7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
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.
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz, James GandolfiniSupernatural | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Horror | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.41:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish 5.1=Castillian
English SDH, French, German SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Fallen was the sophomore feature film from director Gregory Hoblit, immediately following the well-received Primal Fear and right before the superb Frequency, and it should be much better than it is. The screenplay is a combination of police procedural (Hoblit's specialty) and supernatural thriller by Nicholas Kazan, the Oscar-nominated author of Reversal of Fortune. The cast is led by Denzel Washington, who is backed by such notable talents as James Gandolfini, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland and, in a small but critical role, Elias Koteas, a king of creepiness. The cinematography, production design and other technical elements have been executed with flawless craftsmanship. So why doesn't the film leave a more lasting impression? Why does the tension dissipate as soon as the credits roll (if not before)? It's impossible to explore these questions fully without spoilers that would ruin all the enjoyment of a first viewing (and the first viewing of Fallen is by far the best). But this much I can say: Whenever dealing with a film like Fallen that relies on biblical notions of good and evil, one cannot help but compare it to the master template for such movies, The Exorcist. The usual weakness of subsequent films in the vein of William Friedkin's demonic masterpiece is that they skimp on character, whereas Friedkin made sure that the audience really knew the characters whose lives were being torn apart by evil forces. Fallen has the same strength, as should be evident from the A-list cast, who deliver credible performances embodying three-dimensional people. No, the problem lies elsewhere, and I'll come back to it at the end.
Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray presents Newton Thomas Sigel's sumptuous widescreen Panavision photography to its best advantage. As he demonstrated in The Usual Suspects, Sigel can create a rich look even with a low budget; give him real money, and he delivers the kind of image that makes Blu-ray afficionados sit up and take notice, assuming it's handled properly, as it has been here. The rich, dark earth tones of the Philadelphia locations and the interiors built to coordinate with them are reproduced with silky smoothness, as are the cool blues and whites that Sigel frequently uses to set off Det. Hobbes, thereby emphasizing his essential isolation. Blacks are rich and inky, particularly in the film's critical nighttime finale, and detail is superior even in darker areas of the frame. Colors are distinct but not oversaturated. There is no indication of artificial sharpening or grain reduction, although the image's grain structure is so fine that it's barely noticeable. No compression artifacts were evident. An entirely different look characterizes the brief but frequent insert shots of "demon vision". In addition to geometric distortion, these reflect deliberate overexposure, "wrong" colors and oversaturation. They're supposed to appear non-human and they succeed.
The film's DTS-HD MA 5.1 track reveals distinct but low-key rear channel effects right from the opening sequence at the prison where Reese is to be executed and helicopters are circling overhead patrolling the crowds demonstrating below. Other effects such as thunder and the demon's rush through crowds gain impact from judicious use of the rear channels. The track also makes more frequent use of left and right separations than one typically finds in a major feature. Dialogue is always clear, and the sound editors have cleverly conspired with the film editor to "overlap" the dialogue from one scene into the previous one, which has the purposefully disorienting effect of leaving viewers momentarily unsure whether they're hearing voiceover or something else. (There's voiceover as well.) The atmospheric score by Tan Dun (Oscar winner for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has been subtly layered into the mix so that it functions as a presence instead of an overbearing commandant telling the audience when to be frightened.
The extras have been ported over from the 1998 DVD, with the exception of cast and crew bios and brief "production notes". (The DVD listed three "TV spots", but in fact these were not on the disc.)
Note to aspiring screenwriters: Consider inventing your supernatural villains, either by borrowing creatively from old legends (as Sam Raimi did for The Evil Dead films) or by a rough sketch that the audience can fill in with its own imagination, as Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard did recently with The Cabin in the Woods (thereby following a template that Whedon has used successfully for years). There's no point in taking on all the baggage of an established religion unless you intend to use it, as Fallen did not. When you make up your own demons, you put your protagonist and the audience in the same position, because no one knows the adversary. The unknown is always more frightening. On technical grounds, the Blu-ray of Fallen is recommended, but I suggest a rental, because the replay value isn't high.
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