Eyes of an Angel

This was a well done movie. It said it was based on a true story, I don't know how much was true, but it was a sweet movie about a Doberman pinscher dog and a ten year old girl. In the beginning of the movie there are some scenes of dog fights that look brutal, but are an eye opener for those of us who have never seen a dog fight. If it isn't an issue you have ever personally thought about, this scene in the movie will make you an advocate against such brutal activity. The movie shows the devotion a dog has for a girl that saves its life after losing a battle against a pit bull. I had never heard of this movie, but decided to watch it since John Travolta was in it. It was interesting to see a younger John and it was a good part for him to play and he did it well. If you love dogs or are just looking for a movie that the family may enjoy, this may work for you. There is some cursing, but nothing that most kids haven't heard.

I just thought this was an exceptionally well-done movie and was a little stunned at its low ratings.

What should have been a girl and her dog movie becomes just another John Travolta vehicle in EYES OF AN ANGEL. Travolta plays a down-on-his-luck widowed dad of a little girl, played by Ellie Raab, who is essentially a slightly younger version of the Tatum O'Neal role in . Travolta does some work for a bunch of low-level Chicago mobsters, the head of which is Travolta's late wife's brother (Tito Larriva). The brother constantly schemes to take away his niece from Travolta. Travolta ends up stealing a car and lots of money from Larriva, and heads with Raab to his successful brother's (Geoffrey DeMunn) home in L.A. The mobsters quickly figure out where Travolta has gone, and the chase is on. Mixed in with this nonsense is a very large dog that Larriva has thrown off a bridge after a vicious dog fight, and the dog somehow finds its way back to life and into the arms of Raab. They bond and become inseparable, while Travolta keeps trying to separate the two. He dumps the dog as they depart Chi-Town but the dog miraculously follows them all the way to L.A. Unfortunately, way too much time is spent on Travolta and his unlucky life, and not enough on the dog and the girl. They are strictly cyphers in this Travolta ego-driven vehicle. The film is a downer until the wildly improbable final five minutes. But don't see it. You'll want to tear your eyeballs out if you do.

Just watched this on HBO this morning. I had never heard of it before , and was curious. Despite the opportunity for extreme corn, most of the flick is really engaging. It seems like it ought to be a lame Disney movie, with the kid and the injured dog, but it has cussing and violence. I was pleased to see Travolta playing a loser. Usually if he's not the hero, he's a ridiculous melodramatic villain. He's usually too smug for my taste, but in this (Probably a reflection on the state of his career at the time) his character is pathetic for most of the movie. The villains are not original, but I really liked the little girl. For the most part, it is surprisingly good. Until you get to the end. The end of this movie is so completely lame, you will kick yourself for sitting through the whole thing. They really, really dropped the ball with that stupid, illogical, unrealistic ending. Ucccch!!! I would recommend just turning it off right before the dogfight at the end. Imagine something cooler happened instead. Trust me, whatever you can come up with in 30 seconds will be better than the crap these people thought up. I would really be interested in knowing who came up with that ending. Test audiences? Studio people? Travolta? The director? If that was what the writer originally wrote, I will eat my shoe.

I saved this on my DISH DVR from a showing on one of the free weekends of Showtime sometime within the last couple of years. Since my viewing plans are to cut the cable within the next month, I'm spending most of my free time watching what's been stored on the DVR, Eyes of an Angel being one of the titles.

Movie has a slightly disjointed feel as it jumps back and forth between the Travolta character's trials and tribulations and the dog's journey to rejoin the only family he's ever known. If you're a dog lover as am I, some of the scenes are a bit difficult to watch especially those taking place in the dog fighting arena, but minute for minute, the dog's travails are more interesting than are those of Bobby, the hard luck gambler, played by Travolta.

Casting is questionable, specifically that of Jeffrey DeMunn as Bobby's successful brother. DeMunn is a very capable actor, but no one would ever guess he'd be related to Travolta's Bobby.

In a nutshell, a tired story of a low expectations in life aimless loser and his young daughter. Throw in the dog elements and you get a 3/10 star movie. Not sorry I spent the 90 minutes it took to view, but if the producers were trying to humanize the story into a sentimental canine ride, that's the kind of thing Disney used to excel at with deers and dogs. Not so much with this crew.