When guardian angel Seth - who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles - becomes captivated by Maggie, a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.
My face had been locked in that goofy, awestruck expression you experience only in Spielberg movies. City of Angels demonstrates the best kind of emotionally manipulative filmmaking.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Jun 2002
fresh:
Funnier than Wenders' version, and it also succeeds in visualising LA as a magical city while dealing intelligently with the themes of mortality, sacrifice, free will, and the mixed blessings of the human condition.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
As a remake it's not as poetic as Wenders' masterpiece Wings of Desire, but it's supremely mounted (by ace lenser John Seale) and contains touching performances from Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan deviating from their respective screen images.
– Emanuel Levy,
Variety,
1 Jun 2006
rotten:
Strains to achieve the enchantingly sublime, but ends up sinking to the depressingly ridiculous.