And here is an irony: the flaws I believe are due to the length (overlong by about half an hour, which is a lifetime for feature) and the length is due to the pedigree, ie, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer production and no way Jerry was going to let one of his pet projects get cut at 90 minutes (which would have placed it in the same category as the B films, the "found footage" films, and the direct-to-video jobs).
The story which appears to be based on some sort of fact is an odd combination of two iconic films which most buffs will immediately recall, the original EXORCIST and Denzel's wonderful 90s flick, THE FALLEN.
I deliberately said "odd combination" because in truth each of these is a different type of story and to combine the two in one production would produce a strange result.
Which is what you have here.
The good news? Bana is one of those "under-used" actors who always does a fine job and one should never pass a chance to catch him in action.
Good as Bana is, however, he is upstaged by the Director Scott Derrickson who does such a great job at setting scenes and mood that you might almost call him the real "hero" of the story since this technically perfect work can do nothing but good for his career.
Similarly, Bana is upstaged yet again by Édgar Ramírez who seems to be trying to make the transition from Latin actor to English speaking actor. Given that he steals every scene he is in with raw intensity, that should not prove to be a hard transition.
The story which appears to be based on some sort of fact is an odd combination of two iconic films which most buffs will immediately recall, the original EXORCIST and Denzel's wonderful 90s flick, THE FALLEN.
I deliberately said "odd combination" because in truth each of these is a different type of story and to combine the two in one production would produce a strange result.
Which is what you have here.
The good news? Bana is one of those "under-used" actors who always does a fine job and one should never pass a chance to catch him in action.
Good as Bana is, however, he is upstaged by the Director Scott Derrickson who does such a great job at setting scenes and mood that you might almost call him the real "hero" of the story since this technically perfect work can do nothing but good for his career.
Similarly, Bana is upstaged yet again by Édgar Ramírez who seems to be trying to make the transition from Latin actor to English speaking actor. Given that he steals every scene he is in with raw intensity, that should not prove to be a hard transition.