Casper Van Dien -

Gillen Lane

Michael York -

Stone Alexander

Catherine Oxenberg -

Cassandra Barashe

Michael Ironside -

Dominic

Jan Tríska -

Prophet #1

Gregory Wagrowski -

Prophet #2

Devon Odessa -

Jennifer Lane

I can think of two movies in 1999 that just popped-up in theaters with no media attention and little to no reviews.  The first was Black Mask, an action-packed martial arts film starring Jet Li.  The second is this one, The Omega Code, starring Casper Van Dien (from Starship Troopers) as Dr. Gillen Lane, an expert in mythology.  Of the two films, Black Mask is far superior, while The Omega Code is a confusing, muddled and badly written film.

Being that this is the end of 1999, there are many movies dealing with the end of the world and biblical prophesies.  It's a good thing that the end of the millennium comes every 1000 years.  Otherwise, we'd see movies like this much more frequently.  The movie is out in theaters at the same time as End of Days, and it may not stand a chance.  The special effects are decent, but it suffers from taking itself too seriously.  The acting is below average and the dialogue drew laughs from the audience I sat with.  There isn't an ounce of fun or suspense in the film's entire running time.

The plot deals with The Bible Code, which hides the secrets to knowing the future.  Within its many lines are prophesies which have foreseen upcoming events like the rise of Hitler and the death of Princess Diana.  Stone Alexander (Michael York) is using the Code to obtain world peace and become the most respected man on the planet.  In the meantime, Gillen Lane is attempting to fix his relationship with his wife Jennifer (Devon Odessa).  Alexander hires Lane to accompany him on his quest for world peace, and that means Lane has to leave his family.  Lane's position with Alexander is never made clear.  He was simply inserted there to discover Alexander's true intents, and that is to proclaim himself the world leader.

After this discovery, Lane is accused of Alexander's murder, and he becomes a wanted man in every corner of the world.  The movie jumps from Jerusalem to Rome to Los Angeles and back again.  Sometimes, I wasn't even sure which city I was in.  I was pretty sure about L.A., but I kept getting lost between Rome and Jerusalem.  Lane is accompanied by Cassandra Barashe (Catherine Oxenberg), a news reporter who gets caught up in the manhunt.  Much of the plot centers around finding the last line of The Bible Code, which is in the hands of two prophets who show up periodically throughout the film.  Throw in a few double-crossings and what we have here is a film that is badly paced and slow as a snail.

One of the problems with The Omega Code is its choice of Casper Van Dien in the lead.  His character is supposed to be a complex person who has shunned his religious views due to his mother's death.  Van Dien doesn't pull this off, and his performance suggests that he would rather be elsewhere.  Michael York, on the other hand, seems to enjoy his role and has fun with it.  Instead of using The Bible Code to predict world events, it should be used to determine if a film will be bad or not.  That way, The Omega Code wouldn't have seen the light of day.

© 1999 Silver Screen Reviews