Fallen (1998)

“Time is on my side. Yes it is.” – Azazel

Number of Times Seen – 1 (1 Nov 2018)

Brief Synopsis – After witnessing the execution of a serial killer, a homicide detective notices that a new group of killings has begun using similar methods.

My Take on it – This is a film that I had never even heard of before, but came across in my quest to watch more movies with Denzel Washington in order to try and understand why he is seen as such a great actor despite the fact that he usually seems to play the same character in every film.

The idea of this film is an interesting one but it doesn’t manage to stay focused enough on the story to stay intriguing throughout.

Instead it loses its way about half way through and turns into a pseudo supernatural story instead of a clear cut police thriller.

Washington is fine here, but still doesn’t manage to break the stigma that I apparently have of his performances and this is far from being anywhere near his best work.

The supporting cast is quite good with John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz and Elias Koteas all playing interesting yet somewhat stereotypical characters throughout.

As a thriller, this film was on the right path, but when it mixes in the supernatural aspects of it all, things get quite convoluted and fails to live up to any potential that it may have had.

Bottom Line – Interesting idea that doesn’t manage to stay focused enough. Washington is fine here, but this is far from being close to any of his best performances.  Nice supporting cast with Goodman, Sutherland, Koteas and Davidtz all giving fine yet somewhat standard performances.  The story gets a bit too supernatural which takes away from the thriller aspect of the film.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – During pre-production, Elias Koteas traveled to Ohio to meet a man who could speak Syrian-Aramaic, to help him with his dialogue. The man was happy to help, but would not say the swear words in the speech, as he was too religious. As such, the production had to find another Syrian-Aramaic speaker who was willing to speak the profane lines for Koteas. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

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