A good deal better than it has any right to be.
Comment
09/18/08
City of Angels (1998)
60
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:57
Fresh:34
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.3/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based in part on Wim Wenders's 1988 film, WINGS OF DESIRE, this is the story of Seth (Nicolas Cage), an angel who wanders the Los Angeles area invisible to humans. As someone's death approaches,... [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Dennis Franz, Andre Braugher
Director: Brad Silberling
Reviews for City of Angels
Top CriticFunnier than Wenders' version, and it also succeeds in visualising LA as a magical city while dealing intelligently with the themes of mortality, sacrifice, free will, and the mixed blessings of the human condition.
02/09/06
Top CriticA little too heavy on the melodrama to really succeed as a great love story, this still has good performances from both stars and some heavenly moments.
01/01/00
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/07/09
Click to read the article
10/18/08
The movie's eerie, slightly menacing vision of black-clad angels lurking in the shadowy corners of unsuspecting lives is genuinely haunting.
09/18/08
Strains to achieve the enchantingly sublime, but ends up sinking to the depressingly ridiculous.
04/27/07
As a remake it's not as poetic as Wenders' masterpiece Wings of Desire, but it's supremely mounted (by ace lenser John Seale) and contains touching performances from Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan deviating from their respective screen images.
06/01/06
Top CriticAn emotionally uninvolving flick that attempts to play on the heart strings of the viewer and fails in its effort.
04/09/05
City of Angels is the sort of compromised movie that could have been almost good, but decided to be a great big hit instead.
01/02/05
City of Angels raises theological questions, albeit in a somewhat pedestrian manner, and makes them an integral part of its otherwise formulaic plot.
12/06/04
Superb imagery can't compensate for deficiencies of Dana Steven's script and can't hide the formulaic nature of this film.
06/02/04
This useless remake lacks the sheer ethereal beauty of the original Wings of Desire.
10/06/03
Why would anyone remake Wim Wenders' masterpiece, Wings of Desire? Certainly not for artistic reasons.
08/11/03
A thinking person's film for those who can't think.
05/20/03
A beautiful film in many ways.
02/08/03
Marries romance and faith in a love story as charming as a handmade valentine. It is so lovely to look at and so sincere in intent that its flaws don't matter much.
10/15/02
Walking out of the theater, I felt different. The film made me realize how wonderful life could be, how a thing as simple as wind on your face or the taste of a pear had value.
09/10/02
No review available.
08/08/02
My face had been locked in that goofy, awestruck expression you experience only in Spielberg movies. City of Angels demonstrates the best kind of emotionally manipulative filmmaking.
06/18/02
Latest News for City of Angels
September 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: Critics Thank "Heaven," But Don't Praise The "Lord"
This week at the movies brings us a supernatural romance ("Just Like Heaven"), a jaded arms dealer ("Lord of War") and two experiments in terror... More...
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