We got two reviews of FALLEN. The last one I had was a looooooooong time ago and was by Joe Hallenbeck, who loved the film. The two fellas feel the same way. This first guy is known as Dr Theopolis, who was a very astute fella a long time ago. Remember this is their opinions, not necessarily yours. Read and see if you think these are people you would agree with. Two well written reviews. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Theo....
I've seen three brilliant mind-fuck films. Don't Look Now, the Japanese film Angel Dust, and Fallen. Every twist is unexpected, every twist reveals a stranger structure. This is the best script of the year, and I hope Waner's releases Fallen on a few screens, because it deserves a chance for an oscar. The dialouge is articulate, clever, and yet always believable coming from these actors. Denzel Washington was born to play this role. It shows of his abilities and range better than anything since Glory. John Goodman also gets a meaty role. He starts out as mere comic relief, but the role develops in ways I won't reveal. The direction and cinematography (by Thomas Newton Howard, who shot the Usual Suspects) combine for a truly frightening experience. It makes you jump at nothing. The entire audeince jumped a foot at a Coke can falling out of a vending machine. Alien is one of the only other films that achieved this level of terror. The script is peppered with biblical references, which at first seem heavy-handed, but gradually begin to be very effective, and forshadow the eventually explanation for the crimes, which explantation is provided by Embeth Davidz, hose come a long way since Army of Darkness. She participates in possibly the most exhilaratingly frightening scene ever shot, as the demon flings himself from host to host through a row of pedestrians, trying to catch up with her. The film makes effective use of sound, with disorientating noises that I associate with bayous and Australia, though I'm not sure why. Coming out of the theater, I passed people singing the song Azarel sing, the Stones, Time is on my Side, and they brushed my hand...creepy. I honestly can't imagine why Arnold Schwarzennegger was ever under consideration for this role.Goodbye for now... MARLOW, the intrepid explorer.
And below is the lessor of the two reviews (in terms of praise) though it still warranted an 8 or 10. There are more spoilers here, but for you exhibitors that like Variety-style reviews, here ya go. The spy... you know him as Tor Johnson, who wrote up alot of the Toronto Film Festival reviews, nice to have ya back!!!
FALLEN
8 (out of 10)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Released 1/16/98
Star Power: Denzel Washington, Donald Sutherland, John Goodman, Embeth Davidtz
Running Time: ~2:00
Rated R
Screenplay: Nicholas Kazan
Tag Line: Don't Trust A Soul
Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel
My Revised Tag Line : Someone's playing with my dick, and it's not me
OK, the best way to start this is to compare the ways that Fallen is NOT like Se7en. It only rains half of the time,A loved one is not decapitated,The music isn't as cool,Most characters don't live, Let's face it, any movie about a serial killer released in the next few years is going to draw unfair comparisons to Se7en. And why shouldn't they? It's the Holy Grail of the genre. Like Silence of the Lambs was to the early 90's, Se7en will be to the late 90s. Or until someone makes a better one. Many movies strive to be as dark, unnerving and stylistic and most fail. I would have to take my socks off to count the number of films that have tried copy the opening credits. With that said, Fallen is the closest thing I've seen so far.The story starts with Detective John Hobbes (Washington) telling us about the time that he almost died, and the whole film is told in narrative flashback. If you've seen the trailer, you get the basic story: Hobbes is responsible for locking up a serial killer that is about to be put to death. But the killer's wily soul escapes just as he dies and it jumps from person to person, trying to pay Hobbes back. As if that's not bad enough, each person that serves host to this soul has to sing or hum or whistle the Rolling Stones classic Time Is On My Side. Simple enough, but how do you stop it?Hobbes gets no help from crusty Lieutenant Stanton (Sutherland) and must turn to Gretta Milano (Davidtz), the daughter of a suspiciously deceased old cop. And wouldn't you know it, the more he finds out about this travelling soul, the more he realizes that it will be impossible to stop it. Duh! And to make matters worse, that darn soul is making the murder evidence point to our hero.The movie has a great look to it, mostly in part to Newton Thomas Sigel (The Usual Suspects). It's dark and somewhat stylistic, but not quite unnerving. When you see through the eyes of the killer, everything gets dark and discolored and warped (let's just call that Fincher-Vision). The killer scrawls cool looking clues on the victims and the crime scene walls, which are barley lit (sound familiar yet?). And there's a great scene where the soul is chasing Milano down a busy sidewalk, passing through what seems like 30 people trying to catch up to her.Washington plays Hobbes pretty much the same as his Ricochet cop character. Goodman is capable as Jonsey, the partner/long time friend and gets all of the good one liners (including my revised tag line). Sutherland's tough to trust Stanton is, well, typical and Davidtz (Miss Honey in Matilda) does what she can with a pretty skimpy part. Most of the best acting is from the people who briefly act as host to the killer soul. Their creepy grins and singing are one of the really cool parts of this film.Since it seems like most people are willing to spend their cash on Kiss The Girls ($60 million) and The Devil's Advocate ($56 million), Fallen should do pretty well at the box office. Plus, it's being released in mid-January, which is a typically weak period. Director Gregory Holbit (Primal Fear) should have another big hit on his hands
RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Se7en, Ricochet, Kiss The Girls
