48
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMovies often turn on slender notions worked up to look like full-fledged ideas. Once in a while, though, a notion will be fertile to begin with, a self-renewing source of delight. That's the case with Luc Besson's Angel-A.
- 63USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigIts strongest asset is the stunningly poetic cinematography by Thierry Arbogast.
- 63TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThere's always been a wide streak of the tediously naughty little boy in Besson, and all the seductively stylized images in the world can't hide it.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenRie Rasmussen and Jamel Debbouze, the stars who portray Angela, the celestial therapist, and André, her star patient, display enough screwball romantic charm to keep this sugary trifle afloat longer than you'd expect.
- 50VarietyLisa NesselsonVarietyLisa NesselsonFor his (Besson) fans, Angel-A is an achingly sincere but protracted effort to trade mostly action for mostly dialogue.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceAmiably inconsequential fairy tale.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversWhat nearly saves the movie, besides the Rasmussen eye candy, is Paris itself, shot in shimmering black-and-white by the gifted Thierry Arbogast. Talk is cheap here, and often inane, but as a silent film, Angel-A could have been magic.
- 40Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustLos Angeles TimesKevin CrustIn essence, you get "It's a Wonderful Life" meets "Wings of Desire," swapping out the substance for self-help platitudes. If you can get past that, you can enjoy it as a 90-minute look at a lovely postcard.
- 25The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinAt heart, it's just the latest from one-man industry Luc Besson, so even though it looks like art, it plays like schlock.
- 16Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAngel-A shows how director Luc Besson can be French in a way that even the French might despise...Quel ick. And très tedious.