So-so sequel to the original religion-themed horror film sees Christopher Walken return as the archangel Gabriel, who despises the human race more than ever. He leads one faction of angels that have turned against God, bitter over the love that He showed to mankind. The other faction of angels seek to stop Gabriel and his kind. The main story point of this sequel is that Gabriel is in pursuit of an innocent woman, Valerie Rosales (Jennifer Beals), because she has been impregnated by good guy angel Danyael (Russell Wong).
"The Prophecy II" feels pretty routine overall, although its theme of angels battling each other is an interesting one. It leans heavily on humour, with Walken obviously encouraged to be at his quirkiest and most Walken-esque. For one thing, Gabriel's no good with modern technology, so he keeps resurrecting a suicidal girl (sad eyed Brittany Murphy) so she can do such things as computer searches. It's got some very fun gore and visuals, but it's not until near the end when it really picks up. It also casts Eric Roberts, rock icon Glenn Danzig, and William Prael as assorted angels. Steve Hytner ("That's gold, Jerry, gold!") briefly reprises his role as Joseph, and Bruce Abbott of "Re- Animator" fame has limited screen time as he inherits the role of ex-cop Thomas Daggett from Elias Koteas, who played that role in the first film. Look also for Tom Towles and Kathryn Morris in small roles. The handsome Wong is sincere but bland; Beals is a reasonably appealing heroine.
The hook of a "Nephilim" (a half human / half angel offspring) helps to keep this watchable, for a fairly painless, short running time of just over 83 minutes.
One of only two directorial efforts for Greg Spence (most recently, a producer on 'Game of Thrones'), the other being "Children of the Corn: The Gathering".
Six out of 10.
"The Prophecy II" feels pretty routine overall, although its theme of angels battling each other is an interesting one. It leans heavily on humour, with Walken obviously encouraged to be at his quirkiest and most Walken-esque. For one thing, Gabriel's no good with modern technology, so he keeps resurrecting a suicidal girl (sad eyed Brittany Murphy) so she can do such things as computer searches. It's got some very fun gore and visuals, but it's not until near the end when it really picks up. It also casts Eric Roberts, rock icon Glenn Danzig, and William Prael as assorted angels. Steve Hytner ("That's gold, Jerry, gold!") briefly reprises his role as Joseph, and Bruce Abbott of "Re- Animator" fame has limited screen time as he inherits the role of ex-cop Thomas Daggett from Elias Koteas, who played that role in the first film. Look also for Tom Towles and Kathryn Morris in small roles. The handsome Wong is sincere but bland; Beals is a reasonably appealing heroine.
The hook of a "Nephilim" (a half human / half angel offspring) helps to keep this watchable, for a fairly painless, short running time of just over 83 minutes.
One of only two directorial efforts for Greg Spence (most recently, a producer on 'Game of Thrones'), the other being "Children of the Corn: The Gathering".
Six out of 10.