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Fallen

Fallen (1998)

January. 16,1998
|
7
|
R
| Drama Thriller Crime

Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.

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Reviews

Stometer
1998/01/16

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

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Console
1998/01/17

best movie i've ever seen.

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Chirphymium
1998/01/18

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

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Haven Kaycee
1998/01/19

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

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angus-silvie
1998/01/20

When you watch a good movie you are absorbed in it, you believe in the characters and their actions, and not once do you have to think 'huh?' because the the plot makes no sense. Fallen ironically falls down on all these areas.Plot holes abound. Why does the demon chase after Hobbes yet isn't able to jump into him, oh except at the end where the whole cliffhanger situation is made nonsensical because Hobbes now has to kill himself to prevent that happening? Why bother driving out to old man Milano's shack to discover the demon's name on a wall when he could have just asked his daughter who already knew all about it? Why... I could go on, but others have already covered this in their reviews.What also bugged me though was the unrealistic actions of the characters: A normal person picking his way through a cobwebbed, shadowy old abandoned house in the woods would be scared witless, yet Hobbes just had an expression of mild curiosity all the way through, even when the conveniently frightening roof beam half fell down (because he took a book off it???) and should have scared the bejesus out of him. When talking to Gretta in a piazza, he doesn't just stand there talking to her as a normal person would do. No he has to dramatically stride back and forward, wandering around her while she stands still and talking loudly so everyone can hear despite the sensitive nature of the conversation. No-one does that! When his brother is killed, Hobbes tells the young boy that his Dad has died. Not only does the child somehow psychically anticipate the news ("he's not just asleep is he?") but then appears not to care when the death is confirmed. No tears, he just looks away with an expression of mild indifference. Completely unrealistic! Hobbes chases a possessed character up some steps onto a railway platform, but when he gets to the platform there is no-one there. Yet we then see that the possessed man is actually on the other side of the tracks, still observing Hobbes. How did he get there? The demon doesn't give humans super powers and this guy was clearly a little portly (I'm being generous) so couldn't have sprinted that fast.Why would the James Galdofino character be asking about Hobbes looking at a map, why was he suddenly so interested yet never followed this up? Why on earth would Hobbs throw his car keys into the forest when he reached the shack for the last time? Even if you weren't planning to come back, no-one would realistically do that, they would just die with the car keys still in their pocket, it was a completely pointless gesture done only for dramatic effect. Hobbes kills his best mate at work yet shows no emotion at all, not even a 'sorry old chum'. Bang, you're dead, now where are my suddenly poisonous cigarettes? He should have been torn up inside about having to do that, it should have been such a dramatic moment. Imagine if you had to kill your best friend, would you act as though you were just swatting a fly?If he was dying from the cigarettes (how did he 'lace' them?) why struggle to run away at the end? He didn't need to, what was the point of that? It just looked good for the cameras. Then having collapsed in the snow 100m away from the house, the camera went to an overhead shot showing him sprawled out just a few feet away from the car and the other bodies. That didn't make sense either.Hmm, I'm mixing up character flaws with plot holes but to be honest the whole thing was a big mess as well. There was no real tension, the whole tag-you're-it demon transfer theory didn't work as well as it should, there was plenty of annoying mumbling so half the dialogue was inaudible, and the ending was completely unsatisfactory and left you thinking 'what was the point of that then?'.Rarely have I enjoyed a film less, and by the end my face had fallen so maybe that's the logic behind the name of the film.

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generationofswine
1998/01/21

OK, for those of us that remember the 80s and 90s Denzel Washington sorta kinda totally ruled. He was all that and a bag of chips...And now, for the most part, he is playing the smart clever cop...over and over and over and over and over and over again.What the heck happened Denzel? In "Training Day" you played a cop, but you played a villain cop that was so evil that you made us all hate you! You turned "Malcolm X" into a great movie despite Spike Lee's involvement! And now you play the same role over and over again. You are breaking our heart...But for those of you that love the type-casted Denzel, Fallen will work for you. Again he's the clever and wise detective, but this time the movie has a creepy and delightfully fun supernatural twist...Plus it was made when Denzel was still acting and not just phoning it in, so, you know, you have the REAL Denzel Washington, not the made-for-TV Denzel Washington.And on top of the fact that this was made when Denzel was great and still actually acting, you have a small but powerful Elias Koteas role.Elias Koteas the B-list actor that ALWAYS brings his A-game to every film no matter how small the role is. And in this movie, the role is tiny and so well done that you walk away remembering that tiny little role as powerful, as fantastic, as, well, A-game awesome.Koteas literally outshined Washington when Washington was at his finest. He introduced us to the film and set a bar so high that everyone was forced to deliver their best work.And then the plot, the creepy demon that can jump from body-to-body by a simple touch. You haven't seen that before and you won't see that again. Not only that, but it was done so well that you will never listen to that Rolling Stones song the same way again.The movie is start-to-finish clever. The acting is brilliant. It is a must-see.

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FlashCallahan
1998/01/22

Detective John Hobbes attends the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. They have a private chat where Reese gives him a riddle of sorts and then speaks in a strange language. The riddle leads him to a once decorated officer who went to his cottage in the woods and killed himself. It was never explained why but when Hobbes looks around the cottage, he finds the name Azazel on the wall. Hobbes soon learns that Azazel is an evil spirit who can transfer itself from one person to another through touch. As Hobbes comes to realise the extent Azazel is responsible for much of the evil around him he also realises that Azazel is after him.......If you remember the Lou Diamond Phillips movie from 1990 The First Power, you will realise that this is nothing more than a remake of that movie, albeit with a higher calibre of acting on show, and all the camp jokes taken away in favour of straight up thrills.Washington is the Everyman police officer, and this was the point in his career when he was still having fun in his career, starring in more low budget B-movie fodder like this and Virtuoisty, rather than being more choosy like he has been in the last fifteen years (2 guns aside).And it's pretty good stuff, quite creepy in places, and there is one scene where Davidtz is being chased down the street by the Demon, but it looks more like an extreme game of tick/freeze-tag.There are a few questions that are unanswered that really irk the viewer, I really wish the his brothers character was fleshed out more, and the ending doesn't really make sense, why didn't he let him bleed slowly to death and run off?It's not a bad film though.

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xahnegrey
1998/01/23

I tried to watch this film..had never heard of it ( probably for good reason) but I saw Goodman and Sutherland et al and thought I would watch. It is boring. It takes part of the exorcist and a few other movies ( seven and maybe a 3 stooges flick) and tries to braid something spooky and coherent.. it does not succeed. Washington is typical Washington..all dentures and con..but basically just another black guy that Hollywood decided to make a star ( samuel Jackson is another)..anyway, he cannot carry the movie- a total waste of time..I kept wondering what was happening and what was gonna happen..and guess what ? nothing happened. ever.like a seinfeld episode.clean the link out of your navel instead.

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