The Avenging Angel (1995 TV Movie) User Reviews

Mormon Palace Coup

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 31 May 2006]

Tom Berenger who's a gun totin' sharp shootin' Mormon security man foils an attempted assassination of Brigham Young and is hardly thanked for his efforts. He investigates a little further and finds there's quite a complicated conspiracy at work.

It's good to remember that this film is based on a novel, just as the DaVinci Code is. It's not anything remotely resembling real history of the Church of Latter Day Saints.

For one thing as another reviewer pointed out the Transcontinental Railroad had been completed by 1872. Not only completed, but Brigham Young made money off it in every possible way.

Brigham Young was a complex and charismatic leader who during the Civil War was practically treated like he was a ruling foreign power by both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. His task as best he saw it was to keep the spirit of the LDS church alive and not let it get too touched by outside influences. Of course no one plays a complex and charismatic religious figure like Charlton Heston. His Brigham Young is like his Moses if Moses had actually gone into Canaan and had the responsibility of building a nation as Joshua did.

By the way the Mormons here show enough outside influence. They drink, they smoke, they indulge in extra-marital affairs just like a whole lot of gentiles do. Our protagonist Berenger is no exception.

In the film 20th Century Fox did, Brigham Young with Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Dean Jagger we saw a bit of the colorful Mormon Scout Porter Rockwell as played by John Carradine. Here the part is played by James Coburn who's older and wiser. Rockwell's place is still hotly debated, he was devoted to Brigham Young for certain and his devotion led to some blood stained hands.

I'm not sure how much controversy this made for TV western has caused among the LDS community. Apparently they were a lot smarter in handling this than other religions were with The DaVinci Code. If you remember this is a novel and not a factual retelling of events, you will get some insights into the LDS community.

Tom Berenger is one of the most under rated actors in the business

[Ed-Shullivan · 7/10 · 10 November 2022]

I have yet to see Tom Berenger in a bad performance and this made for TV film was no exception. I have watched Tom Berenger's career over the past five (5) decades and regardless of whether he is playing an over the hill Major league baseball pitcher, a hard drinking lawyer, a detective and/or in this case he is playing a character named Miles Utley who is a lifetime dedicated Mormon hard fighting rebel soldier/bodyguard who will stop at nothing to protect the people he believes in and/or loves.

There is something very appealing about all the characters that the actor Tom Berenger portrays, and with his characterization of body guard/protector Miles Utley he once again makes a somewhat historical story line of the Mormon church leader/founder Brigham Young (played by Charlton Heston) into an adventure with a heroic twist. In contrast to a more recent (2020) western film titled News of the World starring the much more honored Tom Hanks, there was no comparison. I enjoyed Tom Berenger's performance and the much lower Hollywood budget story line of The Avenging Angel starring Tom Berenger over the dull and predictable (2020) News of the World.

I give this made for TV film a very respectable 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Meh....not bad

[Chrieraux · 6/10 · 27 February 2007]

The movie is okay. It's not very accurate, but what do you expect from an old western staring Charlton Heston? Tom Berenger is good as a young member of the "Avenging Angels" learning about intrigue and scandal in his group. Kind of like Mission: Impossible, but in the West.

James Coburn is excellent as Orin Porter Rockwell, an interesting enough character, they could have made the whole movie about him.

Charlton Heston is Brigham Young....if you liked him as Moses, you'll like him here. If not, you won't.

The basic plot of the movie is based on inaccuracies and exaggerations. There may or may not have been a group of "Avenging Angels" in early Utah. Whether there was or not, the group was not an official Church unit and neither murder, nor blood atonement, has been enforced or used by the Church at large.

As long as you understand it's fictional, though, it's a decently interesting movie.

Be Fair

[clwhittom · 19 May 2003]

If you are not an over sensitive Mormon, trying to justify your religion, you will enjoy this movie. It's just what a Tom Berenger movie should be, filled with action and interesting characters. The story line is very unique and interesting.

I should like this film, but...

