Angel (2015) Reviews

• Angel: Clever thriller though fails to entertain

  Platypuschow2017-11-21

  This British thriller tells the story of Angel, a girl in the centre of a paedophilia conspiracy that goes deep into the heart of the UK government. Her mind cracked after years of abuse she is on a killing spree and several branches of law enforcement are after her for varying reasons. One thing I'll say about Angel is it's smart, its well written and a very clever piece of cinema. Everything that happens is entirely believable and many parts could be considered almost a dark satire. The trouble is its not very entertaining. We witness Angel on one side and the powers that be on the other leading to the inevitable showdown but when the credits rolled I found myself unimpressed with the film. Well written, well created and exceeds most British pieces but perhaps it just needed a bit more time to develop. Something about Angel simply missed the mark. The Good: Very clever little film The Bad: John Hannahs presence is hardly felt What the hell is with that cover?

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• Ridiculously stiff acting and boorish script turn the thriller into a comical cringe fest

  quincytheodore2015-07-22

  Still Waters (Angel) is almost a parody of classic sci-fi Species. It follows an enigmatic girl as she goes on a killing spree while a team of experts is chasing her. The delivery is astonishingly bad and highly unrealistic, it practically becomes comedy at times. Script consists of profanity spamming for every other sentences, which doesn't help the forced silly acting. The movie is a test of patience and endurance. The problem starts with the main character Angel (Jenn Murray). Be it the direction or acting from Murray, she looks like a ludicrous imitation of mannequin. It's so terribly exaggerated with repetitive bland monologue and sudden burst of tantrum. This is supposedly to be a dangerous girl, yet she just looks odd as though she's is trapped in bizarre Halloween party for eternity, both the look and reaction are so fake. Other characters don't fare better either. They are made of several crime drama clichés, the stern female investigator for example. She is the epitome of 80s macho template but now in lady form. The bravado is superficially overwhelming, she may just wear eyepatch and grow a beard. Surprisingly, John Hannah is here, though it doesn't help much with the feeble script. Writing is sloppy, utilizing chain of curses for any development. Furthermore, the story is littered with irregularities, from surreal reactions to dumb characters. It tries to bring heavy issue like child abuse or psychological trauma, yet the presentation is too odd to be believable. There's no decent conclusion for the excruciating spectacle. There's a term, uncanny valley, to depict CGI effect that almost mimics real human but eerily not enough and eventually looking like strange doll. This applies to this movie, it extremely fake and foolish, it's unbearable to watch.

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• Evil Adults/Evil Child

  onlythusfar2016-09-30

  I was surprised to read the highly negative reviews for this film. I found it creepy and intriguing. The theme of child abuse pulled at my heart strings. The strange mixture of politics and intimate horror, was quite unusual and interesting, as such. The fact, that the film is British added to my pleasure, as I generally find British films more realistic/serious, than American films. I appreciated all the actors in their roles. The tough female cop, although not unattractive, didn't look like a (ridiculous) fashion model, as so many do in American crime films. I thought, that she had a realistic edginess. This wasn't a "great" film, but I appreciated its dark quirkiness.

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• Twisting plot easy to follow

  sj-dwyer2016-08-27

  As a lover of movies not everything has to be Finely polished as long as an attachment and understanding can be found with the characters and a story line can carry itself along while keeping me entertained. This movie had all this for me and I found it quite enjoyable. It contained a story line that Contained elements of a thriller, elements of horror as well as comedy. Some people expect to much from movies and give bad reviews simply because they expected something different, a preconceived idea of what a film is about and how it should evolve. You just have to take in what the characters are trying to convey and let the story unfold. Pay attention to the dialogue and the scenes. Take note of all the details on the screen not just the main characters. While some films could have a better ending we can always end it differently in our minds. I enjoyed this film and found it to be individual and different.

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• I'm a highly trained international spy - or I was until recently.

  kobafern2015-08-23

  Sadly my career as courier to cheeky governments and well dressed spy, is over. I was thrust into a seat (Like I've been on many occasions In my career - perks of the job etc) while the enemy employ various means to try extract secrets I'm holding. Well the chair, the heating turned off, a bit of water-boarding began then they tightened the straps ensuring I wasn't able to move and made me watch this film! I gave them everything, including my ultra secret fantasy for Sarah Palin dressed in a catsuit while reading Tolstoy to me. This isn't a film - It's a torture technique. I hope my eyes will one day forgive me.

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