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:

Continuity: Elgin and Barnard board a train to Oxford. The train itself clearly indicates Gatwick Airport as its destination.

Bright, thoughtful Irons film

I have appreciated Jeremy Irons since Brideshead Revisited. An

actor of much skill and emotional range, he can admittedly be

faulted for the occasional bizarre choice of rolls, for example the

pedophile in the Lolita remake and the mad bomber in Die Hard 3,

performances that surely have him waking up nights in a cold

sweat. In The Fourth Angel, he takes on a semi-action role, which

is not his usual casting, and yes, he pulls it off, because his

character is basically a brainy journalist who stumbles into the

world of shoot-em-up terrorists. If he is to survive, he must figure

out how the clip goes into the AK-47 and how to work the safety,

and learn it even as the killers are coming down the hall for him.

There's no secret about the plot. His wife and daughter are

slaughtered by terrorists and he discovers that governments are

not going to lend a hand. The way he expresses both his grief and

his outrage represent his art at its peak. This film is nicely written

and paced, and reminded me of Defense of the Realm. The Fourth

Angel has an important role for a young male actor, who does very

nicely, and features a brief but pleasing appearance by Charlotte

Rampling, who has made the transition from femme fatale to

middle aged woman with great grace. (She will look better to

some now than she did then.)