Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001)

(In French, On Cable TV, May 2022) As far as films made for the American Evangelical communities go, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 does have an interesting wrinkle going for it: It seems to take an almost tongue-in-cheek approach to its topic matter. Unlike such “classics” as Left Behind (both of them) or the first The Omega Code, this sequel seems to be going for an over-the-top approach that, at the right angle, seems purpose-built for chuckles. Michael York certainly delivers as the anti-Christ antagonist of the film, chewing scenery like delicious sacramental bread. The rest of the credit for a semi-watchable film should go to director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who seems positively gleeful at the means at his disposal. Trenchard-Smith, after all, is an Ozploitation legend with a good sense of humour about his own movies – he openly boasted about his intention in accepting to direct the film: playing with the biggest budget of his career and taking the chance to stage some elaborate expensive action. The result is still a terrible film filled with circa-2000s Evangelical obsessions (European Union, return to the promised land, Vatican put-downs, book of revelations, etc.) but one that does have quite a bit of snark potential. It’s horrifying racist (such as the sequence where the white guy kills an audience of black people), theologically dubious, anachronistic in taking aim at the evil EU, badly plotted and cheaply executed, but it has scope, York in fine form and the occasional bit of surprisingly effective dialogue (“I’ll always have a chance in hell,” says the anti-Christ). Even if Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 remains a bad movie, I have suffered through much, much worse.