MEGIDDO: THE OMEGA CODE 2 A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2001 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): **
MEGIDDO: THE OMEGA CODE 2 is about old struggles: good vs. evil, feast vs. famine, health vs. pestilence, nationalism vs. world government and benevolent dictatorship vs. democracy. It's also about the contrast between the handsomeness of the film and the way that it's so overacted and ridiculously scripted that it's sometimes kind of fun.
When we first meet Stone Alexander, he's a little devil, literally. His first overt act of destruction is to torch his baby brother while he is in his crib. With all of the emotive power of a department store mannequin, Gavin Fink plays this younger Stone. Chad Michael Allen isn't much better as Stone in his late teens and early twenties.
The bulk of the story occurs when the grown-up Stone (Michael York) has just gotten himself a promotion from head of the European Union to the first Chancellor of the World Union. His program consists of one world, one government, one goal and one language -- hint, it's not Chinese. The pesky Americans balk at joining Stone's party. As one of the presidential aide's puts it, Stone is "Adolf Hitler but with an attitude." I'll bet you thought that Hitler had an attitude.
York, who is a quite capable actor perhaps best known for playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET, is incredibly bad as the older Stone. Why York felt he had to camp it up isn't clear since the movie clearly wants to be taken seriously. (The music, which doesn't have a subtle note, reinforces the gravity of the situations.) Much better is Michael Biehn, who play's Stone's brother David, who survived his burning bed BBQ. Diane Venora plays Stone's wife, Gabriella, who finally parts with him when she catches him barfing bees.
Of course, the movie will move towards a cataclysmic conclusion that might mean the end of the world. That part contains my favorite scene as Stone sheds his worldly body and becomes a really cool looking gargoyle. It's a moment to remember.
MEGIDDO: THE OMEGA CODE 2 runs 1:42. It is rated PG-13 for "violence, warfare and some thematic elements" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film opens in limited release in the United States today, Friday, September 28, 2001. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters.
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