Gabriel, a Vingança de um Anjo

This movie looks great and everyone on the film needs to be commended for doing such a bang up job with so little money. Its good that Sony took the punt and threw some money in to finish the visual effects because it would have made this ambitious project so much lesser for it without all those finishing touches. To that end you can say that this isn't really a low budget film - not by Australian standards if the rumor of a 5 million injection from Sony is true. My big gripe about this film though is that it could have gone somewhere bad ass but apart from looking cool it pretty much spins its wheels the whole time. This could have been a bad ass angel kill kill kill film but there ends up being lots and lots of talking instead and a few inventive but quick action scenes. But if you're an Aussie buy it because these guys deserve to get their due.

I had my doubts about this film when I first saw the trailer - to me it looked like a ripoff of the Nightwatch premise. However, when I saw it I learned that the story itself was very different. Oh sure, it has a Jesus-like story arc much like the Matrix and a good vs bad that pretty much every fantasy film has.

What I liked about this one was that the story didn't follow the usual formulaic storyline that you can almost time down to the minute. At first I wasn't sure where the story was headed, but as it unfolded I became drawn into it. I enjoyed the story, and it's exploration of the concept of freedom. I found it to be a story of great substance, and bears watching a second time in order to fully appreciate it, much like films such as Donnie Darko.

I liked that the cast was filled with people I didn't know, it gave it a freshness and allowed one to view it without the context of the actors cluttering the story. I liked the gritty visuals and sound - it pulled this off without the need to provide motion-sick tablets with your ticket, unlike movies like the Bourne Ultimatum which took wobbly camera shots a bit too far. It is a look typical of many Australian films, such as Wolf Creek, but the comic-book look of the film gives it a sense of fantasy which suits the story perfectly.

One thing I particularly liked was the way the fight scenes were realised - a fresh approach to supernatural battles which, I think, works well.

I found the effects a little over-done at times, and some of the visuals could have used a bit more polish, but considering the film's budget (or lack thereof), I think it's very impressive.

Sure, it's no Hollywood blockbuster, but that's kind of the point.

It's hard to make up my mind about this film. I didn't particularly like the writing or most of the acting, but I really like the look of the film (reminiscent of Sin City in a lot of ways) and some of the camera work was great. It's not a film I really enjoyed to watch, though. I can't put my finger on it, something just didn't make me want to keep watching, so I spent half the film thinking "Should I turn it off now? Now?" And when it hit the love scene I just felt sick. "They *didn't* do that, did they? Oh God, they did." However in spite of myself, I watched to the end. There were some good performances, some really bad ones, and more than a few mediocre. I really think Noble belongs in Home and Away. She had a real "Tammin" vibe and (at the risk of sounding really harsh), it just irritated me every time I saw her. I feel like if this film had gotten better funding and some better actors, it would have been amazing. As it stands, I think the art department and overall look of the film saved it from being plain bad. I'm sorry because I can tell what the film *could* have been, but it missed the mark. Maybe I can hope the sequel is better?

I saw the film last night. And i honestly don't think it was that bad. Obviously, the film had a few weaknesses and some of the dialog is a little embarrassing, but the majority of the acting was executed fairly well. The effects were great (remember, kiddies... truck-all budget.. a lot of crew working for free). I think an audience needs to cull out all their ideas of fantastic four and other insanely budgeted Hollywood trash films and go in with an open mind when approaching this film. I honestly found it enjoyable. Even the bad bits. um... just a quick note to the fool who said death proof sucked - You really need to lower your ridiculous standards if u thought that film was rubbish.

First of, don't expect a blockbuster like UNDERWORLD. This movie was shot with a budget of Au$ 200,000, that's Australian, by a guy who never wrote or made a movie before. Consider all these when you watch the movie and you might forgive its short comings.

Sure a lot of idiots complain that there are better movies with lower budget, yes, well ask how many of them are effects driven action movies with such a large scope like GABRIEL. Clerks !?... um no.

Frankly, Gabriel is a the indie action film. These being said, the movie moves at a pretty typical style and pace until the ending when it really pays off. The fights are quite cleverly choreographed and the editing is pretty tight. Its the dialogs that needed improvement and the story needed to explain itself a more. Half the time you'll be left wondering the rules of the world.

In the end, watch it for yourself and discover. As an independent effects driven action film with a style of SIN CITY, it is definitely the 1st.