Customer Reviews

The Prophecy - Uprising

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, this direct to DVD release of the Prophecy line does not have Christopher Walken starring, so it is like eating a Rum cake without the Rum. It might taste ok but is not Rum cake! Anyway, this is a stand alone film, as very little is referenced from the previous releases. The movie concerns the finding and protecting an ancient manuscript, called the Lexicon which basically writes itself as God completes the Book of Revelations. What God writes, will determine the fate of Angels and Mankind, so ownership of the Lexicon will give an advantage to the holder. Angels and Demons vie to own the Lexicon, but it is up to a lone woman, well played by Kari Wuhrer, to protect it. The movie is fast paced which forces the incredulous to become believers rather quickly and some important plot points are glossed over. Sean Pertwee is excellent in the role of the Rumanian detective who has his own personal demons to overcome. He has the look of Russell Crowe and the angst of Stellan Skarsgård, a good combination for this film. So, it is not a bad movie, as there are a few moments of suspense and humor to make it worthwhile, but just do not go into it with the expectations generated from the original trilogy. Recommended with reservations.

Being a big fan of a lot of the horror movies that Dimension Homevideo has released over the last few years, I decided to rent this movie. Not expecting that much, but I was impressed by the overall quality of this movie. The special effects were good, the actors were great, and the story line keep you interested in what was going to happen next. There are some really good sudden scares that catch you off guard and surprise you.

The story might be a little confusing to people who are not familiar to the Prophecy movies. A lot issues dealing with heaven and hell, Angels and Demons, and the Devil. I myself haven't seen any of the older Prophecy movies that star Christopher Walken, so I can't compare this movie to the other Prophecy movies.

A standout in this movie is the acting of Doug Bradly towards the end of the movie. For Hellraiser fans like me it's a total treat to see Doug Bradly(Pinhead from Hellraiser films) do some great acting outside the character of Pinhead.

If you like watching horror movies that aren't just teenage slasher films and you are looking for something different and dark, definitely give this movie a go.

During the mid-nineties, Dimension Films produced a small, yet entertaining franchise of films based on a supposed 23rd chapter in the book of Revelation, this series was known as `The Prophecy'. Focusing on a second war in Heaven, this one being waged by those angels that had once been loyal to God during Satan's revolt, but after seeing the evil humanity is capable of exacting on itself, and wondering why the Creator would bother to shower His love and grace on a creation that is completely ungrateful, some of the loyal angels have questioned their allegiances. With the battle lines clearly drawn the angels take sides against each other waging a war that closed off access to Heaven by all of humanity. In 2000, Dimension released "The Prophecy 3: The Ascent", which at the time of its release was to be the 3rd and final chapter in `The Prophecy' saga. With humanity being allowed access into Heaven after a final battle between the hero of the good angels and the leader of the evil angels, the good side won and the gates were once again opened. In 2005, Dimension chose to return to this franchise and see if they could expand upon the story that was started in the initial trilogy. This seemed a daunting task, especially since the original trilogy starring Christopher Walken was for starters, just so interesting and entertaining, and secondly the storyline was completed. However, the powers-that-be within Dimension Films felt strongly enough in their franchise and released "The Prophecy 4: Uprising".

Set some time after the opening of Heaven to humanity that occurred at the end of "The Prophecy 3: The Ascent", this latest installment in `The Prophecy' franchise, aptly titled "The Prophecy 4: Uprising", focuses not on humanity's plight of non-entrance into Heaven, but rather the angels that are no longer loyal to God are now trying to find a way to once again seal the `Pearly Gates'. To achieve their nefarious goal, the evil angels are in search of The Lexicon, an ancient religious manuscript that continues to write itself and reveals the mysteries to the future. With this book, the evil angels believe that by knowing what will happen next they will be able to thwart any resistance the good angels can muster. Caught in the middle of this search is a young woman (Kari Wuhrer) who happens to be in possession of The Lexicon, and has been commissioned by a good angel to protect the book at all costs from a body-jumping evil angel who is close on her heels. Now with evil angels nipping at her heels and Satan himself offering protection, this young woman is in a fight for her life, and humanity's fate hangs in the balance.

