Review: City of Angels
- Article 1 of 3
- Cambridge Insider, June 1998
City of Angels is an exemplary example of how not to do a remake. Based on Wim Wenders’ poetic Wings of Desire, the film tells how Seth (Nicholas Cage), an angel, falls in love with heart surgeon Maggie (Meg Ryan) and chooses to become mortal so he can be with her. Cage and Ryan contaminate every film they touch, Cage never convincing even though he always plays himself, Ryan having the charisma of plankton. The film itself swaps sappy sentimentality for genuine pathos, banality for wonder at the beauty that can be found in things we take for granted. The result is a film that is trivial and empty. It doesn’t even have the courage to share the faith it proselytises, substituting an unhappy ending that espouses the doctrine “love can never triumph”. After removing all that was good about the original, Angels is ultimately still a shallow imitation, right down to a nonsensical line about the newly mortal Cage never having seen colours before: Wings of Desire had been in black and white until that point. Avoid at all costs, even if you are trying to escape the World Cup.