After enjoying Prophecy Uprising, I honestly did not look forward to Forsaken. Uprising left off with a nice open-ended finale that did not need further elaboration. To use a cliché the gunslinger walks into the sunset, destined to emerge again before his lifetime expires to participate in other gunfights. But do we need to hear about those later battles now that his main story has been told? Can't we just leave the rest as an unspoken truth? Forsaken comes across as the collection of miscellaneous details wrapped up after the main conflict. An epilogue (a 75 minute long epilogue), and not a complete movie one of the minor skirmishes that go on after the war has ended, if you will. That last dinner roll you take home to snack on later. Pure excess.
Enter the new villain in pursuit of the Prophet's Lexicon which holds the key to Armageddon Stark, the seraphim (played by the Candyman, himself, Tony Todd). And let's not forget the henchman, Dylan (Jason Scott Lee), whose introduction pays homage to a previous Prophecy film where Christopher Walken resurrects a human lackey.
Allison (Kari Wurher) returns as the underused holder of the Lexicon. She exists in Forsaken to run from the newest angelic threats and ask questions. Questions that prompt other characters to deliver exposition. And what about Allison, herself? What about her character exploration? Incidentally, we discover more revelations concerning her through words spoken by Dylan and Stark than we do by following and observing the heroine. Which leads to the question, "Why show the character at all?" From the mouths of others we hear about Allison, but Joel Soisson denies the audience the chance to actually meet her and explore her dilemma. She's the protagonist of the film, and yet she's a stranger.
And tragically, the material has great potential for a provocative and compelling thriller. Allison flees from angels, and speaks face to face with Lucifer. By protecting the book, she protects the course of events that will lead to Armageddon and billions of suffering souls she essentially becomes the guardian of the anti-Christ. But nowhere does she audience even catch a glimpse of the scale of Allison's burden or the incredible faith she must wield to go on without questioning her mission. Forsaken dabbles with these questions mostly through Stark's dialogue, but ultimately leaves them hanging. Much how it treats its protagonist, I might add.
Flipping over to the villains, the seraphim Stark pursues Allison with a desire to eliminate her and claim the Lexicon for his own; however, his status in the angelic hierarchy discourages him from direct intervention. Hence the henchman to actually pull the trigger. It's yet another scenario with potential; however, it feels mundane in this film. Like Dylan is Stark's coffee boy.
And the nail in the coffin? The circles these characters go in. The dark powers have Allison in her clutches, she has no prayer of escape, and I called Joel Soisson on the bluff. She escapes with help. She walks into a trap. Stark lets her go. Dylan holds her at gunpoint, and I yawned. Speaking of Dylan, he flip flops between reluctantly agreeing to kill her, and reluctantly trying to save her life throughout the entire running time. Stark threatens, but does nothing.
How do you build suspense when the danger feels whimsical? When forty-five minutes into the film the main character still seems like a stranger? When Dylan leads Allison into the clutches of Stark's angelic minions the audience should feel betrayed by the character hold their breath, and climb to the edge of their seat to find out what happens to her and think "this might be it." But as it stands, we cross our arms and correctly predict, "It's got nothing." In closing, the film has great cards; unfortunately, they don't add up to a worthwhile hand. It stands as a number of wonderful possibilities missing the final card to complete itself. At best it can bluff, but it's not good at that either.
Enter the new villain in pursuit of the Prophet's Lexicon which holds the key to Armageddon Stark, the seraphim (played by the Candyman, himself, Tony Todd). And let's not forget the henchman, Dylan (Jason Scott Lee), whose introduction pays homage to a previous Prophecy film where Christopher Walken resurrects a human lackey.
Allison (Kari Wurher) returns as the underused holder of the Lexicon. She exists in Forsaken to run from the newest angelic threats and ask questions. Questions that prompt other characters to deliver exposition. And what about Allison, herself? What about her character exploration? Incidentally, we discover more revelations concerning her through words spoken by Dylan and Stark than we do by following and observing the heroine. Which leads to the question, "Why show the character at all?" From the mouths of others we hear about Allison, but Joel Soisson denies the audience the chance to actually meet her and explore her dilemma. She's the protagonist of the film, and yet she's a stranger.
And tragically, the material has great potential for a provocative and compelling thriller. Allison flees from angels, and speaks face to face with Lucifer. By protecting the book, she protects the course of events that will lead to Armageddon and billions of suffering souls she essentially becomes the guardian of the anti-Christ. But nowhere does she audience even catch a glimpse of the scale of Allison's burden or the incredible faith she must wield to go on without questioning her mission. Forsaken dabbles with these questions mostly through Stark's dialogue, but ultimately leaves them hanging. Much how it treats its protagonist, I might add.
Flipping over to the villains, the seraphim Stark pursues Allison with a desire to eliminate her and claim the Lexicon for his own; however, his status in the angelic hierarchy discourages him from direct intervention. Hence the henchman to actually pull the trigger. It's yet another scenario with potential; however, it feels mundane in this film. Like Dylan is Stark's coffee boy.
And the nail in the coffin? The circles these characters go in. The dark powers have Allison in her clutches, she has no prayer of escape, and I called Joel Soisson on the bluff. She escapes with help. She walks into a trap. Stark lets her go. Dylan holds her at gunpoint, and I yawned. Speaking of Dylan, he flip flops between reluctantly agreeing to kill her, and reluctantly trying to save her life throughout the entire running time. Stark threatens, but does nothing.
How do you build suspense when the danger feels whimsical? When forty-five minutes into the film the main character still seems like a stranger? When Dylan leads Allison into the clutches of Stark's angelic minions the audience should feel betrayed by the character hold their breath, and climb to the edge of their seat to find out what happens to her and think "this might be it." But as it stands, we cross our arms and correctly predict, "It's got nothing." In closing, the film has great cards; unfortunately, they don't add up to a worthwhile hand. It stands as a number of wonderful possibilities missing the final card to complete itself. At best it can bluff, but it's not good at that either.