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The top 10 prophecies in movies
From biblical prophecies to natural disasters, here are our favorite foretold end-of-days.
5. “There can be only one,” “Highlander” (1986)
Half a decade before “Highlander II: The Quickening” came along and began train-wrecking the franchise’s mythos for years to come, the premise of being an Immortal was simple—in the end, one powerful being who cannot die will kill the other last remaining Immortal. It was all so easy to understand before the planet Zeist and the awful 2007 straight-to-TV installment got involved.
4. The end of the world, “2012” (2009)
No one knows how to envision planet-wide eco-catastrophes quite like director Roland Emmerich, and “2012” left no doubt about that fact. Playing up worst-case-scenario fears about the end of the Mayan calendar, Emmerich unleashed earthquakes, the Yellowstone volcano and a handful of tsunamis to convincingly shake things up around the globe.
3. The One will end the war, “The Matrix” (1999)
The Wachowski’s executed one of the most epic teases in cinema in their Matrix trilogy. It didn’t matter who you were in 1999 when you watched Neo download jiu-jitsu lessons and get pumped up on prophecy from Morpheus and the Oracle—this movie left you on a high. The critical reception for the two sequels, meanwhile, was a little less than enthusiastic.
2. The one who will bring balance to the Force, “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999)
The prophecy doesn’t really get fulfilled until “Return of the Jedi,” but Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) refers to “the one who will bring balance to the Force” long before Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) is born. Anakin (Hayden Christensen) initially gets pegged as the best Jedi anyone has every seen. He then goes on to become a huge whiner and disappointment, only to pull a Hail Mary in his old age and eventually save the day in “Episode VI.”
1. The Messiah, “Life of Brian” (1979)
Being “The Chosen One” isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Just ask Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), the guy who gets mistaken for the Son of God in Monty Python’s classic take on the New Testament. In the end, he may not have saved everyone from their sins, but he did teach us to always look on the bright side of life, and for that we will always be in his debt.
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Tags: 2012, Apocalypto, End of Days, Highlander, Left Behind, Life of Brian, lists, Star Wars, The Fifth Element, The Matrix, The Omen
