Gabriel (2007): Movie Review

Image courtesy: Sony Pictures

At every cycle, an angel of light and a fallen angel of dark must come down to manage the purgatory. But in every turn, an angel never gets to return. Now, it's Gabriel's time to put the situation under control and he must face the forces of Sammael, a soldier of the dark who threatens to defeat all angels until he deranges the balance of power between good and evil. And to break through the gates of heaven. The angels before him had fallen- Rafael, Uriel, Amethiel and Michael. Will Gabriel fall like them?

When a soul crosses to the afterlife, it journeys into one or two opposing realms; A divine source of harmony and wellbeing, a consuming source of evil and malevolence. A midworld exists for the souls whose judgment has yet to be decided. It is commonly referred to as purgatory.

For centuries, 7 Arc Angels, Protectors of the Light, and 7 Fallen, Soldiers of the Dark, have silently fought for balance of power over these unclaimed souls. Each side is restricted to sending only one warrior in every cycle. Upon arrival, they must assume a human form.

At present, darkness rules, and has the strongest grip on the city that it has ever held.

Review

Set in a dark atmosphere, with dingy rooms and filthy people, the start of the film promises dark action. Badly enough, this Aussie film was done overlong. One would get bored already at the first hour and the climax is like Friday away from Monday. Another hour of anticipation is just too much to bear. Prostitution occurring among angels is foul enough and Gabriel bidding this under his sheets was fouler. The forced romance (there's no chemistry between the main protagonist and the love interest) is just too stale, they should have just focused on action. By that, I mean the brawl. That rancid cheesy part could have been cut out and the movie's pace would have been set right.

40%5.7/105/10