The Prophecy II

Last year's The Prophecy was--critics be damned--one of my genuine guilty pleasures: a sly and cheeky response to the fuzzy, warm angels phenomenon (you gotta appreciate the twisted mind that went--bing!--I know, let's make an action/horror flick about God's right-hand creatures). So I had sizeable expectations when I cued up Prophecy II, ready to see Christopher Walken reprising his role as trumpeting angel Gabriel (Remember the Jericho!), a bad-butt angel who hates the idea that God chose to bestow his love on a bunch of monkeys (that would be us). In Prophecy II, Jennifer Beals is touched by an angel (impregnated, actually), which, in Gabriel's eyes translates thus: angels bedding humans is tantamount to sleeping with the enemy. So, Gabriel gets his feathers ruffled big time and starts stalking Ms. Flashdance. Except for a few choice lines by Walken, however, the film is essentially one long and utterly uninspired chase scene. And, I don't want to sound too Jeanne Dixon-ish here, but judging from the ending I prophesize a third entry in the series. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)