The Fourth Angel (2001)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

Robin Hunter (novel)
Allan Scott (writer)

Release Date:

15 August 2001 (France)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama | Action

Tagline:

They took everything he had. Revenge is all that's left. (DVD box-art)

Plot:

A man seeks justice when his wife and daughter are gunned down in a terrorist attack.

Plot Keywords:

American | Hijacking | Cyprus | Limassol | Police

Cast

Jeremy Irons	...	Jack Elgin
Forest Whitaker	...	Agent Jules Bernard
Jason Priestley	...	Davidson
Briony Glassco	...	Maria
Charlotte Rampling	...	Kate Stockton
Lois Maxwell	...	Olivia
Timothy West	...	Jones
Joel Pitts	...	Andrew Elgin
Anna Maguire	...	Joanne Elgin
Holly Boyd	...	Julia
Kal Weber	...	Kulindos
Ian McNeice	...	Lewison, MI5 Officer
William Armstrong	...	Perry
Garrick Hagon	...	Duguay
Serge Soric	...	Ivanic Loyvek

Also Known As:

The 4th Angel (UK) (alternative spelling)
Vengeance secrète (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English | French | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

New Legend Media

Trivia:

Lois Maxwell's final film project.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Several times supposed correspondence of the Serbian terrorists is shown in the Latin Alphabet. Serbian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet whereas Croatian is written in the Latin Alphabet.

An intriguing thriller

Although the genre (revenge thriller) is a little dated and the cast hardly A-list, this is a constantly involving film which may delight an unsuspecting audience. Jeremy Irons is not everyone's natural choice for an action hero. However, casting him as the beleaguered Jack Elgin only serves to reinforce the intelligence and sensitivity with which the film's makers construct the story of an innocent man's quest for justice. Support from Forrest Whitaker (amusing, if hackneyed), Charlotte Rampling (bizarre accent/affectation) and Jason Priestly (smarmy, slick and spot-on) enriches the drama and the little boy is fantastic.

Action sequences are sporadic and small-scale compared with big-budget American movies like Planet of the Apes and A.I. but at least The Fourth Angel has characters about whom one cares and a story that, if not wholly original, is constantly involving.

London sparkles spectacularly and the overall look of The Fourth Angel makes you wonder why other British-set films feel cheap and TVesque. The score is a little intrusive but the soundlessness of the Seventies seems a distant memory with modern films choosing to instruct the audience exactly how it should react with over-the-top strings and drums. End of rant. See The Fourth Angel.