Angel of Death (2009) Reviews

• Well Beyond My Expectations

  tropicvibe2009-07-27

  Some so called critics may give this flick a couple of stars but truth be told, I went in with low expectations and came out pleasantly surprised. Had never heard of the movie or even Zoe Bell for that matter but she was in fine form here and her acting was quite sufficient for the lead role. Except for being a story about a female assassin, this really has nothing in common with "La Femme Nikita". What it does have is dark humor, plenty of action, and very good fight scenes. Even martial arts fans like me won't be disappointed. I feel lucky enough to have watched it with a few friends (one of whom brought the movie to my attention), and we all enjoyed it. If I give out any kind of spoiler it might ruin the fun so go take a look, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

• a neo-noir/action flick treat for fans of Brubaker and Bell

  Quinoa19842009-08-18

  Ed Brubaker is a name to know in comics, but it should also be known in movies. Hopefully this will be a good calling card for him to get more work, or for more of his comics to reach the screen. While he's usually known for his spin on Captain America, he also has a series of hard-hitting hard-boiled comics called 'Criminal' (at the moment, I think, there's three volumes in all). Angel of Death follows along on the heels of those latter comics, and what he delivers here with this script is like an updating of a pulpy story that might have been found back in the 1950s put to film - only, of course, far less violent and expletive or on occasion trippy. It's like a Sin City yarn if it took itself not quite as much as a parody. And it works, mostly. And another good thing about it, with its story about a hit-woman (Zoe Bell) who after getting a knife stabbed in her head and surviving- and becoming a loose cannon and seeing visions of a young girl she accidentally killed "telling her" to hit the entire mob organization around her- is that it leads on tough-movie dialog, kick-ass fight scenes and a really superb leading lady. Previously one could see Bell as a stunt-woman in Kill Bill or as herself, sorta, in Death Proof. But here she proves she can hold her own in dramatic scenes (maybe not quite her Uma Thurman counterpart but close enough) and seeing her fight is really extraordinary. In fact, if you're just looking for a better-than-average direct-to-DVD action flick that chalks up a load of mob-movie/detective clichés, and don't know or care about Brubaker's name on the DVD, it's still worth watching. The fights are gritty and realistic, and the direction compliments these moments of torrid psycho-drama with Bell's knack for knocking someone's head in or any other kind of clever way of killing at a moment's notice. The film sometimes goes into a comic-book-panel kind of mis-en-scene, like if Zoe Bell's character is in a room walking around we'll see three different 'panels' of this. It's creative, if a little overused (and not so original if one's seen Ang Lee's Hulk). And, as a more obvious complaint, with the exception of Doug Jones and Lucy Lawless most of the cast is just 'meh', not terrible but nothing special. But pick it up if you're roving around your video rental or if netflix gives the recommendation. You'll be surprised how much 78 minutes can go in delivering a hard-knock story of hard kills and harder consequences.

• Imitation "Alias"/"La Femme Nikita" vehicle for Zoe Bell

  alanbobet2009-07-14

  I have just seen the Unrated & (so called)Unedited DVD version of ANGEL OF DEATH starring stunt actress Zoe Bell in her first starring lead acting role, since Ms. Bell basically played "herself" in the Quintin Tarentino mini movie, DEATH PROOF, as part of the GRINDHOUSE double feature of 2007. While I consider Ms. Bell as the best stunt actress alive, her acting talents are still quite limited and is still a work in progress. The film which is really a compilation of mini episodes shown on the Internet based on a script by comic book writer, Ed Brubaker(Marvel Comic's Captain America)lacks a cohesive plot with credible and believable characters, especially the main female lead that remains as cyphers thruout the film, which really lasts only 78 minutes. The plot as it is, a combination of TV's ALIAS and LA FEMME NIKITA, has Bell as a hit woman working for a crime syndicate, who suffers an almost fatal blow in the head by a knife during a botched assassination attempt and then because of that blow, she suffers a change of heart in her profession and then decides to go after her bosses. The action scenes, especially with Ms Bell herself doing her own stunts & fight scenes, are quite good, but every time Ms Bell tries to act in the film with scripted dialogue, the film goes downhill, since she is obviously out of her league, especially acting with pros like Lucy Lawless(ZENA), Ted Raimi and Doug Jones(HELLBOY). Ms Bell here commits the same error as another favorite stunt actress/ martial artist Cynthia Rothrock,who is also great in her own fight scenes but can't act or deliver dialogue convincingly. It also streches credibility when the lead character suffers a knife blow to the skull with a seven inch knife, but suffers no serious motor trauma to the brain, except for some minor seizures. The film as directed as such, has a TV movie, made for video quality to it and doesn't work as a theatrical feature. The film just ends when it's reaching it's climax and leaves the door wide open for a sequel, but unlike Tarentino's KILL BILL, which this film unsuccessfully tries to emulate, the viewer doesn't have enough sympathy for Zoe Bell's character in the same way audiences felt for Uma Thurman's character or Anne Parillaud's character in NIKITA or Jennifer Garner's character in ALIAS. My sincere advice to Zoe Bell is to continue doing bit parts in film and TV to be able to fully develop her acting skills before trying another lead role in a film again or her career will end up just like Cynthia Rothrock and Mimi Lesseos doing Grade Z action flicks released straight to video.

• Don't mind the bad reviews

  TobyVK22009-08-09

  If you're looking for a new and original million dollar film that will sweep you away into a world of movie-magic- This isn't a movie for you. This is the kind of movie you rent when you just wanna get cozy in the couch watching some violence. This is not an exceptional movie, but it's a good and simple movie for anyone to watch when in the mood of something not too heavy. It is indeed a grind-house B-style flick, and I can see how anyone who's not read-up on the genre might find it to be an awful movie. Truth told it is a great movie. The whole concept is simple as well - And the script being bad because the plot is too plain? It's the whole point. Anyone can watch this because it doesn't bind you to more than a few key events- Making it possible to summarize the entire movie in a sentence or two.

• a great fun flick

  Worldofgrim2009-08-23

  I enjoyed this. I have the all i can rent blockbuster membership so i see A LOT of flicks. And many only the first chapter, then skip to last to see f/x or finale. This was thorughly enjoyable. Zoe did a kick booty job. She was hot, acted well, even the tough scenes, I never cringed at all. I sort of cringed in 'Death Proof' at the acting she did, which was non per Quentin's direction... but in this, she did it. she delivered her lines. Her acting, and her fight sequences were great. Hard, gritty, sexy but not SEXY ridiculous, but sexy hot gritty cool, you know what I mean. Her moves looked & felt real, like, oh yah, that's how a women can fight a big dude, like me, I'm buying it. gun play was excellent too, as in, no gunplay, just solid use of guns, knives, fists, mirrors, ground, ...great! story was simple, straightforward & well paced. direction was solid. kudos to the Director of photo, i really liked the lighting, the contrasts, the light/shadow, the silhouettes, really done well. i think i'm buying this one. something i can enjoy watching every few years along with Leon/the professional, seagal's first 4 movies, bruce lee, streetfighter, old boy, & pink panther.