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The Omega Code

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The Omega Code
DVD cover
Directed byRobert Marcarelli
Written byStephan Blinn
Hollis Barton
Produced byMatthew Crouch (also executive producer) for Code Productions and Gener8Xion Entertainment
StarringCasper Van Dien
Michael York
Catherine Oxenberg
Michael Ironside
Devon Odessa
CinematographyCarlos González
Edited byKatina Zinner
Peter Zinner
Music byAlan Howarth
Harry Manfredini
Production
company
Distributed byProvidence Entertainment
Release date
  • October 15, 1999 (1999-10-15)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7,600,000[1]
Box office$12,615,000[2]

The Omega Code is a 1999 thriller film directed by Robert Marcarelli, starring Casper Van Dien as the protagonist, Dr. Gillen Lane, and Michael York as the antagonist. It has a premillennialist plot about a plan by the Antichrist to take over the world. The film is based on a novel written by televangelist Paul Crouch, head of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which continues to air the movie occasionally. In 2001, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 was released; it is partly a prequel, and partly an alternate eschatological tale. Megiddo had a larger budget than the original, but proved less popular.[citation needed]

Plot

The movie begins in Jerusalem, where a rabbi named Rostenburg is typing a code from the Bible onto his laptop computer. He is shot and killed by an assassin wearing a rabbi's outfit, who then takes the computer disk containing the code. Following this, two mysterious men take a page out of Rostenburg's sweater and keep it.

The scene shifts to the back stage of a talk show, hosted by Cassandra Barashe (Catherine Oxenberg), where Dr. Gillian Lane (Casper Van Dien), an author and speaker, is getting ready to go onto the stage. On the show he explains that Old Testament is a passage to our past, present, and future. After the show, he returns home and visits his ex-wife and daughter on the latter's birthday.

Stone Alexander (Michael York) is then shown speaking at a peace ceremony in Rome on how he has fed the hungry in Africa with water and food wafers. Dr. Lane attends as well and the two "enjoy some fine champagne and to support a worthy cause." It is revealed to the audience that the man who killed the rabbi in the beginning is Stone's apprentice, Dominic (Michael Ironside). Dr. Lane meets with Cassandra, and the two form an alliance.

Lane and Stone makes a worldwide tour of goodwill such as one related to the establishment of the Palestinian state. Stone also makes a seven-year peace treaty with the Palestinians and the Israelis before moving on to other regions of the globe. In the meantime, Lane's family is shown not being able to see him because of his busy schedule.

After three-and-a-half years, Lane discovers that Stone had been using the computer code that was shown in the beginning of the movie. This code is based on what is called the 3-D study of the Bible, where prophetic messages are revealed. Stone and his bodyguard find Lane, and Stone asks him to be his prophet. Dominic in an anger at being left pulls out his gun and tried to kill Lane, but instead shoots Stone. Dominic lies stating that Lane shot Stone, which leads to a worldwide manhunt. People around the world hold funerals for Stone.

Lane, meanwhile, is about to take off in an airplane when he remembers what Rostenburg said about the Torah containing the genetic code of the universe. Satan enters Stone's body so he can continue the plans. Later in the movie, Stone obtains the final code via tempting Cassandra. Stone proclaims himself king and God at a coronation. This angers the two prophets, who denounce Stone. When he demands that they "show us all a sign" one responds "It is a wicked and perverse generation who asks for a sign. But like Christ, your only sign will be this: destroy these temples of His holy prophets and the Lord will rebuild them in three days!" To that, Stone says "It will be my pleasure!" They are then killed by Dominic while Stone says to keep them on display to show what will happen if anyone who defies him, invoking a general protest from both Muslims and Jews. Alexander manages to leave via helicopter, vowing to make an example of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the last code is shown to be a fake (the true code was with the prophets).

Stone then leads armies against Jerusalem as it is the first to withdraw from the global alliance. The two prophets are resurrected. Lane appears with the code. Stone lies that he'll call off the attack if Lane will enter the final code. Lane does so. Stone is about to commence the destruction of Jerusalem, "On my mark, three, two, and—" when a bright light appears from heaven, sending Satan back to where he came from, leaving Stone dead again. The film closes as we see what the final code said from the start of the movie: Dawn of New Millennium.

Production and distribution

The film was produced by Code Productions in cunjunction with Eclipse Catering, TBN's Gener8Xion Entertainment and TBN Films. It was first aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network in 2000, and then distributed by TBN on video and released over the internet in 2002.

Other distributors

  • Higher Dreams (1999) (Spain) (theatrical)
  • Providence Entertainment (1999) (USA, theatrical)
  • At Entertainment (2000) (Japan, on video)
  • Eagle Entertainment (2001) (Australia, theatrical)
  • Argentina Video Home (Argentina, video)
  • Califórnia Home Vídeo (Brazil, VHS only)
  • Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2001) (Netherlands only on DVD)
  • GoodTimes Home Video (2000) (2002) (USA, only on DVD)
  • Laurus Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
  • RTL Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (TV, RTL5) (broadcast premiere)

Film reviews

The film received mostly negative reviews. The website Rotten Tomatoes gives The Omega Code a rating of 8%.[3] Joe Leydon, writing in Variety, describes the movie as "laughably simplistic and confoundingly muddled."[4] Entertainment Weekly said that the film "gives 'Great Tribulation' new meaning,"[5] and MaryAnn Johanson called Casper Van Dien's acting "shockingly incompeten[t]."[6]

References

  1. ^ The Internet Movie Database[1] says $8mio, while The Numbers[2] give $7.2mio; the number presented here is the middle.
  2. ^ As per IMDb's website.
  3. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omega_code/
  4. ^ http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117752258.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
  5. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author/author-3029/
  6. ^ MaryAnn Johanson, "The Omega Code (Review): Signs and Blunders," FlickFilosopher, May 14, 2000.
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