Depending on how one breaks it down, this movie can be seen as the first two hours of a six-hour miniseries about Nephelim (also spelled Nephilim) who are hunted down and destroyed as abominations (they are half angel, half human) by The Powers, one of The Creator's clans of angels who helped banish Lucifer to Hell and a contingent of his angels (the Fallen) to Earth where they mated with mortals to create the Nephelim.
The first two hours were first shown little over a year before the concluding four hours, so that on IMDb, they are broken into this two-hour movie and a four-hour miniseries. {See "Fallen" (2007).}
On the plus side, the story moves well enough to sustain interest, and most of the actors turn in satisfactory performances, particularly Tom Skerritt as fallen angel Zeke (who appears only in the first two hours), Rick Worthy as Camael, formerly one of The Powers known as The Punisher, now reformed and out to protect Nephelim Aaron Corbett, a.k.a. The Redeemer, played by series lead Paul Wesley.
Nephelim come of age on their eighteenth birthday; and when Aaron, who grew up in a foster home, learns he's a Nephelim, he wants none of this angel stuff, but wants only to live a normal human life. Aaron protests his true nature at every turn, until a fatal showdown with The Powers, and he is forced to decide which path his life will take.
On the down side, the aforementioned fatal showdown involves an angelic battle which utilizes special effects intended to create wonder and awe, but which is rendered less exciting by the effects' familiarity from prior works.
And Elizabeth Lackey as Verchiel, leader of The Powers, who was so good as the lead character Alexandra DeMonacco in the TV series, "Just Cause", is miscast here -- her emotion is clearly false, and her menace is unconvincing. (Due to reasons which are made clear during this movie, she is replaced by Will Yun Lee in the miniseries. Some fans will remember Lee from the TV series, "Witchblade".)
Still, the story holds promise, and I'm hoping it tightens up in the coming four hours.
Addendum: Both the miniseries and the story itself pick up one year later. There are a lot of new characters introduced, and it takes a while to figure out who is who, and whose side each new character is on. (There are at least four different factions involved in the action.) Lovely Fernanda Andrade as Vilma Rodriguez, who was introduced in the movie, reappears in the miniseries and asks the questions that are on viewers' minds designed to clear up various plot points. (Sometimes obscurity doesn't generate mystery, but leads only to confusion.)
The first two hours were first shown little over a year before the concluding four hours, so that on IMDb, they are broken into this two-hour movie and a four-hour miniseries. {See "Fallen" (2007).}
On the plus side, the story moves well enough to sustain interest, and most of the actors turn in satisfactory performances, particularly Tom Skerritt as fallen angel Zeke (who appears only in the first two hours), Rick Worthy as Camael, formerly one of The Powers known as The Punisher, now reformed and out to protect Nephelim Aaron Corbett, a.k.a. The Redeemer, played by series lead Paul Wesley.
Nephelim come of age on their eighteenth birthday; and when Aaron, who grew up in a foster home, learns he's a Nephelim, he wants none of this angel stuff, but wants only to live a normal human life. Aaron protests his true nature at every turn, until a fatal showdown with The Powers, and he is forced to decide which path his life will take.
On the down side, the aforementioned fatal showdown involves an angelic battle which utilizes special effects intended to create wonder and awe, but which is rendered less exciting by the effects' familiarity from prior works.
And Elizabeth Lackey as Verchiel, leader of The Powers, who was so good as the lead character Alexandra DeMonacco in the TV series, "Just Cause", is miscast here -- her emotion is clearly false, and her menace is unconvincing. (Due to reasons which are made clear during this movie, she is replaced by Will Yun Lee in the miniseries. Some fans will remember Lee from the TV series, "Witchblade".)
Still, the story holds promise, and I'm hoping it tightens up in the coming four hours.
Addendum: Both the miniseries and the story itself pick up one year later. There are a lot of new characters introduced, and it takes a while to figure out who is who, and whose side each new character is on. (There are at least four different factions involved in the action.) Lovely Fernanda Andrade as Vilma Rodriguez, who was introduced in the movie, reappears in the miniseries and asks the questions that are on viewers' minds designed to clear up various plot points. (Sometimes obscurity doesn't generate mystery, but leads only to confusion.)