|
|
|
| CITY OF ANGELS (1998) - PG-13
|
|  |
|
ReviewScore: 53 out of 100
SBD Star Rating:
by Lew Irwin
View Credits | See Other Reviews
| |
City of Angels, starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan, which arrives today (Friday) following much positive buzz, is receiving many less-than-heavenly reviews, with most critics comparing it unfavorably with Wim Wenders' 1987 original, Wings of Desire. Judy Gerstel in the Toronto Star calls the update, "a classic example of Hollywoodizing and dumbing down, pumping up and bludgeoning an audience into submission." Bob Strauss in the Los Angeles Daily News writes that "though more poetic than your standard studio fare, City of Angels inevitably vulgarizes the source material." Steve Murray in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that the movie "sometimes has the look and dramatic tension of an Ikea commercial." But Stephen Holden in the New York Times, while also voicing strong criticism of the film, concludes that "all the elements of a blockbuster Hollywood sobfest are sumtuously laid out" in the film. And Rod Dreher of the New York Post similarly finds that "our angel-obsessed culture is bound to make this a heaven-sent hit for Warner Bros., but the picture's pop spirituality and superficial romance left me wanting more." Kenneth Turan, in the Los Angeles Times, also concludes that "the film is not quite all there," but adds: "It manages to leave a pleasant afterglow for those in the mood for its kind of loving." The film does get a fair share of outright cheers. Philip Wuntch in The Dallas Morning News calls the film "a hybrid that works. It's romantic and upbeat, yet ultimately haunting." And Jay Carr in the Boston Globe says that , like the Wenders original, "City of Angels is a terrifically lyrical romance too ... the most powerful and spellbinding Hollywood-sent romance in years." |
|
|
|
