Angel-A
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: May 25, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
7
Negative:
5
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The overall experience of the movie is of something fresh. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Movies 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. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Angel-A isn't as nutso as some of Besson's other pictures: It doesn't have the crazy inventiveness of, say, "The Fifth Element." As I watched it, I found myself wishing it were just a little loopier. But the picture is still seductive and pleasing. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Attractive black-and-white 'Scope compositions, strong Paris locations, and effective handling of the actors makes this captivating throughout. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The weirdly earnest literalism of Besson's story is a weak point. His desire to make Angela satisfy both sides of the Madonna-whore complex is too blatant. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Its strongest asset is the stunningly poetic cinematography by Thierry Arbogast. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
There'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. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
A black-and-white fantasia shot against a bright backdrop of famous sites, and it has potential to be a cult hit on its dreamy-hipster look alone. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The beautiful black-and-white photography - and disappointingly sappy ending - are the only remotely sober elements here, thanks to Besson's loopy script and Debbouze's very funny turn as a loser who simply can't believe his luck. Read full review
63
PremierePeter Debruge
A charming midlife crisis of a movie that bottles the "La Femme Nikita" director's typically high-concept inclinations in a modest indie package. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
So stunningly shot and visualized--and scored so hauntingly well by Anja Garbarek, the daughter of saxophonist/composer Jan Garbarek--that it works even if you don't pay attention to the story. Maybe it works better that way. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Angel-A is an intriguing film, but more of an interesting failure than an offbeat success. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
What's maddening about Angel-A is that Besson is so brilliant with his visuals - and so in love with his two leads and the city they're parading around - that you desperately want the story, and the characters, to make some kind of emotional sense. This, however, does not happen. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Rie 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. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Under the lingerie model façade beats the heart of a celestial Dr. Phil. Read full review
50
VarietyLisa Nesselson
For his (Besson) fans, Angel-A is an achingly sincere but protracted effort to trade mostly action for mostly dialogue. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Amiably inconsequential fairy tale. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
What 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. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
In 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. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A gorgeous-looking but ill-conceived mash note to the city of Paris that riffs on its better, wiser, glaringly obvious cinematic predecessors. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie might have been more tolerable had Besson searched harder for a performer and not a specimen. Barbara Stanwyck in her prime might have made more sense. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Angel-A is counterfeit art-house chic writ large -- a French film that fails to produce the ineffable charms of the yesteryear movies it brazenly imitates. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
At heart, it's just the latest from one-man industry Luc Besson, so even though it looks like art, it plays like schlock. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kamal AL-Solaylee
How Besson drags this premise into 90 minutes of screen time should be of interest to the perverse among you – or anybody teaching a how-not-to-make-a-movie summer course. Read full review
16
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Angel-A shows how director Luc Besson can be French in a way that even the French might despise...Quel ick. And très tedious. Read full review
More From This Movie

48 Critic Reviews

5.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL