The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000) (V)

Director:

Patrick Lussier

Writers:

Gregory Widen (characters)
Carl V. Dupré (written by) ...

Release Date:

14 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The Final, Most Thrilling Chapter!

Plot:

The conclusion to The Prophecy Trilogy. Once again, Christopher Walken returns as the Arch-Angel Gabriel...

Plot Keywords:

Angel | Destiny | Direct To Video Sequel To Theatrical Movie | Heart In Hand | Hit By Car

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel
Vincent Spano	...	Zophael
Dave Buzzotta	...	Danyael
Kayren Butler	...	Maggie (as Kayren Ann Butler)
Steve Hytner	...	Joseph
Brad Dourif	...	Zealot
Scott Cleverdon	...	Pyriel
Jack McGee	...	Detective
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Madge (as Sandra Lafferty)
Mark Prince Edwards	...	Donut Guy
Tyrone Tann	...	Kyle
Moriah 'Shining Dove' Snyder	...	Mary (as Moriah Shining Dove Snyder)
J.D. Rosen	...	Tail Man
William Stanford Davis	...	Portly Coroner (as Stan Davis)
Drew Swaine	...	Young Danyael

Also Known As:

God's Army III (Europe: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence, and for some nudity and language.

Runtime:

Japan:84 min | Argentina:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Dimension Films

Quotes:

ZophaelJones: Killing you would be so easy.
Gabriel: Fried food can kill me, a mugger can kill me. You're not so special down here, Jones!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Walkentalk (2003)

Not bad at all

Well the third part of the installment is enjoyable. It has some weaknesses, but overall I didn't mind watching it.

The Weaknesses: No recognizable angelic names in it (with the exception of Gabriel). The bad guy (Zophael) is a total no-name, so you don't really know how to rank him (powerful/not powerful), which wasn't really a problem in the first part. There you knew that Simon was more powerful than Uziel; that Gabriel could beat Simon's ass; and that Lucifer could smack them all to hell in a handbasket.

Funnily this works to advantage for the movie as you don't really know which side of the factions Zophael and who actually is the good/bad guy until somewhat in the middle of the movie.

The actors aren't all that good (with the exception of Walken, Spano - who brings that charisma back to the angels that was so severely lacking in the second part- and the Coroner who has grown to be one of my favourite characters in the three movies)

Strenghts: The storyline is closed. I won't argue that it's the most coherent storyline, but it at least makes some moderate sense in itself. The musical score has always been one of the big things about the trilogy and they kept it -wisely- unchanged for the most part. This time around we have more funny scenes and even some jabs at the original 'The Prophecy', while not making it campy and keeping all the good bits (fights, heart ripping, supernatural powers etc.). Some of the moves seem very Matrix-like, but that was already the case in 'The Prophecy II', so I don't really know who copied from whom (It just seems so similar: Humans fighting against some overly powerful and nigh unkillable opponents in cool long dark suits). No matter: It's fun to watch. This time we also don't get treated to some candy sweet religious thing in the end, where the main character suddenly becomes a devout Christian - that's a big plus.

Overall, I'd recommend seeing this film. Best if viewed together with the other two or you will not get many of the references.

7/10