one of the themesongs (the airy tribal piece) is carried over. Most, if not all, of the movie takes place at night so it is both literally and figuratively dark. Not quite "The Crow" dark, but dark nonetheless.

This movie has a distinct early-90s feel to it. The 90s was a decade of action films leaving behind the simple, clean stories of the 80s and embracing a darker realism (as in "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects"). I'd say this 2nd Prophecy film is closer to the 80s than its groundbreaking predecessor, but it's still a good film.

Watch it for Walken, watch it for the continuing epic story, watch it for some engaging action and a few great gags. Most of all... just watch it.

The Prophecy II was an ok movie but it lacked a certain quality the first had. I mean, the first one was so much better there is no comparison. Christopher Walken comes back to play Gabriel, but that and a few humorous sections were all that was good about this film. The ending was the best part. Too bad you have to watch the whole thing to get to it. If you've seen and liked the first, then I recommend watching this one, but don't have too high of expectations.