Angel Of Death (2002)
Picture: B-
Sound: B Extras: C- Film: C
Having viewed many films in the Cinema Latino cannon from
Fox and other companies, there is something instantly fake about Pepe
Danquart’s Angel Of Death (2002) beyond Mira Sorvino mildly convincing
as Hispanic detective Maria Delgado and the underrated Oliver Martinez as her
disagreeable partner. But before you
think this is some formula cop/buddy film with opposite sexes, know it is more
interested in being some kind of thriller set during the
Holy Week Easter celebrations.
There are those who look like red versions of the Klu Klux
Klan and are supposed to be scary.
However, the film never knows how to build suspense and its flashback
storytelling does not add to any believability. That’s a shame, because Roy Mitchell’s screenplay, based on the
David Hewsen book, misses the opportunity for the leads to come up with some
unique chemistry spent on a better situation.
He mystery presented is lame and the strange homophobia in the film
quickly becomes a sort of spoof of itself.
As it stands, the film is too scattered and suffers a “death” of
interest very quickly.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has detail
limits problems, though some of this comes from flashback footage and other
stylized shooting. The shots that are
supposed to be the current, naturalistic shots also have some detail
issues. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes,
whether English or Spanish, have more activity than usual, making this one of
the better Dolby 5.1 mixes lately by default.
Much of it is sweetened due to this being a thriller, but we have
encountered many thrillers that were not as good in the sound department. The only extras are trailers for this, four
other MGM titles and a promo for their Horror catalog on DVD. Too bad the film was not better, but if you
are curious, it’s not a bad sound demo.
- Nicholas Sheffo
