City of Angels (1998)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Best movie of this year hands down!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

"I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss of her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it. One."Brad Silberling's City of Angels isn't a film that seems to have aged well and perhaps it suffers a bit from the Nicholas Sparks syndrome we've been exposed to over recent years. I'm not bashing on Sparks because I was a fan of The Notebook, but his stories seem to have been recycled over recent years and its hard not to find them emotionally manipulative. That's the case with Silberling's film as well, it seems as it is trying to force a chemistry that isn't really perceivable. The film is a loose remake of Wim Wender's German film, "Wings of Desire," which I haven't seen but heard is far superior. After seeing City of Angels I honestly have no desire to watch the original. I felt like something was missing from this screenplay (adapted by Dana Stevens) and perhaps it was simply the cast, but I never found the romance behind this story believable. Costner did a much better job than Cage does here playing the lead character in Stevens's previous screenplay "For Love of the Game" which is a film I still admire despite its flaws. There was something about Cage's performance here that simply didn't resonate with me. I found his character more of a creepy stalker than anything else and his puppy dog eyes didn't change my perception either. Cage is a talented actor and there are a number of films where I've really enjoyed his performances, but this wasn't one of them. City of Angels introduces us to a guardian angel named Seth (Nicolas Cage) who watches over the people of Los Angeles along with many other angels. One day as he is sent to pick up a dying patient at a hospital he falls for a heart surgeon named Maggie (Meg Ryan). He is captivated by the way she fights for this patient's life and how his death affects her. He begins falling her around and after giving it some thought he allows her to see him. He's never experienced touch or feelings before so he asks her to describe everything around her, such as the taste of the pear she's eating and so on. He is surprised when one of her patients at the hospital senses his presence. Nathaniel Messinger (Dennis Franz) is a man who enjoys life to the fullest and while he is being treated at the hospital he acknowledges Seth's presence. He confesses that he was once an angel who decided to give up on eternal life as an angel to become human. When Seth realizes this is possible he begins to ponder whether or not he too should fall to Earth to be with the woman he has become enfatuated with.Silberling's film isn't simply a love story, it is a film about living life to its fullest and learning to appreciate the small things in life. That is what it tries to say anyway in a rather manipulative way through Cage's character. I think that the film misses its opportunity to explore love and how it is much deeper than a simple feeling. Seth was the perfect vehicle to explore this considering he could not feel anything but somehow he felt attracted to Maggie. Unfortunately the film doesn't explore this and it lacks that emotional impact that I though a film like this could deliver. The lack of a stronger chemistry between Ryan and Cage definitely hurts the film, but at least Dennis Franz elevates the material. It's a shame this is the last film he made considering he went on to work in NYPD Blue for more than a decade and has retired from acting since. He showed a lot of potential here playing a very different role. Andre Braugher also gets to share some scenes with Cage as one of his fellow angels as the two philosophize about life. After having been released over 15 years ago the greatest legacy this film has left is its soundtrack, which is easily recognizable thanks to its popular pop songs. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

*Spoiler/plot- City of Angels, 1998. A heart doctor struggles with the complexities of life and death with the help of a spiritual being that turns into a common human.*Special Stars- Meg Ryan, Nicholas Cage, Dennis Franz.*Theme- Love is the most important and powerful emotional of all.*Trivia/location/goofs- Shot in Los Angeles because it's the "City of the Angels". NIck and Dennis DID sit over 40 stories high to get the shot over urban Los Angeles. They had a few drinks of bourbon to accomplish that scene.*Emotion- A wonderful film message and great cast. I'm a little biased on this point of this review. I worked on the film for many weeks and enjoyed the cast & crew. article LINK: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CheckingtheGate/message/9. *Based on- The German cinema film "Wings of Desire".

It's a shame to see how people focus more on "what it could/should be" instead of enjoying what they have in front of their eyes.Maybe the movie came from a classic (I just learned that today) but before knowing that, for years and years I've liked it so much.If we focus only on this movie, despite where it comes from, what you liked it from other movie and what you were waiting, you get a good enjoyable movie.It's not an action one, it's a love story with just a few to none action scenes so saying "it's boring" it's not a valid option.So I'll just say, if you haven't seen the old classic (Wings of Desire) you'll pretty much like this one

Seth is an angel who accompanies the spirits of the recently dead. Seth has never been human, so has never experienced touch or taste. He comes across Dr. Maggie Rice, a brilliant young heart surgeon who is devoted to her profession and her patients. Seth has the power to let himself be seen but Maggie finds him far too mysterious. He also meets a patient, Nathaniel Messinger, who has news for him - he too was once an angel like Seth but chose to fall to Earth and become human for love. Seth makes a decision on his future, which does not turn out as he had expected....If you really want to get soppy with your loved one, then this is one of those movies that will guarantee tears come the end of the film, as its one of those films that ticks every box in the romance genre.Made at the height of his career, when every film he made struck gold, Cage plays Seth with puppy dog eyes for the duration of the movie, and every mortal thing is amazing to him, but, he's really good at his role.Ryan is Ryan, playing the ditzy surgeon with so many choices and decisions after a tragedy. But Franz carries the movie and brings much needed warmth and love to the whole film, because if he wasn't included, the film would feel very sterilised and machine like.Seeing the film years later though did get me asking questions I wouldn't normally such as, what will happen to Seth? The guy has no financial stability, qualifications, or skills. I know its petty, but see the film with this in mind.The other thing is that Seth can be a little creepy at times, literally getting in Ryan's face and just following her about, the stalker angel if you would.But all in all, its a love story given the Hollywood spin, Wings Of Desire is a much better film, but this is still good stuff, even if its by the numbers.