Morten_5 Denzel, oh, Denzel! You're so lovely! I first watched this some seven years ago and thought it was kind of nice. Rewatching it now, I realised I really enjoyed the rather clever way it's written - and Denzel's feverish, frustrating desperation.

Jackson Booth-Millard I remember hearing about this film in the past on DVD, and later I knew it better for the leading actor, then I saw it had more good names in the cast, and it sounded like an interesting plot, so I tried it, directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, Frequency, Hart's War, Fracture, Untraceable). Basically serial killer Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas) is on death row, Philadelphia Police Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) who helped capture Reese visits him the day of his execution, Reese grabs his hand and says something in an unknown language, in the gas chamber he sings "Time is on My Side" by the Rolling Stones until he dies. A short time later, a string of copycat murders have been occurring, Hobbes and his partner Jonesy (John Goodman) investigate, Hobbes through a series of clues tracks down Gretta Milano (Embeth Davidtz), the connection is that her father was a detective and killed himself after being accused of demonic-themed murders. Hobbes goes to Milano's lake house, and finds a book about demonic possession, he also sees the name "Azazel" written on a wall, mentioning this name to Gretta, she gravely advises him to drop the case to save himself and his family. Meanwhile, the soul of Reese, or Azazel, was seen leaving his body after his death, then entering the body of a guard, his soul then transfers from body to body by touch, Gretta explains to Hobbes that that Azazel is a fallen angel with the power to possess human beings by touch. Azazel in a new body finds Hobbes at his precinct and taunts him, jumping from body to body singing ""Time is on My Side", it gets worse when Azazel is able to possess John's nephew Sam (Michael J. Pagan), and attacks his intellectually disabled brother Art (Bedazzled's Gabriel Casseus), before fleeing into other people on the street. Later Azazel boasts to Hobbes that even if his host body is killed, he can transfer into any host in the surrounding area, without the need of touch. It again gets worse when Lieutenant Stanton (Donald Sutherland) informs Hobbes that his fingerprints were found at one of the murder scenes, Azazel possesses many witnesses to give false information about what happened, throwing further suspicion on Hobbes. Hobbes takes Sam to Gretta's for safety, she tells him that Azazel can only travel in spirit form for the time one breath can sustain, he will die permanently if he does not possess another host in time. Hobbes goes to the Milano's cabin and calls Jonesy, knowing he will trace the call, Jonesy and Stanton arrive to arrest Hobbes, however Jonesy reveals himself to be possessed Azazel, he kills Stanton, Azazel prepares to shoot himself in order to possess Hobbes, the only body for miles. In a struggle, Hobbes manages to shoot Jonesy and mortally wound, but Hobbes tells Azazel he has poisoned himself, which will leave him without a host, Hobbes shoots and kills Jonesy, Azazel possesses Hobbes' body, but trying to flee he succumbs to the poison, his soul floats in the air to the point where he almost dies, but at the last minute a cat emerges from underneath the cabin, Azazel possessing it heads back to civilisation. Also starring The Sopranos' James Gandolfini as Lou and Robert Joy as Charles Olom. Washington is good as the homicide detective trying to catch the spiritual psycho, the supporting cast members do what they can, it is certainly a clever idea, a killer that can move from person to person by a simple touch, meaning paranoia and confusion for those trying to catch him, an evil ancient god being the cause is obvious, but the story is uneven and unresolved, the conclusion is memorable enough, overall it is daft, but a creepy and interesting enough supernatural thriller. Worth watching, at least once!

Filipe Neto This film shows the fight of an honest, incorruptible and fair cop against an entity he is not prepared for: a demon. Okay, it's a variation of the traditional films of exorcists and demons that reminds us "The End of Days", without that "end of the world" thing. The script is good and works, developing a strong and appealing story without, however, becoming really scary. Its a script where logic is sometimes contradicted, beginning with the way demons are transformed into bodyless beings, who can take any living being in order to survive. This goes against everything we've learned about demons but I'm willing to ignore that. Its a minor fault. The demon this movie shows worked very well for the movie and that's what matters. The pace is good, not wasting time unnecessarily. The plot twists give elegance to the story, but they cannot really surprise. Only in the end.The cast have some stars like Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz and James Gandolfini, but its Denzel who stands out all the time, carrying the film on his back. In fact, given the disembodied nature of the villain, its almost a "one-man movie". Thus, the film turns out to be an excellent thriller, in the exact density and without ambitions to horror, that we can see without getting sick.

videorama-759-859391 To me Fallen was just a lot of puff. After the execution of a serial killer (Koteas-one of my favorite actors, a wild card, again making a meal out of his role) he leaves Detective John Hobbes (Washington) with a line of dire warning, and he's true to his words. After his passing, and a great killer line, a request if you will from Koteas, who was an avid admirer of Hobbs, though of course, not reciprocated, the same style of killings begin again. Now we venture into the world of the supernatural, and the why's as we look for a picture, then another big picture, another reason, then another reason, the story stringing us along successfully, in a want to know, why some New York city folk, strangers are acting creepy, towards Hobbes. And they're not just strangers, they're people in his unit. Hobbes is also seeing things, where the touch of one hand to another reaches Hobbes. Is it Koteas's spirit? The movie really puts too much into it, layer upon layer, as if to explain or keep the plot interesting while progressing the story more, ridiculously defending what we can't buy, every time, where in the end what ensues isn't earth shattering, but just ridiculous, more puff. The performances by all are good, James Gandofini for one, and Penelope Ann Miller, is it, who knows a lot about demons, and the church. She assists Hobbes to try and fight this spirit and properly rid Koteas of the universe for all. Fallen just joins those serial killer films of lower status or misfires, e.g, In Dreams, or the ridiculous Twisted, yet still the story does reel you in, having us wanting to know the truth behind's Hobbes's suffering. You won't suffer much during the film, but there will be some trying moments. Check out Mick Jagger's Time Is On Our Side song accompanied by a shouting and screaming Koteas, as he's led towards his doom.