**_Dennis Hopper as a retired detective tracking down a serial killer with Stephanie Zimbalist_**

Dennis Hopper stars 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 the hardboiled chief of detectives conducts the investigation (Joe Penny). Robert Yocum, Shannon Whirry, Greg Lauren, Michael Dorn and Sondra Locke are also on hand.

"The Prophets Game" (2000) is a crime thriller that went straight-to-video in the USA & most other countries, but it had a theatrical release in Spain and Korea. With a budget of $28 million (which is nothing to sneeze at), it has a more modest budget than blockbuster thrillers and therefore 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 film has in its favor is an impressive character-driven script by Carol Chrest only hampered by convolution (but that's what repeat viewings are for). 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. Meanwhile 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 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 polish. 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 about 90-minutes into the film 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 is. I presume she's an extra provided by the casting agency that hired extras for the movie. The world of cinema needs this woman.

The movie runs 1 hour, 46 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area as follows: Ventura (Santa Ventura Studios) and Santa Barbara (University of California).

GRADE: B-

(PS: The "INQUIRY" is a joke, sort of)