I have to admit when I heard about Dimension Films continuing this franchise I was very skeptical, especially since the new films would not have Christopher Walken's character Gabriel in them. To me any installment into this franchise without Christopher Walken would be an absolute waste of time. Well, I am pleased to announce that not only was this film not a waste of time, it continued the franchise in a very strong way. The cast is talented, though one does miss Christopher Walken, these actors do an excellent job of carrying on the torch in this series. The storyline is interesting by having the evil angels becoming more desperate and therefore more menacing because they have already lost the war over barring humanity from Heaven, also one of the characters assisting Kari's character is a very jaded cop who has made some terrible decisions in his life, and makes him difficult to root for which is different for this franchise, since all of the other lead characters have been basically good people that have lost their faith and must get it back in order to defeat the evil angels. This twist in the series' formula allows this newest film to stand up alongside the other entries, and easily hold it's own in the franchise.

If you are a fan of this franchise, but are somewhat skeptical regarding this latest entry without Christopher Walken, let me tell you, go rent this film, you won't be sorry.

"The Prophecy 4: Uprising" is rated R for violence and language.

Who knew Lucifer liked puns?

The first three Prophecy movies tell the story of a second war in heaven (where the angel Gabriel joins the bad guys). The Prophecy: Uprising seems to be about a third war, this time in hell, with the angel Belial (one of Satan's most loyal lieutenants at the Fall) insisting on continuing the fallen angels' rebellion, while Satan himself seems to be tired of the struggle. Belial looks at Satan the way Mao looked at Khrushchev, as a betrayer of the revolution. And the communist analogy is apt, because The Prophecy: Uprising takes place in Romania, after the fall of the dictator Nicolai Ceausescu's regime.

The Prophecy: Uprising is a suspenseful remake of the first Prophecy movie that unfolds without hitting you over the head with (you'll pardon the expression) revelations. The filmmakers expect you to pay attention. The story, the acting, and the images all keep you hooked.

This film makes it clear that real devils wear suits and carry government ID cards. They take "subversives" to basement torture chambers where they'll never be heard from again.

As Lucifer (played fittingly by the actor John Light - - Lucifer does mean "light-bearer" after all), says, "The atrocities committed here will echo forever inside these walls." Then he shows two grown-up children the murder of their parents, committed by Ceausescu's secret police.

Satan means "adversary" or "plotter," and this movie is all about betrayal. Satan betrays God, Belial betrays Satan, Satan (it seems to Belial) betrays his fallen cohorts and their revolt against the order in heaven. But the most pitiful (and seemingly unforgivable) betrayal is a purely human one - - a boy betrays his parents and sister to the secret police and spends his life looking for redemption. The boy (now a grown policeman himself) tries to find forgiveness in the Romanian church, but it's Satan who shows him that he was just a child, doing what his teachers indoctrinated him to do, and that he was not to blame. It's Satan who offers the forgiveness that never comes from God. (God never appears in The Prophecy movies. Eventually you realize that it doesn't matter if he exists or not. The two different kinds of beings - - angels and "talking monkeys" - - do what they do because of what THEY are, not because of what HE is. In Uprising, Satan tells the policeman's sister that angels hate human beings "because of what you are.")

But to the angels, like us, "the word means everything." They murder humans and each other to possess the still uncompleted book of prophecy. Angels divide into sects, fight wars, and rip out each other's hearts for what looks like the same kind of ideologies we monkeys do. No better, no worse. Just more powerful.

The Prophecy: Uprising isn't Paradise Lost, but it's almost poetic when Belial reminds his former general of those days before the creation of the earth, when they fought Michael's hordes to the very pit of hell, and then fell, losing paradise but keeping their self-respect.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION: Speaking of Milton, anyone who finds The Prophecy movies philosophically interesting should read Steven Brust's novel
To Reign in Hell. It's got a science-fictiony explanation of how the universe could come from nothing, and it suggests that it was Yahweh's hubris, not Satan's, that started all the trouble in heaven and on earth.

The Prophecy: Uprising proves that when the writing and the acting are good it's the low-budget movies that tell the truth. (Ron Howard is having trouble with believing Christians over the plot of the blockbuster he's trying to make from Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code.) If a movie has to make a hundred million dollars on its opening weekend, it can't afford to offend anyone.

But a B movie can show that angels might envy talking monkeys, and wonder what happened to their creator. (As Christopher Walken as Gabriel said in the first Prophecy film, "We haven't spoken in a long time.")

