Der vierte Engel

I found this movie a waste of my time, and a waste of Forrest Whitaker's acting talents. Although there is a lot of good action and suspense, the plot is too fragmented and confusing to be believable.

I wonder how many script writers tried their hand at this film. The lead-character embarks on a killing-spree. WHY? was the question I asked myself continually during the movie. It went unanswered. His grief is understandable, but the resulting extreme measures are not. This could have been a very good movie, but somehow it failed to be.

European magazine editor Jeremy Irons (as Jack Elgin) takes his family along on a flight to India, where he plans to interview the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, the plane is hijacked by a terrorist gang (claimed to be Serbians). It seems like authorities get things under control, but their plan goes awry. A horrible tragedy befalls Mr. Irons and other passengers as they try to escape. When he sees justice is not being done, Irons jumps on a motorcycle and becomes a Super-Vigilante, knocking off terrorists with startling efficiency. Irons is a killing machine as well as a tender family man. Also involved are weighty FBI agent Forest Whitaker (as Jules Bernard) and suspicious CIA agent Jason Priestley (as Henry Davidson). A relatively sedate Charlotte Rampling (as Kate Stockton) dispenses advice and hints at a new family. The plot thickens with stupidity, and it ends with an explosive climax.

***** The Fourth Angel (8/15/01) John Irvin ~ Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker, Jason Priestley, Charlotte Rampling

Although the genre (revenge thriller) is a little dated and the cast hardly A-list, this is a constantly involving film which may delight an unsuspecting audience. Jeremy Irons is not everyone's natural choice for an action hero. However, casting him as the beleaguered Jack Elgin only serves to reinforce the intelligence and sensitivity with which the film's makers construct the story of an innocent man's quest for justice. Support from Forrest Whitaker (amusing, if hackneyed), Charlotte Rampling (bizarre accent/affectation) and Jason Priestly (smarmy, slick and spot-on) enriches the drama and the little boy is fantastic.

Action sequences are sporadic and small-scale compared with big-budget American movies like Planet of the Apes and A.I. but at least The Fourth Angel has characters about whom one cares and a story that, if not wholly original, is constantly involving.

London sparkles spectacularly and the overall look of The Fourth Angel makes you wonder why other British-set films feel cheap and TVesque. The score is a little intrusive but the soundlessness of the Seventies seems a distant memory with modern films choosing to instruct the audience exactly how it should react with over-the-top strings and drums. End of rant. See The Fourth Angel.

"The Fourth Angel" tells of one man's quest for retribution beyond all reason as he, the protag (Irons), takes on a bunch of hijackers while trying to avoid inquiries from government agents. Typically British in its austerity of production, this flick makes for a good middle-tier drama by creating a series of believable moral and practical dilemmas to which the well portrayed protagonist must react. A satisfying though not sterling blend of action, intrigue, and human drama, "The Fourth Angel" is not a no-brainer and, considering the complexity of the intrigue over the run time, is very well managed throughout. Not for Hollywood blockbuster freaks, this little import now on cable is well worth a look for those into foreign intrigue and movies that make you think but not too much. (B)

The November 15th terrorist movement alluded to in this movie as the August 15th movement was a Greek leftist organization in the 1980's. It had nothing to do with Serbs. The names of the "Serb" terrorists are not at all Serbian names. The language spoken by the terrorists is not Serbian. The writers clearly did not do their homework, it would have made more sense for the terrorists to be Greek in the first place since the hijacking takes place on Cyprus, an island claimed by both Greece and Turkey and thus a source of much conflict. I believe the writers seriously insulted the viewers' intelligence with this script. I hope the cast at least received a good paycheck for this less than impressive film.