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The Prophecy: Uprising (2005) (V)

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30 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly Good, 5 June 2005

Author: Ty from Hamden, CT

I don't know why "The Prophecy: Uprising" was collecting dust on a shelf at Miramax, when this is a pretty decent movie that should've gotten a theatrical release. You don't have to see the other "Prophecy" movies to watch this one. It stands alone, even though "The Prophecy: Forsaken" is coming out on September 6th. Kari Wuhrer is Allison, who finds a bible that can change the world. Sean Pertwee co-stars as Dani, a cop who has a terrible past. Pertwee is excellent in the role. Doug Bradley of the "Hellraiser" movies has a pivotal role in this too. The flashbacks and quick cuts also work very well. Of course, the script is silly sometimes, but that works to it's advantage. In the end: Don't be hit by "sequelitis" and pass it by. It's definitely worth seeing.

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24 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
One terrific movie, 4 July 2005

Author: Craig McPherson from Montreal, Canada

I began to suspect something was up when I found it impossible to obtain a copy of Prophecy Uprising from my local video rental outlet. Initially I chalked it up to the fact that they only had one copy in stock, as opposed to the bazillion copies most releases command. However, upon doing a tour of other outlets in my area I was consistently confronted with the same thing. Each store only carried one or two copies and all were perpetually rented.

Curious, I checked what online reviews I could locate and most uniformly praised the film as a highly entertaining effort.

Finally my luck paid off and I managed to score a rental copy, and based on my viewing I have to say that the reviewers were right. This is one heck of a tight and entertaining film.

In fact, it's arguably the best by far in the entire series of Prophecy films, even though it doesn't feature the great Christopher Walken at all.

I can only surmise that this film didn't get a theatrical release simply because the powers that be at Dimension Films must have concluded that the Prophecy franchise (if such could be said to exist) was on its last legs and had run its course. It would be a shame if true for this movie completely invigorates the concept behind the films, and lays the groundwork for at least one more film, one of which, I'm now of the opinion, could only be done justice if done by the same director (Joel Soisson) and writers as Prophecy Uprising.

Make no mistake about it. This is not some hackneyed special effects blood and guts fright fest. Rather, this is actually a pretty clever and tightly written suspense film done from a detective perspective. The movie relies on viewers to be familiar with the concept behind the original Prophecy movie, but only in terms of the whole war in heaven issue. Beyond that the movie stands on its own and does a pretty clever take on the concept put forth in the original.

Performances are sound all around. The direction, editing, scoring and production values are all top notch. In short, you really can't go wrong with this most fine of direct-to-video gems.

Now I understand why this movie has been hard to obtain. It's good, pure and simple. Check it out and you be the judge.

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
War of Angels, 7 May 2006

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Bucharest, the tormented detective Dani Simionescu (Sean Pertwee) is investigating bizarre deaths with the heart removed from the victims. The Interpol agent John Riegert (John Light) is assigned to be his partner in the case. Meanwhile, the clerk of the church Alisson (Kari Wuhrer) finds the local priest dead and a mysterious bible, "The Prophet Lexicon", where the last chapter about the apocalypse, called Revelations, is being somehow written. The voice of an angel, called Simon, advises her that she must protect the bible against a demon called Belial that wants to read this final chapter to have advantages in the war of angels.

"The Prophecy: Uprising" follows the same premises of Christopher Walken's "Prophecy" movies, but it is not a sequel. There are new characters and the story is also good. The locations in Bucharest and the cold and quite dark cinematography contribute with the atmosphere of the film. I liked the performance of the cast, especially John Light with his evil look and Sean Pertwee. I believe that viewers that like movies about fallen angels will also like this good flick. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Profecia: A Guardiã do Destino" ("Prophecy: The Guardian of the Destiny")

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10 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
most original storyline I've seen in years, 23 June 2005

Author: kechupydeath from Romania

The action of the movie takes place in Romania (my country) and I can say that unlike other movies in which Romania is the base ground this one offers a very realistic view of the country. I was especially pleased to hear the excellent accent the actors have sometimes, which is a very hard thing to do, I've never seen an English man speak romanian like a real one. The characters in this movie are the most original ones I've seen in years. They're just like the characters in video games, you must think like that character to understand him and his actions. I give this movie a 9 because it's an original movie with an original storyline, although the movie could have been done a lot better. In our days it's very hard to come up with an original idea for a story, lots of movies have a common structure which make them box office hits (special effects, famous actors, nude scenes, etc) but at one point you get tired to watch the same thing over and over again. I hope that in the future will have more movies of this kind.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Why?, 1 July 2005

