Marla Vendret

The plot is simple. God has lost hope for mankind and has decided to destroy it. Where he once resorted to a flood, this time he decided to use angels. The archangel Michael disagrees with God's decree. He believes there were still enough worthy humans to justify their existence. Believing that giving God what he needed was more important than giving God what he asked for, he tears off his angel wings and sides with a small group of humans on the outskirts of the Mohave desert. He's there to protect a pregnant woman, whose child will become mankind's next savior.

The execution of the plot doesn't quite fulfill its potential. The movie begins with a voice-over that is eerily similiar to Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. It was so similiar that it mentally ejected me out of this movie and into The Terminator before the movie had actually begun. Michael's fall from heaven into Los Angeles is simplistic but satisfying, as is the introduction to the small diner/gas station, with a disillusioned and bitter owner, a family stranded with car problems, the sympathetic cook, the owner's shy but good-hearted son, and the rebellious, angry pregnant waitress.

The apocalypse begins subtly, with communication breakdowns. Tv, radio, phones, all go blank, effectively stranding everyone in the diner. Then the old woman comes in, using her walker.

Here is where I began to get twitchy. I can buy into the warrior-angels' idea and that they take possession of humans just like demons. I can even buy into the idea that it'd be creepy to see--a sweet-natured old woman viciously attacking someone--but what I couldn't buy into was their foul mouths. Why would God's angels use foul language? They may be warriors, but they are supposed to be God's warriors, so wouldn't they administer God's justice with love? Certainly not with the demonic glee seen in this movie.

After Michael shows up, he explains a few--very few--things to them about what's happening. His only interest is in preserving the waitress' baby--a baby God had ordered him to kill. He was God's general, the mightiest of God's warriors, so when he refused to carry out God's order, God sent another archangel to do it for him: Gabriel. As far as Michael was concerned, the other people in the diner were unimportant except for their ability to defend the waitress until she could give birth.

I enjoyed the battle scenes in and around the diner, especially those without the foul-mouths. The action, gore, and subtefuge, interspersed with lulls which allowed interactions between the diners and Michael, were my favorite scenes. What I didn't like were inconsistencies in how the angel-possessed people behaved. Why would an old woman talk in her voice, but a child speak in an adult demonic voice? (I much preferred the first scenario to the second.)

Gabriel's arrival after the birth of the baby marks a change in focus from mankind's fate to angelic politics. Gabriel and Michael love one another as brothers, though it is never verbalized. Both mourn over what they are about to do. Neither want to fight the other, but they have no choice. That kind of intensity--regret, determination, love, mourning, internal conflict--should have been a theme throughout the movie. No angel, not even when possessing humans, should have been happy about mankind's death sentence. Giving them the same emotional intensity as seen between Gabriel and Michael would have added depth to the storyline and made it more consistent.

The ending...well...it was a disappointment. Just as it began with the Linda Hamilton-esque voice over, it ended with it. It ended with her on the road, holding her baby, driving into the desert searching for the elusive "prophets," that would help her raise the savior-child. I hated it. I more than hated it, I despised the producers for ruining the movie by that lame duck ending--an obvious attempt to set the stage for Legion II. That scene, including even the bandana over her hair, could have been taken straight from The Terminator (with one exception that I won't explain because it would give away some of the plot). I would have been much happier with the entire movie if they'd ended it after a final battle scene or if they'd ended it with the waitress surrounded by these elusive prophets.

Do I recommend it? Yes and no. I thought the special effects were fantastic and realistic. The interpersonal relationships in the diner were great, as were the battle scenes. I loved the angelic wings and armor, especially the idea that wings weren't just for flying but served as another weapon and as a shield....But truly, the ending was so horrible that it marred my enjoyment of the whole thing, so I leave that decision to you.

I'd also welcome your take on it.

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