[artzau · 5/10 · 4 October 2001]

I should like this film, but I was more than a little put off by it. I want to be careful here and keep my comments addressed to the film and not its subject, the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, AKA, the Mormons. The film which takes a VERY sympathetic posture of the Avenging Angels, the well organized and well funded hit squad of the LDS which organized a number of out-right murders of both true believers and "Gentiles (as us non-subscribers to their faith are termed). I was mildly surprised to note that such a murder is treated fairly in the film but that's about all that isn't slanted. The internal struggle of Elders provides us with the good guys/bad guys necessary for a good shoot'em Western and there are some interesting twists, including our old favorite, James Coburn, in a role as the mysterious Porter Rocwell, the organizer of the Avenging Angels. If you are willing to buy the several fictions that exist in the story and the VERY soft pedaling of Mormon polygyny, you will likely find this entertaining. Heston is his old patriarchal self as the "Prophet" Brigham Young and look for Andrew Prine, a promising young actor who never quite made it to the top, in a spot. As a hard-nosed history buff, I had a hard time with several of the religio-political elements of this film but I must confess that I've been so damn hungry lately for a good Western, I'd likely watch it again.

Bad Western movie

[nr140 · 2/10 · 3 December 2005]

Well, I have another opinion. I don't like this movie at all. Actually, I rate it like 2 out of 10. Frankly, the only good about it was the Bad Boys trailer before the movie. It's make me compare Will Smith with this boring and stiff actor in Tom Berrenger. I think the story is complicated, I didn't know about the Mormons etc. Bad acting overall. Miles Utleys (Berrenger) drunken father does not look that old to be Utleys father in my book. Then we have this very sentimental ending with all the ....Yeah yeah, I will not appeal anything. I would not recommend this tragic movie to anyone else rather than the very greatest fans of Tom Berrenger. Don't waste your time watching this since the are so many other classic western out there.

Far from truth

[mel-44467 · 1/10 · 5 May 2020]

We started to watch this movie as it had some decent stars so we thought it might be good. Within a few minutes we could see it was pure rubbish. Very bad casting. And the script was much worse, and far from reality, more what haters of the Mormon faith would write. Very anti-mormon and very much off the mark from reality. Sick and twisted. I'm shocked Chuck Heston took on this job. Typical Hollywood rot.

Fictitious yet not entirely untrue

[kjwallace-2 · 10/10 · 26 March 2008]

Yes this film was based on a fictitious figure yet cannot be written off as untrue. There was an organization known as the Danites and no Joseph Smith did not immediately disband them and condemn them, in fact, he attended some of the meetings. He did disband them once he saw the true scope of activities and he excommunicated the band leader Joseph Avaard, however, Orrin Porter Rockwell, who is portrayed in the movie, was indeed a member of the Danites and was Joseph and Brigham's personal body guard. I feel the movie was more about Porter than Miles Utley and Bill Hickman was also real. In fact, Miles was about the only character who was made up. The attempts against Brigham's life were real and the internal leadership struggles were real. The Mountain Meadow Massacre is a perfect example of the type of nervous hair trigger leadership that prevailed in the early days of the church after the martyrdom of the prophet and the cowardly murder of P.P.Pratt in Arkansas. Though Grigham was exonerated for the attack on the Arkansas wagon train, the crime was perpetrated by leaders of the local church concerned about the wagon train proceeding to California, raising a militia and returning bent on sacking the outlying Mormon communities. They mercilessly murdered men women and children thinking the general leadership would condone the act but were seriously flawed in their judgment. This movie gives us a glimpse into the paranoid mentality of the epoch and I think it is well worth the time to watch.

Fantastic movie about early mammon persecutions

[jtom1-1 · 10/10 · 10 May 2005]

I have the video and I watch it quite often and have found it to be remarkably accurate for the period. Mr. Berenger if a perfect choice for the part. Although one of the reviewers errantly listed Brigham Young as founder of the Mormon Church, the movie is great. I would gladly recommend this movie to any and all who is interested in early American history. The period dress is accurate and the persecutions that the Mormon people were suffering is amply displayed as well as the needed response to those persecutions. Charleton Heston is a wise choice for the part of Brigham Young and supposedly was the only choice of the director and producers.

