City of Angels (1998)

Wonderful character development!

Absolutely Brilliant!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Great movie overall. I'm not a film critique, hence my layperson rating is perhaps not so valuable. But I enjoyed it a lot. I love Meg Ryan in other movies ("You've got mail", "Sleepless in Seattle", "Kate and Leopold"). Now that this latter movie has been released, I see that there's a lot of similarity between it, and City of Angels, in plot and characters. Anyway, I was amazed at how the filmmakers conveyed the idea of being unable to touch, smell, and taste, and feel the pleasures (and pains!) of life. And the transition to being a living man, who can feel fatigue, pain, and physical desire in Seth is pictured really powerfully. A straight 10 out of 10 for that! I also liked the moment when he is taking a shower in her cabin, and she is pedalling the bike and waving her arms like if she were an angel herself, or a bird. It's kind of surreal, you don't really know until her crash if that's actually happening, or it's just a metaphor. Moments such as this one make this movie really subtle. I like that. I also like the answer that another angel gives Seth when he asks: "Why did it happen? Am I being punished?" - "You know better than that. It's because you are living now." Fragile and unpredictable as human life is, the film has depicted it masterfully. Since then Russian filmmakers have tried to create a remake of this film, but it's not really as good. Anyway, I think this movie is one of the best films on this theme ever made, but as the viewer I feel a little dissatisfied with the abrupt ending after the angel's fall. I realize this is part of the overall plot, and otherwise we couldn't feel how swiftly their happiness had to end, but I felt that my hopes were betrayed. I wish I could see Maggie become an angel too after her death (I realize that a living woman, or man, cannot become an angel, that angels have never been human as stated in the movie, but still), or his dying and meeting her in heaven. But that's just me.

This movie is a priceless work of art: the script, cast, soundtrack, cinematography.. everything! It is also likened to an Aesop's Fable; there is a definite moral/lesson to be learned! "City of Angels" opens up the doors of possibility while reflecting upon the realities of life. Every day we walk upon the earth, and most of us move about oblivious to the higher powers that guide us. In the movie, angels are everywhere, mostly unseen. One of the most profound aspects of this film is the portrayal of every range of human emotion, from laughter to grief, love to desperation.I love the chemistry between Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage in here. She plays a Dr and he's an Angel who sees her in the hospital where she works. She can see him but he doesn't let her know his secret. The only way their relationship can grow is if he leaves his 'life' as an angel. He can leave the life of no death, pain and sadness, and trade it for a normal life that humans experience. They both act really well in this and it was good to see Meg in a more serious role. I cannot go into more depth without giving you the ending, but I have to stress that this is such a beautiful movie (ok a little depressing in parts) but overall so good. You will most probably need tissues; it never fails to make me cry. It's such a beautiful romantic story and an under-rated movie for sure.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Another OK film. The concept is interesting. The shots of the black clothed angels all over the City Of Angels are cinematically impressive.I used to actually get the quinzies just watching Nicholas Cage but, I have learned to at least not hate him. It was difficult tho' because of all those extreme closeups of his carefully non-blinking eyes and non-smiling mouth. Romantic leading man ? Not quite ! Meg Ryan is her usual cute as a button self with a pretty nice curly haircut. It's a bit of a stretch to see her as a driven heart surgeon with personal issues.Best of the bunch character wise were Dennis Franz (he was the most believable and appealing character in the whole film) and Andre Braugher as another angel, friend and confidant of Cage.If you have not seen this one and have a spare couple of hours, it's worth a one time watch, imo.

As a teenager, I loved this movie. I thought it was romantic in a tragic way, the way that only true love can be real love. As an adult I see this movie differently. Meg Ryan is flat and shows that she doesn't have a wide acting range. Cage and Ryan have no chemistry together, there was no real depth or emotion from either of them. I was they had cast Braugher as Seth (he was the only character I wanted to see more of, that smile!) and someone else as Maggie, left out the artsy flyovers and angels hanging out on road signs, then it might have been a decent movie. Dennis Franz was another character that brought the movie up a notch, the rest phoned it in.Something else that bothered me, some of the music must have come from "Elevator Music: Greatest Hits", it didn't fit at all. The soft piano melody was sad, but the rest awful.Good idea (I realize it was based on the German movie), poorly executed.