The Prophecy II

Gabriel (Christopher Walken) returns to try to destroy the human race he despises so much, with the help of a suicidal teen (Brittany Murphy) and the opposition of the angel Danyael (Russell Wong).

I pretty much never get sick of Christopher Walken. While this is not is best movie or one of his best roles, just seeing him act and talk in that voice of his is all I need. I particularly like him being menacing (his humor is good, but sometimes he gets just a little bit too campy).

Tom Towles has a cameo role as Detective Waltrip. I had no idea he was in this, but recognized his face immediately. Tom is a great guy, and it was a pleasure to see this horror icon.

Brittany Murphy will be remembered for only one thing in this movie, saying, "You're only keeping me alive because you don't know DOS." Although her inability to kill herself is morbidly humorous. Eric Roberts also stars... but who cares?

So-so sequel to the original religion-themed horror film sees Christopher Walken return as the archangel Gabriel, who despises the human race more than ever. He leads one faction of angels that have turned against God, bitter over the love that He showed to mankind. The other faction of angels seek to stop Gabriel and his kind. The main story point of this sequel is that Gabriel is in pursuit of an innocent woman, Valerie Rosales (Jennifer Beals), because she has been impregnated by good guy angel Danyael (Russell Wong).

"The Prophecy II" feels pretty routine overall, although its theme of angels battling each other is an interesting one. It leans heavily on humour, with Walken obviously encouraged to be at his quirkiest and most Walken-esque. For one thing, Gabriel's no good with modern technology, so he keeps resurrecting a suicidal girl (sad eyed Brittany Murphy) so she can do such things as computer searches. It's got some very fun gore and visuals, but it's not until near the end when it really picks up. It also casts Eric Roberts, rock icon Glenn Danzig, and William Prael as assorted angels. Steve Hytner ("That's gold, Jerry, gold!") briefly reprises his role as Joseph, and Bruce Abbott of "Re- Animator" fame has limited screen time as he inherits the role of ex-cop Thomas Daggett from Elias Koteas, who played that role in the first film. Look also for Tom Towles and Kathryn Morris in small roles. The handsome Wong is sincere but bland; Beals is a reasonably appealing heroine.

The hook of a "Nephilim" (a half human / half angel offspring) helps to keep this watchable, for a fairly painless, short running time of just over 83 minutes.

One of only two directorial efforts for Greg Spence (most recently, a producer on 'Game of Thrones'), the other being "Children of the Corn: The Gathering".

Six out of 10.

The Prophecy II was an ok movie but it lacked a certain quality the first had. I mean, the first one was so much better there is no comparison. Christopher Walken comes back to play Gabriel, but that and a few humorous sections were all that was good about this film. The ending was the best part. Too bad you have to watch the whole thing to get to it. If you've seen and liked the first, then I recommend watching this one, but don't have too high of expectations.

I watched the Prophecy and Prophecy II on the same night, both for the first time, so the comparisons were really obvious. Though PII is not a complete waste of time, it was hardly as interesting and exciting as the first. It did have some good points, however, and I would recommend it to anyone who loved the story of the Prophecy idea. The climactic scene at the end was excellent. Very creepy. DOS and PC lovers will like the humor as Gabriel tries to work a computer. :) The special effects sequences of angels flying above in the clouds was awesome. Even so, it lacked something that the first had. I'd give it a 6/10, and the first a 9/10. Let's hope Prophecy III will be better.

While not quite equal to the original, I found Prophecy II to be very very good, especially considering it's a sequel. I've read a lot of bad reviews of this film, which I don't understand. It seems so much like the original to me, and the original instantly became one of my favorite movies.

As a bonus (to me anyway) one of my favorite actors, Tom Towles, has a small role.

The scene just before the ending is absolutely breathtaking.