Great Movie

[mdicera6120 · 10/10 · 30 July 2006]

It's amazing that in this day and age you can buy movies that date back to the 20's on DVD, but not this one. I can't seem to find this TV movie on DVD. I like Tom Berenger movies.I enjoyed his part in "Eddie And The Cruisers" and he was great in "Someone To Watch Over Me". I'm really disappointed that this movie was not made for DVD. I also have noticed that most video stores don't even carry it. Very few on line markets know about it, and on e-bay it's rated as very rare. It's a good movie full of action and romance. Great for both male , and female audiences. I would like to know if there are anymore more Berenger fans out there.

Berenger Rides Again!

[dtrent-2 · 20 August 2001]

If you like horses, Westerns, beautiful scenery & a story filled with intrigue, you should like this film. Co-produced by Tom Berenger (First Corp. Productions) he also stars in this exciting movie made for TNT television. Working along with famed Charlton Heston & James Coburn, Tom's in good company. He shoots, rides & roughs it nicely.

You may not be particularly interested in the trek of the Mormons to Utah in the 1870's but that's what begins the story. Miles Utley (Berenger) is trained form the time he's a youngin' to serve & protect the church's prophet, Brigham Young (Heston). And he does it with a vengeance! (How Bible-totin' people can sanction murder & politcal intrigue is a valid question but...To each his own.)

You have to feel for Berenger's character throughout this whole film. He's on the trail of potential murderers, dallies with Young's daughter in an attempt to get closer to the man he so violently protects, gets left for dead in the Salt Lake, found by one of the usurper's wives & nursed back to health, beginning a relationship with her in the process, rides all over Utah & finally meets up with the prophet himself who knows all along who's got it in for him. He knows Miles is sincere & never doubted his loyalty for a minute. All in all, it's an enjoyable film & will have you guessing & interested throughout. See it!

Note: Berenger's two young daughters get film credit here, too - Chelsea & Chloe Berenger.

Excellent commentary on the times

[robertf-13 · 10/10 · 15 February 2007]

Avenging Angel explores a history of the old West that few outside of Utah will have explored. Granted some liberties have been taken, but the story holds up quite well, an the dialog snaps throughout. Charleston Heston can add Brigham Young to Moses and Ben Hur on his list of major religious figures he has portrayed. Tom Berringer gives a solid performance. James Coburn is brilliant as Porter Rockwell.

From a historic point of view, the storyline may not be entirely true to fact, but Gary Stewart, author of the original novel, grew up in a traditional Mormon family in St. George, Utah. While this specific story may be fictitious, it is based on a tremendous amount of historic fact.

This movie does not give an accurate poprayal of 1870's Utah.

[rockhound-1 · 7 April 2003]

First of all, it's been a while since I saw this movie. So, I may be wrong about this, but one of the other reviewers mentions the "trek of the Mormons to Utah in the 1870's...." By the 1870's the Transcontinental Railroad had been completed. Therefore, during this period of time the trek to Utah consisted of hopping on the next train and riding it to the territory. The trek portrayed in the movie actually took place around 30 years earlier.

My next criticism is that the "Avenging Angel" as portrayed in this movie never existed. They are loosely based on a group of renigade Mormons that existed for a short time while the Mormons were living Northern Missouri in the late 1830's. This group was more commonly known as the Danites. The Danites did commit crimes against both Mormons and Non-mormons of the area. However, the Church never sanctioned their activities. As a matter of fact, the first that the then Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, had heard of the activities of the Danites was when the organization's leader and founder, Sampson Avard, gave perjurious testimony accusing Smith of having been complicit in their crimes. Avard gave this testimony in order to save his own neck. Once their activities became known, the Danites were disbanded and were never reconstituted.

Another inaccuracy is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints never sanction murder. There were several times that various groups used violence against members of the church and the Church sanctioned violence used by the members to defend them selves, but only in their defense, only when the Church?s enemies we in the act of physically threatening the saints.

Finally, their is no evidence the Orin Porter Rockwell (Coburn's character) was ever a member of the Danites. He was a bodyguard to both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young (Heston's character). He was a gun fighter reputed to have killed more men than Wyett Earp, Doc Holladay, Batt Masterson, and Tom Horn combined. He was fiercely loyal to the Church and its leaders. However, he was never party to cold-blooded murder.

