Released in 2000 and directed by David Worth, "The Prophets Game" is a crime thriller starring Dennis Hopper as Vincent Swan, a retired detective from Seattle who is asked to fly to Los Angeles to help solve a new rash of murders similar to a case he supposedly solved a dozen years earlier. Stephanie Zimbalist co-stars as "Al," a frustrated officer assigned to keep an eye on Swan while Joe Penny plays the hardboiled chief of detectives. Robert Yocum, Shannon Whirry, Greg Lauren, Michael Dorn and Sondra Locke are also on hand.While this went straight-to-video in the USA & most other countries it had a theatrical release in Spain and Korea. Having a more modest budget than feature thrillers, it lacks the polish of the similarly themed "The Dead Pool" (1988), not to mention it lacks a super-cop like Dirty Harry and the corresponding fast action, although it has some action. What "The Prophet's Game" has in its favor is an impressive character-driven script by Carol Chrest only hampered by convolution. On top of this you have zesty performances by all the principle cast members. Both Swan and Al are nicely fleshed-out and you care about them and the outcome of the story. Penny and Locke also give knockout performances, although their roles are relatively minor. Shannon Whirry shines as one of the most beautiful women to walk the earth in a peripheral part.This is an R-rated flick and therefore contains cussing, gruesome gore and female top-nudity, but none of these are overdone. Some people don't like it because of the limitations of its modest budget, but I was nicely entertained from beginning to end. You'll probably like it too if you favor dialogue-driven stories and don't insist on blockbuster budgets. I wouldn't want to pay top dollar to see it at the theater, but it works well for TV, DVD or rental.AN INQUIRY: There's a scene well into the second half where Swan (Hopper) is walking with two other characters through a campus and a few extras pass between the camera and them. One is a woman wearing white pants who is talking to another person. She is seen again in the same sequence in the background. I need to know who this woman in white pants is. I presume she's an extra provided by the casting agency that hired extras for the movie. I must see more of this actress; it's of the utmost importance.The movie runs 106 minutes and was shot in Ventura and Santa Barbara, California.GRADE: B-(PS: The "INQUIRY" is a joke)

I don't really have strong feelings about the movie. I paid $1.00 for the DVD at WalMart and I think I got my money's worth. I watch a lot of movies and am surprised I had never seen this one. Dennis Hopper is dependable in most any role and this one was no exception. The story was OK, but the ending was no great surprise. What was surprising was the quality of the video. I have bought cheap DVDs before and they varied from average to crummy. This one was sharp and had good color throughout. No extras, of course, like director's comments, subtitles or other goodies, but the movie ran full length without any gaps or pixelating and with decent enough sound. A pleasant surprise.

Movie has a wonderful cast of talented actors in off-key roles for each; Dennis Hopper at the "good guy retired cop", Stephanie Zimbalist as a church-going cop with cropped hair (looks nothing like she did when in the series with Pierce Brosnan!) and Sondra Locke as the serial killer running the game. She is short cropped and looks very different than she did in any Clint Eastwood movie...I did not recognize her face, only her voice, and had was surprised at the end of the film to see it was her. Another recognizable voice is Michael Dorn (Who played the Klingon in Star Trek - The Next Generation) as a very authoritative, convincing cop.Worth it to watch for the cast and their wonderful performances alone and potentially great storyline...just something must have gotten lost between the translation and the story comes off as stiff and unbelievable in parts. Great special effects and still recommend renting this movie.

O.K. Here is what happened. I went to the VIDEO STORE to rent THE TAO of STEVE and did not look carefully at the DVD case and ended up renting this stinker of a flick instead. Now don't get me wrong, this film had potential. Dennis Hopper is always at least tolerable or better, and is not bad here. The problem was the poorly explained plot, the numerous bad performances, and the director's insistence on using every police cliche going. The film uses the venetian blind shadows in just about every scene. I really cannot express the multitude of reasons no one should see this. Seems to me it went straight to video for a reason.