The Omega Code [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

The "hero" of this film is, of all things, a motivational speaker named Gillen Lane (Casper Van Dien) who just happens to be an expert of sorts on the Bible Code (despite the fact he is in no way religious). When we first meet him, he's jumping all over the furniture of a talk show set like Tom Cruise on Oprah, preaching his secular message of personal evolution through the proper mindset. A short while later, he joins up with the fabulously rich philanthropist Alexander Stone (Michael York) to help make the world a better place. Stone does so much good for less fortunate people that he is appointed chairman of the European Union. Stone isn't what he seems, however; as we in the audience know, he has gone to great lengths, including murder, to acquire the key to the biblical Omega Code. By reading the computer-generated prophecies of the code, he determines what to do and when to do it. So it is that he sets his Jerusalem Plan in motion, blowing up the Tomb of the Rock, only to swoop in and do the impossible: secure a genuine peace deal between Israel and Palestine. As part of the seven-year deal, he pledges to rebuild the Tomb of the Rock as well as Solomon's Temple side by side on the Temple Mount. Lane is with him all the way, handling all of the PR. Stone's henchman (Michael Ironside), a former priest turned bodyguard/hit man, gets jealous of Lane's influence and kills Stone, pinning the blame on Lane. While Lane is on the run, though, a miracle happens: Stone is resurrected (luckily, the hospital folks had just left him in a private room still hooked up to monitors for untold hours after declaring him deceased). Stone's resurrection only adds to his fame and influence. When he says the world needs one government, nations get in line to kiss his hand. Nationalism just vanishes overnight, which is absurd; there's certainly no way America would just sit idly by and let some pasty European become king of the world.

During his coronation inside the brand new Jerusalem Temple, Stone goes far beyond proclaiming himself king; he actually declares himself God. At that point, all masks are pretty much off, with Stone pledging to annihilate any nations who oppose his leadership. The only thing Stone lacks is the final piece of the Omega Code, crucial data which just so happens to fall in Lane's hands. There is one pretty effective plot twist that brings Stone and Lane back together at the end, but it's hard to categorize the ultimate conclusion as a contest between ultimate good and ultimate evil.

As a Christian, I have to say that this movie does not carry any sort of effective Christian message at all. While it does draw some material from actual Biblical prophecy, it increasingly goes its own way, relying on insipid pronouncements from its fictional Omega Code to push the apocalyptic story forward. Jesus and the Gospel are almost completely ignored altogether. To me, this is the kind of Biblical prophecy film that non-religious writers would produce - yet its origins lie with the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and that is what makes the whole movie experience somewhat unsettling. In the end, you're basically left with special effects and an increasingly sensationalist story to carry the day. As such, The Omega Code, whatever its origins and purported intentions, really does little to distinguish itself from all manner of End of Days films coming out of Hollywood in the last decade. Don't consign this film to viewers here in the Bible Belt, as it really doesn't have all that much to offer Christians.