6 of 10
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Denzel Washington
John Goodman
Donald Sutherland
Embeth Davidtz
James Gandolfini
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| Fallen 6 of 10 |
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| Directed by Gregory Hoblit Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel Denzel Washington John Goodman Donald Sutherland Embeth Davidtz James Gandolfini |
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| I hate movies about demons. They scare me, because, no matter how bizarre and horrible they may seem, I know that devils could really do those kinds of thing, and more, if God would allow them. Like Job. So, I was a little nervous about this film, which revolves around the efforts of Detective Hobbes (Washington) to track down a serial killer who is actually a devil named Azazel. Throw in the concept that Azazel can move from person to person through touch, and you have the makings of a really creepy film. One of the most memorable scenes in the film, where Azazel chases a woman through a crowd by quickly transferring from one person to the next, is brilliantly effective and truly heart-stopping. But overall, the movie wasn't too scary, finally. Its indecision about whether or not it should be theological or simply an action flick was its undoing. It ended up being neither, (although it definitely leaned more to the action side), and there were simply too many unanswered questions. Why can't Azazel go into Hobbes? Why are demons able to die? And, most importantly, why is there no real God in the film? For all the film's talk about the supernatural, God and His goodness was conspicuously absent. Wouldn't he care about what happens to Detective Hobbes, and the rest of the people trying to battle the fallen angels? There is no way this film could ever end happily, since it never looked at more than one side of the equation. And I guess that irritated me a bit. It was brilliantly conceived, but it could have been so much more. | ||||||