The Prophecy

What if a second war in Heaven erupted? What if some of the angels that remained loyal to God chose to defy Him? What could possibly happen and what possible ramifications could this have upon humankind and its relationship with the Creator? All of this serves as the premise for writer/director Gregory Widen’s religious thriller, “The Prophecy”.

“The Prophecy” follows a would-be priest turned homicide detective, Thomas Daggett (Elias Koteas) who stumbles upon a deadly prophecy unfolding on Earth as a result of a second war in Heaven that is now spilling over into our world. Led by the archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken), the angels who are no longer loyal to God over His decision to love us unconditionally, have come to Earth in search of a secret weapon that could provide them with the upper-hand in this angelic civil war. Now, Thomas, with the aid of a school teacher (Virginia Madsen) and one of God’s loyal angels (Eric Stoltz) must find a way to stop Gabriel and his legion, or humanity’s hope could be lost.

Written and directed by Gregory Widen (“Highlander”), “The Prophecy” is based on the concept of what if a 23rd chapter of Revelation was discovered and chronicled a second war. While this is not the most theologically sound premise by any means, the film does present some interesting ideas without becoming sacrilegious.

Whether intentional or not, the movie does manage to tackle several spiritual truths/issues amidst all of the fiction. Over the course of the film, there are numerous occasions where it focuses upon topics such as free will, the importance of our souls, and how we as humans fit into God’s plan and so on. These issues of religion, namely Christianity and/or Catholicism, left me quite surprised given that they were handled with a fair degree of reverence. Granted this is a fairly low-budget film, so I doubt these topics or even the main story arc of Thomas would have remained as intact if this were a major Hollywood blockbuster. Regardless, the fact remains these aspects are prominently featured throughout the film and in that I am impressed.

The story, at its core, is that of a man who has lost his faith in God and through his harrowing journey finds that God never lost faith in him. What I like about how this movie handled the main plot line is that it didn’t beat the audience over the head with its message. So many times movies with religious overtones try too hard to get their point across and wind up alienating the viewer. Either that or they make the characters and their circumstances too unbelievable in some way that it comes off clichéd, if not sappy.

With these types of films, the pacing is almost as crucial as having a solid story for the audience to connect with. As a whole, the film’s plot moves along at a decent pace; although, there are a few points that meander about for a bit too long early on. These moments do cause the movie to drag at times. So, I could see that some viewers would potentially lose interest just before the film really finds it’s footing thematically. Beyond those minor issues within the story, there is some really engaging drama, an intriguing cat-and-mouse game, and even some dark comedy sprinkled about to provide much needed levity to the proceedings.

Regarding the cast, headlining the film is actor Christopher Walken portraying a decidedly more ruthless version of Gabriel than most envision for the angel. Walken balances Gabriel’s insidious nature towards humanity with some off-beat, slightly dark humor that makes him entertaining in a strange way. While Christopher Walken would not have been my first thought for this role, his eccentric quirks and one-of-a-kind voice and line delivery helped make Gabriel into one of my favorite Walken characters.

Leading the supporting cast is the often underrated, yet ever reliable Elias Koteas (“Shutter Island”). Elias’ sincerity throughout the entirety of Thomas’ spiritual journey grounds his character’s arc in a believable manner without ever succumbing to the cheese factor that befalls almost every Christian movie (i.e. “Left Behind”). While much of the movie’s entertainment value comes from the chase between Gabriel and Thomas; it is Thomas’ character arc that gives the movie its heart and soul, which is what really made it all work, in my opinion.

Rounding out the main supporting cast are Virginia Madsen (“Firewall”) and Eric Stoltz (TV’s “Caprica”). Virginia’s role of the elementary teacher thrust into the middle of this conflict felt somewhat beneath her pay grade, so to speak. Virginia did her best with what she was given to make her character interesting; however, for the most part she was relegated to exposition, and at times needlessly so. Eric Stoltz as the angel Simon, who happens to be on humanity’s side, portrays a much more benevolent and loyal angel as compared to Walken’s Gabriel. It’s just too bad Simon wasn’t featured more often, as he was an intriguing character from the get-go. Even so, Stoltz did a good job with the time allotted and in that I cannot complain.

In the end, “The Prophecy” is a movie that deals with many themes and ideas found in Christianity and/or Catholicism in a surprisingly genuine, reverent manner. While not always the most theologically sound, so don’t go basing your views or beliefs upon it, the movie never appears to trample on the concepts either. Featuring a solid storyline, engaging characters (for the most part), and an interesting premise, “The Prophecy” is an entertaining religious thriller that delivers.

“The Prophecy” is rated R for violence and language.