Author: ryndvshah from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

First of all I really enjoyed the first 3 movies, yea it was drug out a long time and all but they were still pretty good. I see why it says that this movie can stand alone because it doesn't even follow the same direction the other movies had. For instance whats this crap that the "angels" have to live in human bodies thats a really big jump from the beginning of the series. It's like a body snatchers movie for crying out loud. But anyway the plot line itself didn't make much sense if you follow the first three. The first three dealt with the war between heaven and fallen "angels" this movie was about a war for a new hell. As a movie by itself it would be alright but it shouldn't be given the privilege of being in the original Prophecy movie series. It should've been given it's own name. Yes I'll probably buy the next one that comes out just to see where it goes and how it ends.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not bad, but not as good as the original, 25 June 2005

Author: that_darn_punk19 from United States

I thought the movie was good considering that we're talking about a movie that obviously can never measure up to the original. I was a skeptic at first, but after seeing it, I now have a little more faith that maybe the movies would get even better and by the time 2307 comes, we might get an awesome Prophecy movie.

Joking aside, not a bad movie, go rent it...really!

The acting was descent, could have been more or better special effects, the plot was definitely interesting..a few good twists. I recommend that if you're a die hard Prophecy fan and wont watch unless Walken is in it, don't bother, but those of us who aren't, just plain see it for the sheer fun of a new movie.

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7 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
No Walken, no good movie, 23 September 2005

Author: movieman_kev from United States

A series of grisly ritualistic murders transpires in Bucharest, Romania. Gruff cop, Dani Simionescu (Sean Pertwee from "Dog Soldiers" and "Equilibrium" ) teams up with Interpol agent, John Riegert (John Light) to track the killer down. Meanwhile, Allison (new B-movie mainstay, Kari Wuhrer) is a church worker, who, after her priest drops dead, gets to be in possession of an ancient manuscript called the Lexicon, that is still being written by an unseen hand and holds the key to turning the tides in the war against God's army and the army of Satan depending on who gets to it first. Now she is being pursued by both in this movie that has tenuous links to the previous three films at best. Entering this film I was very skeptical about a Prophecy film with no Christopher Walken in sight and to it this film set on the shelf for some time before getting a release and my expectations were low to non-existent. I was surprised then that the film was better than the atrocious part 2. Sean Pertwee in no small part, helped with the enjoyment of the film with his excellent acting, even if the story itself is lacking. The metaphysical pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo does tend to try one's patience before the film is over, and the lack of any real ending still makes this one pretty bad, it's just better than I had expected.

My Grade: D+

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The Prophecy meets Lethal Weapon, 6 December 2006
Author: jaywriterXIII from USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

While the production teams behind the latest Hellraiser, Dracula, and Prophecy films certainly deserve credit for trying to take said franchises into new territories, most of their efforts to breath new life into the series never quite come through as successful. Fans will forever dispute over which elements of the original should stay the same in the sequel, which elements should evolve, and which elements should change entirely.

Prophecy: Uprising gets it right.

Christopher Walken's character, the fallen angel Gabriel, has rightly left the franchise as his story has come full circle in Prophecy 3: Ascent (although, admittingly, a cameo would've been nice -- minor gripe.) Uprising continues the spirit of the Prophecy films with angels warring on earth over the fate of Heaven, Hell, and God's favor. This time around, the war continues with the fallen angel, Belial, seeking an ancient text which shall foretell the coming apocalypse in detail.

This text, the Prophet's Lexicon, has fallen into the hands of a young woman named Allison. And while the angel, Simon, guides her away from the demon, the film mainly follows the detective Dani who has gained a new partner, John Riegert. Dani and John investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims have had their hearts violently removed, which ties back to Belial and sooner or later all the characters shall come face to face.

The curious thing about Prophecy Uprising, and the factor that I admire most, is how the plot feels almost inconsequential in the sense that fans already have a clear idea where the film is heading (and non-fans won't be very far behind, either.) Barring superficial changes, the storyline doesn't differ too terribly from the original Prophecy, yet Uprising manages find its own voice via its new Romanian locations, its new cast and creative team that pay proper respects to Walken and Widen, but still manage to make the performances and the film their own. This slight distinction gives Uprising a surprisingly refreshing flavor and raises it above what I expected to find in a third sequel (direct-to-video, no less.) The film opens with a slightly heavy-handed chase sequence (did we really have to hide the pursuer?) that contains an interesting, somewhat jarring, moment where the nameless man scales a wall, leaving the rain-soaked streets of Bucharest to enter a white wintery domain for seemingly no reason. It offers an interesting other-worldly moment to the chase, which I welcome in this age of overused chase sequences. The man looks around at the changed surroundings in shock, then flings Romanian currency behind him in a nice slow motion shot as he continues his flight from the unseen pursuer. When caught, which tends to happen to characters chased in movie openings, the pursuer turns out to be a crooked detective (the aforementioned Dani, played by Sean Pertwee) who proceeds to rob this wasted junky of whatever cash he has left.

