GenerationofSwine
Jan 14, 2023
10/10
Wow, well, you really know a Widen movie when you see one. He's one of those writers that come up with something unique each time he brings a script to the screen...he's also one of those writers that you just have to assume is on powerful hallucinogenic drugs.
Walken, of course, gets top billing, and he did do a very good job, who doesn't love it when he's a villein? He is always delightfully creepy and, in The Prophecy he balances that creepiness with a healthy does of humor. It makes him a lovable character, but then he does have a great sense of humor and one of the best deadpan deliveries in modern Hollywood.
Still...Elias Koteas. I don't think he means to do it, but he always takes center stage in whatever he does and The Prophecy is no different. The man just brings his A-game to every movie, every bit part he has ever played. And like his turn in Fallen, the one thing that lingers in your memory when the movie is over, is the Koteas performance. As usual he wields raw acting power with ease.
Stolz, as always, plays Eric Stoltz, but in this movie it works perfectly. He is the angel just following orders, and one that positively stinks of 90s era cool. You know from the first time you see him on screen that he was the perfect casting choice for Simon.
What makes it better is Adam Goldberg, the man that is always cast in the same sort of roles. That is the slightly dorky Jew. He's really the same character he was in Saving Private Ryan, only far more pathetic. But he also provides the comic relief as a walking, decaying, reanimated corpse forced back to life to be Walken's unwilling and lippy servant. The movie needed elements of relief to keep it grounded enough to appeal to the none Biblically inclined and Goldberg, well, he does his job and makes you laugh.
What you have here is a small film with a small budget and a great cast and it works. It works better than anyone can imagine, partially because the surreal quality of the script needed a small budget to keep it believable, and partially because the production quality forced everyone to relay on a very well written story and weigh it all on a cast that could turn it into something memorable.
The result is a film that is endlessly watchable