15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Armageddon Approaches..., March 27, 2006
This review is from: The Prophecy - Forsaken (DVD)
Let me start by saying that this review will be a little different from my previous ones. This is because that this movie that I'm reviewing, "The Prophecy 5: Forsaken", doesn't need much set up. When this movie was made it was at the exact same time as its predecessor "The Prophecy 4: Uprising". So, basically all the things I said that led up to the story details of the fourth film, are pretty much the same for this fifth installment in this entertaining religious/sci-fi saga.
Continuing directly from the fourth film, "The Prophecy 5: Forsaken" finds Allison (Kari Wuhrer) still protecting `The Lexicon', an ancient religious text that continues to write the events of the future that will soon become reality, from those angels that would like to possess the book in order to prevent something evil from occurring. It becomes apparent that the reason the angels are trying so hard to kill Allison is because the Lexicon will soon reveal the identity of the person who is to become the Antichrist. If the dark angels discover the identity of the Antichrist and kill him, then they can conceivably prevent Armageddon from coming to pass, the problem is God has already planned for Armageddon according to the Bible, so by killing the Antichrist these dark angels are turning their backs on God. One angel in particular, named Stark (Tony Todd), is leading the other dark angels to find Allison. The problem is angels can't kill a normal human being without God's consent, so to do their dirty work they've hired a hitman (Jason Scott Lee) with the proviso that if he completes this mission he will be spared an eternity in Hell. With the pieces in place, and events set into motion by Satan (John Light), because he doesn't want the dark angels to succeed because if they do the Antichrist will not come to power, Allison is in for the fight of her life as she struggles to follow God's will, and oddly enough God's will is in line with what Satan wants because according to the book of Revelation the Antichrist must rise to power. So, Allison is left with quite the dilemma as she realizes that to follow God means allowing Armageddon to come forth, but by rebelling against Him, she will, in theory, prevent the apocalypse from coming to pass.
When I watched this movie in conjunction with "The Prophecy 4: Uprising" I found myself somewhat disappointed at times because everything was moving so slow in the beginning. There didn't seem to be any real purpose behind why the dark angels were trying so hard to find The Lexicon. To me the previous film was good, but I didn't know what the dark angels wanted, and finally in this film you find out what their true purpose was. During the course of this film, I didn't like some of the choices that were made in terms of dialogue at first, because the dark angels were borderline blasphemous with statements against God. However, after the movie finished, I realized that because the dark angels had already rebelled against God, and the fact that their jealousy was the cause of their rebellion the dialogue choices made more sense because they no longer loved God, they just wanted to see their side win at any cost.
One glaring problem with these last two installments in this franchise, which was revealed in this film, was that the dark angels act like Heaven remains closed to humanity to this day. This is a problem for me because at the end of "The Prophecy 3: The Ascent", the Nephilim, Danyael, defeated the dark angel Pyriel, allowing Gabriel to become an angel of light once again, and opening up the gates of Heaven for all humanity. This problem aside, the movie was good, although it would not stand up on its own as a stand alone film, the story requires that the viewer see the previous installments, or at least the previous film. The acting was strong, Jason Scott Lee was a nice addition as the hitman with a conscience, and Kari Wuhrer was even more confident in her role as Allison, humanity's last hope against the dark angels. Out of all the casting choices, Tony Todd was one I disagreed with, he worked on the level that he was playing the lead villain, but he just didn't fit into the role in my opinion, he just isn't charismatic enough to be this angel that can manipulate people to his will. Other than that the remainder of the cast was just fine.
In the end, I enjoyed these two latest entries into `The Prophecy' franchise though not as much as the first three films, and this film in particular I found to be the weakest in the entire series. Still a good film, and if you've seen the previous movies you should watch this one as well; however, if you haven't watched "The Prophecy 4: Uprising" I would recommend watching it first, the reason I say this is because that film and this one do not have any numbers in their titles to suggest where they fall in the series, I added them for the purpose of my review and the fact that when you watch the movies they are referred to by their number on the DVD menu. Still, a solid series, though these final two films do contradict the first 3 films to some extent, but that mistake is easily overlooked, in light of the continually solid storyline and performances.
"The Prophecy 5: Forsaken" is rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good entry in the series - but nothing all that special, December 10, 2005
This review is from: The Prophecy - Forsaken (DVD)
The idea of angels being jealous of soul-possessing human beings goes back a long way, all the way back to Lucifer's fall from heaven, and the Prophecy series has explored this theme like no other series before it. The world of these films is one of extreme moral ambiguity, in which angels and devils defy their stereotypes in such a way that, here in Prophecy: Forsaken, the protagonist, God's chosen servant to protect an ancient book of immeasurable knowledge, seeks help from Satan against a horde of God's "holy" angels. Those angels, led by Stark (Tony "Candyman" Todd) are working desperately to stop Armageddon, and the knowledge they seek is the AntiChrist's name.
Allison (Kari Wuhrer) was chosen to safeguard the knowledge the angels seek, and that puts her in a lot of danger. Her only ally is the man charged with killing her (the angels can't afford to get their own hands dirty for fear of what their Father - who, by the way, is completely absent from all of these films and really needs to come back and get his heavenly house in order - would surely do to them) - which makes Dylan (Jason Scott Lee) less than dependable in any given situation. Satan (John Light) is essentially the voice of reason and logic in this film; while he has his own agenda, he's also a pretty good source of information on angelic politics. The big question is why Stark, among the most high-ranking of angels, wants to keep Armageddon from happening - well, it's not that hard of a question, but it surely takes Allison a good while to figure it out.
Prophecy: Forsaken is a good movie that stands pretty well on its own two feet, but there's just nothing special about it - nothing that makes it stand out or takes it anywhere close to "must see" territory. The roots of the movie's theology don't run very deep, there's really not much action or climactic material worked into its 75 minute run time, and no one comes through with a tour de force acting job (although Tony Todd is quite effective and menacing in his role). And - despite what you may read elsewhere - Doug Bradley is not in this film (although he was in Prophecy: Uprising), so my fellow Pinhead fans shouldn't look for him here.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