But from there John Light takes the spotlight, not making much of an effort to hide the angelic enigma behind his character's alter-ego (thank you, John Light.) In a film franchise about angels, the mystery behind detective Riegert would not stay a mystery for long, so John Light rightly makes it plain to the viewer from the get-go. And there's a certain charm to his interpretation of an angel incognito -- a playful nudge and a wink, if you will, for those who would figure out the, ahem, "surprise" early. Looking over a crime scene, with barely any observation he notes with a distinct lack of interest, "I think you'll find the heart was removed before your friend fell." The film focuses primarily on the partnership between John and Dani and their investigation of the murder string. Kind of a buddy-cop film, if you will. Right up until John unveils his true nature to Dani in a mansion that houses the spirit of atrocities from Dani's past. A kind of "hell on earth" Riegert muses while the ghosts haunt Dani's conscience in a series of slick, well cut, flashbacks. I particularly liked this exploration of Dani's treacherous history that builds on the truth we've already seen -- that this detective does not represent spiritual purity, and yet we follow this character.

Meanwhile the film cuts away just enough to drive the story of Belial's pursuit of the more pure protagonist, Allison (Kari Wurher), until the inevitable confrontation where angels and humankind have their final showdown in a wonderfully atmospheric location, laced with blue light, and deep shadows. I loved the restraint and simplicity of the ending, I loved the shot composition that shows John Light as little more than a silhouette in the background as an implied protective force -- keeping Allison and Dani under his wing, so to speak -- so they have a chance against Belial.

Flawed? Indeed. Leaving quirky questions like "Why did Dani empty his gun except for two bullets going into the final confrontation?" and "How come the heart-rip theme seems inconsistent at the end of the film?" But never mind. I was impressed that Uprising managed to find its own voice while pulling a few unique tricks out of its hat, ending the film on the note that they did. I watched with satisfaction as the victorious angel walked into the sunset to burst into a flock of birds. Cue the end credits and the end of this review.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
More of a new beginning rather than a sequel, 14 July 2005

Author: wolfshadw from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The first three movies were about the angels who stood beside God during the first war in Heaven and then divided; creating a second angel war. This movie seems like the beginning of a new story concerning a division between those who had fallen in that first war.

While, sadly, there is no Christopher Walken, there really is no part or place for Gabriel in this story. This is about God's as yet, written prophecy and how Hell's minions want to use it for their own purposes.

The central character of this movie is Dani (Sean Pertwee), a Romanian cop with a past, but the central character of the story (this movie and the next) is Allison (Kari Wuhrer) who, for lack of a better term, "inherits" the One bible, in which God is writing the last chapter of Revelations. Whoever gets God's final Revelation first will have the upper hand, not only in Hell, but Heaven as well. Unfortunately, too soon after we figure this out, the credits are rolling. This leaves the character-build of Allison incomplete and one can only hope we get a clearer understanding in September's follow-up, The Prophecy: Forsaken.

To sum up, if you're a Christopher Walken fan looking for Gabe to toot his horn one more time, don't bother with this film. If you're a Kari Wuhrer fan, you'll probably be disappointed with the lack of her character building. If you're a Sean Pertwee or John Light (as Satan) fan, or a fan of the series in general, this movie is a must!

Side Note: One possibly implied reference to a character in the original series: During the internet chat session where Dani's trying to gather information about corpses missing their hearts, he gets a reply from "joseph_1995". Reference to Thomas Dagget's autopsy doctor friend, Joseph (played by Steve Hytner) and the year the original film was released???

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not Bad, 9 June 2005

Author: radharc from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This was a decent installment in the series, and was actually much better than #2 (even without Walken) as a whole.

**SPOILER** Some schools of thought believe that Satan and Lucifer are 2 different entities. This, of course, works quite well as there are 2 different actors portraying these characters, with 2 completely different takes of the characters. Maybe this is just because Viggo has more star-power now, but I'd like to think the writer is making the delineation between the two quite clear.

At any rate, rent it or buy it. It's better than a lot of dreck that's out there. This one should have gotten a theatrical release...

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