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Movies / Upcoming / Angel-A
Angel-A

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Angel-A (2007)

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Reviews Counted:84

Fresh:37

Rotten:47

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: The clunky dialogue and shallow characters fail to capitalize upon Angel-A's stunning, poetic cinematography.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

US Box Office: $39,234

Synopsis: ANGEL-A follows self-described liar and shady businessman Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who is down on his luck and owes Parisian gangsters money. In a desperate and weak state, Andre finds himself on... ANGEL-A follows self-described liar and shady businessman Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who is down on his luck and owes Parisian gangsters money. In a desperate and weak state, Andre finds himself on the edge of one of the City of Light's majestic bridges, ready to plunge into the river below. After one last look around him, he catches sight of a statuesque blonde woman, tears streaking down her gorgeous face, also standing on the ledge just a few feet away. She makes Andre forget about his problems for a moment, and he pleads with her not to jump. She does anyway, and he goes in after her, dragging her to safety. The damsel-in-distress, Angela (Rie Rasmussen), insists on hanging around Andre, doing whatever he tells her, as a way to pay him back for saving her life. Finding it hard to say no to her, and resisting her mesmerizing beauty, he recruits her, somewhat begrudgingly, to help him figure out how to settle his debts. What Andre soon discovers is that meeting Angela was no accident, and that they both need saving, not just from death, but also from themselves. ANGEL-A boasts entertaining performances by Debbouze as the scrappy and quick-tempered Andre and Rasmussen as the optimistic and unassumingly wise and playful Angela. The unlikely pair sparkle onscreen together. ANGEL-A is beautifully filmed, with the black-and-white cinematography capturing all that is engaging and romantic about Paris. [More]

Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert Melki, Kate Nauta

Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert Melki, Kate Nauta, Serge Riaboukine

Director: Luc Besson

Director: Luc Besson
Screenwriter: Luc Besson
Producer: Luc Besson
Composer: Anja Garbarek
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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1 - 4 of 5

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Reviews for Angel-A

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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A better grubby guy/hot chick fable than Knocked Up, certainly much more honest about its male-fantasy status

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/27/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Ultimately Angel-A never takes flight, weighted down by an overabundance of metaphysical clichés stolen from other films.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

The film settles into a laid-back groove that is, how shall we say, endlessly boring.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/12/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Angela's Oprah-ish effort to change Andre's lying ways becomes a tedious mix of self-help and pop-philosophizing . . . the film's black-and-white look is two shades more complex than its gender politics.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
09/11/07
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

Besson gives the movie a warmth and charm all its own...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/31/07
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

... a visually sumptuous, dramatically inert fable ...

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/26/07
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Arizona Republic

The film is slickly constructed with a hip soundtrack and art direction, but its empty, a glowing travelogue for a beautiful city and two maudlin characters that are predictable and two dimensional. I love Paris too but would rather see its reality ....

Full Review Source: Movie Magazine International | comment Comment
07/22/07
Moira Sullivan
Moira Sullivan
Movie Magazine International

A gorgeous-looking film whose crisp, black-and-white photography is unfortunately much more thrilling than its simplistic, cloying story.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
07/19/07
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

Familiar situations and trite dialogue give this movie the feel of something freeze-dried and reconstituted.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
07/15/07
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/14/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Besson's black-and-white angel fantasy is a weak homage to Wings of Desire, if that's what he was shooting for.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/13/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

An ultimately dull nonaffair.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/13/07
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

It’s compelling largely due to its appealing cast.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/12/07
John Thomason
John Thomason
Orlando Weekly

It's too bad it took so long for the film to get here, because it's not only the best part, it's also the very end.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
07/10/07
Beverly Berning
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

It's a wisp of a film, recommendable for a lark, but not nearly as ambitious or entertaining as you'd expect from Besson.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
07/08/07
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Angel-A is a not very persuasive argument on behalf of heavenly intercession, but its co-star, Rie Rasmussen, will make you believe in intelligent design.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
07/07/07
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Besson... cribs heavily from Wings of Desire and Heaven Can Wait. If he had thought of it, he would have dressed someone in an Anaheim Angels jersey to elbow your ribs that much further.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
07/06/07
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

It's not flashy or bold, and it might not do much for cinephiles who prefer inveterate risk-taking, but it is enjoyable as a largely sentiment-free meditation on friendship and personal growth.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/06/07
Stan Hall
Stan Hall
Oregonian

...the characters here are so unlikable that it's hard to care what happens to them.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
07/06/07
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

What’s at once refreshing and disorienting about the way Luc Besson -- one of the most interesting international visionaries at work today -- handles the story is his attempt to de-romanticize one of the most idealistic and sublime formulas around.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
06/27/07
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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