Saiph90
This is a good film not a great film, then again if you can not make a decent film with this cast I would give up. The acting is great but it is let down by a plot which at times makes little sense, things are talked about and are never followed up, they try to make to many mini story lines while leaving the main plot a bit under cooked. The ending is disappointing as it fails to add up, if the cat is possessed in the end then how is Denzel Washington doing the voice? it is a shame as a bit more care with the story line and a better script it would have been a 10, I enjoyed it hence 6 my wife did not like it as it was confusing.
Five legged dog
Fallen's best moments come at the very end of the movie, with a final twist that you won't see coming. As climaxes go, it's inventive, memorable and tongue-in-cheek. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is nowhere near as good.This came as a real surprise to me given the presence of Washington, Sutherland and Goodman - actors who can bring roles to life. Here, that just isn't enough.The plot is creaky, the dialogue wooden, and reactions to emotionally explosive events just aren't believable. There are scenes and shots which serve no real purpose beyond product placement or faffing around, and which slow down the story. Gretta Milano - as resident theologian - is on hand to explain the Biblical backstory, but her role otherwise just seems stuffed in. That's the case with much of this movie: it's as if the whole thing was written for the twist.What I like about Fallen is it's slightly cynical, sombre mood - it had me thinking of Alan Parker's Angel Heart in style, plot and cinematography. Fallen is also pretty philosophical, yet still has its share of creepiness and scares. The twist, as I've said is worth waiting for - but it also leaves me feeling this film could have been so much more.The 'demonic' genre is hard to pull off at the best of times; the exposition can easily sound cheesy and hard to believe: Devil's Advocate-level sophistication (i.e., not overly subtle!) pretty much sums this film up. Ignore the many plot holes - and play Biblical bingo as you go - and Fallen is watchable enough, but it falls far short of greatness.
Filipe Neto
This film shows the fight of an honest, incorruptible and fair cop against an entity he is not prepared for: a demon. Okay, it's a variation of the traditional films of exorcists and demons that reminds us "The End of Days", without that "end of the world" thing. The script is good and works, developing a strong and appealing story without, however, becoming really scary. Its a script where logic is sometimes contradicted, beginning with the way demons are transformed into bodyless beings, who can take any living being in order to survive. This goes against everything we've learned about demons but I'm willing to ignore that. Its a minor fault. The demon this movie shows worked very well for the movie and that's what matters. The pace is good, not wasting time unnecessarily. The plot twists give elegance to the story, but they cannot really surprise. Only in the end.The cast have some stars like Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz and James Gandolfini, but its Denzel who stands out all the time, carrying the film on his back. In fact, given the disembodied nature of the villain, its almost a "one-man movie". Thus, the film turns out to be an excellent thriller, in the exact density and without ambitions to horror, that we can see without getting sick.
SnoopyStyle
Police detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) watches Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas) who he caught, get executed on death row. Reese's spirit seems to leave his body. Lt. Stanton (Donald Sutherland) is Hobbes' superior. Hobbes and his partner Jonesy (John Goodman) investigate a murder with a message seemingly from Reese. His investigation leads to Gretta Milano (Embeth Davidtz). The spirit is actually the fallen angel Azazel who had possessed Reese.The premise holds a lot of promise but the execution is really lacking. Even with Denzel in the lead, this movie struggles to get going. I think it starts off poorly. It could have started with Hobbes catching Reese in the first place. It could have laid out more of the premise early on. The handshake between Hobbes and Reese is suppose to be something big but the audience has no idea what it was suppose to be. It needs some exposition. The movie is generally too long and too slow. It needs a lot of tightening and general rethinking. Also "Time Is On My Side" is not necessarily the best idea. It needs to be something creepier like a nursery rhythm or a simple melody without words.
AD
