In my opinion Denzel Washington is one of the best working actors right now and honestly one of the greatest actors of all time. The man just owns the screen no matter what he is doing. Look at his stunning performance as Malcolm X or anyone of his performances with Tony Scott for proof of this. So doing Denzel for Forgotten Film Friday is tricky. There are very few forgotten Denzel films that are worth your time. I mean if you'd like to watch the movie where Denzel's ghost haunts a racist cop played by Bob Hoskins be my guest. His unseen early work sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. So we're going back to 1998 for the deeply underrated supernatural thriller Fallen.
Denzel plays John Hobbs, a Philadelphia detective who is investigating copycat killings linked to a recently executed serial killer, Edgar Reese. Hobbs soon begins to suspect that it might be more than just a copycat killer. That's all I'm going to say. I don't want to spoil one plot point of this film. Just know it does have a supernatural element mixed with a pretty interesting cop film. It's entertaining to watch Denzel figure this mystery out and get to an ending that still holds up as one of the greatest shocking gotcha moments in film in the '90s. It's so good and right there in front of you the whole time. But it will still be a surprise for first time viewers.
It is amazing to me Fallen has been forgotten because this is an A-list cast. Denzel's female companion is played by Embeth Davidtz and she does a great job. His partner at the police precinct is the incomparable John Goodman, who signs in the final act of this movie. Donald Sutherland and the late great immortal James Gandolfini also work with Denzel and Goodman. But the show is stolen by Elias Koteas as Edgar Reese in the first five minutes of the film. Oh my God this guy is chewing scenery but in a good way. He is so good and I wish I could discuss him more in depth but I'm really paranoid about spoilers. Just watch this movie.
I don't understand the low critic score for this film. A lot of solid films from the '90s get piled on by critics. Fallen works as both a supernatural thriller and a mystery. The film always explains itself and nothing feels cheap or forced. Don't listen to the critics. Fallen is going to be worth your time just for that ending but you'll also have a great time getting there.
Denzel plays John Hobbs, a Philadelphia detective who is investigating copycat killings linked to a recently executed serial killer, Edgar Reese. Hobbs soon begins to suspect that it might be more than just a copycat killer. That's all I'm going to say. I don't want to spoil one plot point of this film. Just know it does have a supernatural element mixed with a pretty interesting cop film. It's entertaining to watch Denzel figure this mystery out and get to an ending that still holds up as one of the greatest shocking gotcha moments in film in the '90s. It's so good and right there in front of you the whole time. But it will still be a surprise for first time viewers.
It is amazing to me Fallen has been forgotten because this is an A-list cast. Denzel's female companion is played by Embeth Davidtz and she does a great job. His partner at the police precinct is the incomparable John Goodman, who signs in the final act of this movie. Donald Sutherland and the late great immortal James Gandolfini also work with Denzel and Goodman. But the show is stolen by Elias Koteas as Edgar Reese in the first five minutes of the film. Oh my God this guy is chewing scenery but in a good way. He is so good and I wish I could discuss him more in depth but I'm really paranoid about spoilers. Just watch this movie.
I don't understand the low critic score for this film. A lot of solid films from the '90s get piled on by critics. Fallen works as both a supernatural thriller and a mystery. The film always explains itself and nothing feels cheap or forced. Don't listen to the critics. Fallen is going to be worth your time just for that ending but you'll also have a great time getting there.
Comments
Post a Comment