Thorn in Damien's Side
Having grown up Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) is not only now the head of Thorn industries but he has plans to gain political power and eventually the U.S. Presidency in order to pave the way for his father's return and his followers. But having been made U.S. Ambassador to England the spawn of Satan finds himself the target of various assassination attempts as a group of monks headed up by DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi) have obtained the daggers of Megido which were salvaged from the wreckage of the Thorn museum after it was destroyed. But of course, killing Satan's son is much easier said than done.
It didn't take long for me to realise that I would find "The Omen III: The Final Conflict" about as entertaining as I found "Damien: Omen II" which sadly wasn't much. And the reason why is exactly the same; "The Omen III: The Final Conflict" lacks the atmosphere to draw you in to the danger of Damien and instead it meanders through this storyline which really struggles to grab your interest. Maybe that is partly down to this sudden leap forwards and we are presented with Damien as an adult after political power but still there is a distinct lack of tension in this third and at the time final Omen movie.
What is clear is that "The Omen III: The Final Conflict" owes a debt of gratitude to Sam Neill because if it wasn't for him this movie would struggle all the more to entertain. Neill brings the right level of conceited to the character whilst also bringing a touch of concern as Damien discovers that there is a plot to kill him going on. It at least makes his character semi interesting where as all the other characters in the movie are anything but.
Beyond Neill's performance the only other thing worth mentioning is that once in a while a stunt manages to grab your eyes such as when a man caught up in cabling falls from some gantry and swings in to a plastic sheet which is on fire. That for me is the most spectacular the movie gets and sadly most of the time it comes up visually short of being attention grabbing or impressive.
What this all boils down to is that "The Omen III: The Final Conflict" was on par with its predecessor which for some will be a good thing but for me it wasn't and this movie once again failed to deliver the atmosphere I wanted from an "Omen" movie
