Vengeance secrète

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.

"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)

It was not a case of 'The Fourth Angel' being doomed from the start. It had a lot of interest points. Although it was hardly a new idea, the story sounded interesting and did really like the sound of the moral issues. The trailer did make me want to see it, and even more so when seeing that John Irvin (who directed a personal favourite the television adaptation of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy') was director, had one of my favourites Jeremy Irons in the atypical lead role and had an interesting cast. Also do like action/revenge thrillers when done well.

'The Fourth Angel' could have been much better though. It is far from a bad film, it does have its good moments and good points and it does admirably with a difficult subject and moral issues which considering the timing as well is worthy of some credit. When it first started, to me it was actually a good film. Have however seen much better films that cover similar ground and at the end of the day 'The Fourth Angel' was rather uneven and somewhat strange as well.

As said, 'The Fourth Angel' did start off very well. There was tension and suspense in the opening and the outcome and aftermath of it are quite poignant. There are some interesting and thoughtfully put across, without being too ham-fisted, moral issues as well and some of the diaogue is thoughtful in the early parts of the film. It looks relatively slick and stylish with great use of locations, and as well as the opening there are some good individual scenes like between Irons and Forrest Whittaker.

Cast against type, being more closely associated with upper-class gentlemen with a dark or conflicted side (and one of the best at that), villains and complex real life characters often played with understated intensity, Irons surprisingly excels in the lead role. He is very moving in the early stages and when the character hardens he brings more intensity while not being hammy and never looking out of his depth. Whittaker doesn't have the best written of characters, a pretty stock role, but somehow Whittaker makes the most of the character and gives him much more thought and tension than one expects. He has some great chemistry with Irons. Jason Priestly, also against type, does smarmy quite well and Charlotte Rampling and Lois Maxwell make for interesting casting.

However, once it gets into more action thriller territory 'The Fourth Angel' becomes more routine and sometimes confused. The latter stages of the film stretch credibility to breaking point badly and it all becomes very far-fetched. Jack's grief is completely understandable, as is his want for justice, but can find that when characters go vigilante in films generally that their actions become on the extreme side and that's the case here. That's just my thoughts though. The music is a bit too intrusive and doesn't sound like it belongs in an action/revenge thriller from the early 2000s, more like from 10-15 years earlier.

Felt that the tension dissipates once the film gets increasingly implausible, and the very underdeveloped and non-threatening villains (the characters generally are sketchy, with the sole exception of Jack) and the standard and at times thrill-free action decreases it further. Apart from the climactic moments with Irons and Whittaker, the momentum dips, the direction loses subtlety and the dialogue loses its thoughtfulness and becomes unfocused. Actually felt like two different films.

Overall, watchable but strange and inconsistent. 5/10

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

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.