Very little special effects and that's what made the movie that much more interesting. The acting was good and the suspense and plot was enough to keep me guessing. In all, the movie was better than I expected. Ending was a surprise but in keeping with the Phrophecy series. I look forward to the next one(hopefully)

First of all, I didn't really have any high expectations when I started watching this movie. For one thing, it went straight to video, and that's the first sign that it's going to suck. We all know they try to make it sound so glamorous on the box, and when you take it home it's trash. I'm glad I was wrong about this one. Let me just say that the first 2 films were not only original, but great, however the 3rd installment of the franchise.."The Ascent" blew big time. With that being said, I wouldn't bother to compare it to the first 3 prophecies because this is an entirely different war this time around. This film is about The Lexicon, which is basicly a book that finishes the story of Revelation. This book is suppose to tell you about the real forthcoming of the anti-christ and the apocalypse. It's suppose to give you the real facts on how the world is suppose to end, but the book isn't finished because it's still awaiting dictation from God himself. I love movies with storylines or plots that have depth. I don't wanna waste an hour and a half of my life on something predictable. Anyway, Kari Wuhrer is a good actress, and she does a good job playing the "chosen one" handpicked by the angel Simon himself as the personal guardian of the Lexicon. Meanwhile, she's being pursued by the demon Belial who wants the book. Belial jumps from body to body in the quest for the book. Not only that, Satan himself is actually on Earth trying to track her down, but in this case, he wants to protect her and the book (for his own selfish reasons of course). Either way, I suggest that you watch the Prophecy:Forsaken immediately after this one in order to get the whole story. It's explained in that film why she was chosen, and why Satan aided in the protection of the guardian.

Here's an annoying little thing that you'll have to do, before watching this movie, and that is to put on the, "English Captions", as there are several scenes with Romanian dialog (which I at first mistook for being benign, since there was no automatic English subtitling, but upon further viewing, noticed that too much Romanian dialog was being used, for it to just be for effect)

But here's the rub, there's no option to only have the Romanian dialog subtitled, so you're forced to watch the whole movie with the English subtitles, as there's only one English subtitling option on the subtitling menu :(

If anyone else has discerned a way to watch this movie with only the Romanian language subtitled, I'd be glad to hear from them, but I'm afraid that it looks like, there isn't :(

Another "Prophecy" sequel? Yes, but this one is not really a sequel, its another story altogether. Taking place in Eastern Europe, the story follows the hunt for a killer by a cop with a dark past.

He is "aided" by an Angel who is hunting for something the killer is after. The acting in this film is very good and the plot "twist" at the end was cool. I don't want to give anything away, but I will convey that the movie constantly blurs the boundries between good and evil.

Don't expect alot of special effects, expect a good story.

This is the fourth entry in THE PROPHECY saga, and although we miss Christopher Walken, it's a fairly decent spiritual thriller on its own. Belial has had a falling out with Satan and he wants to start a new hell. He also wants the Lexicon, the mystical book that is writing itself into the future of mankind. The book ends up in the hands of a young girl who worked for a priest and the angel Simon (voiced by Jason London) is guiding her step by step. Meanwhile, a burned out, guilt-ridden detective, Dani, is investigating the brutal ritualistic murders of several people who are having their hearts ripped out. He is aided by a shadowy Interpol agent, John Riegert, who has his own mysterious agenda.
Sean Pertwee is superb as the cop, a chain smoking cynic who has a shady past; John Light is remarkably effective as the handsome, rather acerbic John Riegert; and Kari Wuhrer has a strong sense of vulnerability as Allison.
It's all fairly entertaining and has some good suspenseful moments. Pinhead himself (Doug Bradley from HELLRAISER) is also in the talented cast.

I'd just like to say that there a few elements of Found Highway's very well written review that I disagree with. God plays a much larger role in these films than Found Highways suggests. God is indeed mysterious in these films, but God plays a huge role in the events depicted. The movies make it clear that Gabriel hadn't talked with God in a long time because Gabriel had stopped listening, but God is still speaking. Danyael is part of God's plan and his true importance is hinted at with such revelations as Gabriel having knew him before he was born "both times". Get it? There's even divine lightning in Prophecy 3! I won't give anything else away from the ending of that one, but it's pretty clear that God is directly involved in the events depicted in these films.