Film Reviews

Angel Eyes

• Rating:
• Director: Luis Mandoki
• Starring: Jennifer Lopez
• Details: US / 116 mins / (15PG).

Sharon Pogue (Jennifer Lopez) is a no-nonsense Chicago cop, about as willing to smack a confession out of a suspect, as she is to put up with sexist jibes from her colleagues. Caught in a gun battle at a coffee shop, Pogue is almost shot in the head before a mysterious stranger comes to her rescue. Over the following weeks, she begins a tentative relationship with the man, whose name she discovers is Chance (Jim Caviezel). But Chance is extremely reluctant to divulge any aspects of his life before he met Sharon, which only leads her to believe he's hiding something. Based on half an idea, Angel Eyes flirts with a number of genres before settling in the realm of romantic drama.
This sense of uncertainty is clear throughout the movie. Director Mandoki is unsure where he wants to go with the story, leaving massive gaps in the narrative that he later attempts to disguise with hideous amounts of sentimentality and melodrama. Directionless, basically.

Review by Garreth Murphy