The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000)

A nephilim (half-man/half-angel), guided by visions and aided by the ex-arch angel Gabriel, finds himself hunted and forced to confront Pyriel, the Angel of Genocide.

Director:

Patrick Lussier

Writers:

Gregory Widen (based on characters created by), Carl V. Dupré (as Carl Dupre')

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Vincent Spano, Dave Buzzotta

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel
Vincent Spano	...	Zophael 'Jones'
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

Storyline

The conclusion to The Prophecy Trilogy. Once again, Christopher Walken returns as the Arch-Angel Gabriel. As the War in Heaven and on Earth rages on, Pyriel, the Angel of Genocide, rises to power, intending to destroy all of mankind. The only one who stands in his way is Danyael, who was born of an Angel and a woman, but Danyael is unaware of his purpose, until he runs into Gabriel, who has now become a human after the events of The Prophecy 2, and is acting as his secret guardian. Now, the fate of the world hangs in the balance as Danyael sets out to confront Pyriel and finally fulfill his destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | bare breasts | archangel gabriel character | shot in the chest | reference to rasputin | 

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Taglines:

Mankind's Last Hope From Total Destruction!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent marked the directorial debut of Patrick Lussier, who has often worked as an editor for horror director Wes Craven.

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Goofs

When Danyael jumps on the motorcycle he hits the gear pedal first, then we cut to see him pull the clutch lever. Since the motor is already running, punching in first gear without pulling the clutch would cause the motor to die and the motorcycle to make an abrupt leap forward.

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Quotes

Gabriel: In the end, there's still the word. Everywhere. In heaven and its angels, the Earth and stars; even in the darkest part of the human soul. It was there the word burned brightest, and for a moment... I was blinded.

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Connections

Follows The Prophecy (1995)

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Soundtracks

Earth Angel
Written by Curtis Williams, Jesse Belvin and Gaynel Hodge
Copyright 1954 (renewed) by Embassy Music Corporation (BMI)
Recording by The Penguins, Courtesy of Music Sales Corporation

User Reviews

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Neo Art & Logic, Overseas FilmGroup

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1