In short, I think that this movie would have been better if they had just used wholly fictitious characters and settings. The mixture of real people with an otherwise whole fictitious story only serves to perpetuate false ideas about the society that existed in 19th-century Utah.

Release on DVD

[Worleyr7 · 8/10 · 11 October 2012]

I've been looking for this movie on DVD for years. I remember watching it when it was released, and like many of you I do not understand why it hasn't been re-mastered on Blu Ray or DVD , I've e-mailed turner classic movies and have never received a reply on when this movie might be released again. With the all star cast and action packed sequences this movie needs to be released again on DVD ! Good westerns are few and there's not a lot of actors that can make a great western movie now days, the James Coburns, John Wayne's , and all the great actors are gone and there's very few actors that can make a great western still alive

Inaccurate information in review

[engineer307 · 29 April 2006]

There was an organization that existed in Utah after the Danites were disbanded. They were known as the Destroying Angels. The Mormons did kill people who were no threat to them in southern Utah. This was the Mountain Meadow Massacre on 11 September 1957. They killed over 100 men, women, and children on a wagon train from Arkansas. The only ones spared were children younger than 7. Even children as young as 9 were killed after the party was promised safe passage after turning over their weapons. Those left alive were given to Mormons in Utah to raise but eventually returned to their families back East. This was "The Crime of the Century" in the 1800's. There are some great books and many websites about it.

It's based off what novel?

[dani_sing26 · 10/10 · 2 April 2021]

I can not find any evidence of this movie based off a novel. Are they referring to Mormonism Unveiled? That's not a novel. So happy this movie was made. Can anyone find Gary Stewart?

were the Danites and Avenging Angels REAL?

[juarezal · 22 July 2013]

YES they were BILL HICKMAN was the Leader of these men, who would go out and KILL the unbeliever's and the trouble makers for the LDS CHURCH. PORTER ROCKWELL was arrested for the attempted KILLING of GOV. LILAN BOGGS. the leaders of the LDS CHURCH were men who wanted riches from its congregations. SMITH believed in MULITPLE MARRIAGES and YOUNG loved the POWER he had over the state NOTHING was done w/o his PERMISSION. PORTER ROCKWELL was the last of the Avenging Angels. He did not think twice about killing INDIANS OR WHITE MEN he would always say "IT'S AS EASY AS WHEAT". This movie gives a slight insight as to the MORMONS life. BUT MR. HESTON is no where near the iron fisted personality of the dictating PROPHET YOUNG. who said that is not a prophesying man. he would leave that to other MEN.

Inaccurate Information about the Inaccurate Information In Review review posted here.

[mllekim · 7 February 2023]

The Mountain Meadows Massacre was in 1857, not 1957. However, there was a brutal slaying of Brenda (and her baby) Lafferty by her Mormon brothers in law. Like the founder of their church, Joseph Smith these 2 men were also deceived by an angel of light, believing they had spoken with God (although with Smith, his story varied as to whether it was God and Jesus, or an angel, or some such combination that came to him in a vision to start their church which coincidentally has the same death oaths, symbols (sewn into their underwear and chiseled in stone on their main temple, along with other symbol of Luciferian Freemasonry, of which also coincidentally Smith, his dad, and granddad were members. Further coincidentally, for the Coincidence Theorists, a handful of Freemasons had only recently in the past...about a year and a half prior to this alleged vision, gotten away with murder right there in the same area of western upstate New York. Having drowned a fellow Freemason for doing what is also forbidden in the Mormons church, telling the secrets of their rituals, (other Freemasonic death oaths include lying to protect fellow Freemason or die, and they reenact a mock penalty, of throat slitting and gutting should one break these oaths, so Brigham Young did also carry out these murders if anyone tried to leave the Mormon church. Those who joined even into the 1970's and 1980's would be required to take this oath.

The Bible says to swear no oaths, not by heaven, because it is God's throne, and not by earth, because it is God's footstool...even swearing on a Bible is unbiblical. The Bible also says not to be deceived, as Satan comes as an angel of light, to deceive many. (And Mormonism and Catholicism both defy the Bible in countless ways, both having evidence chiseled in stone at their very headquarters, the Mormons and their temple is covered in the symbolism inside and out, the Vatican, over and above ignoring Jesus as the only intercessor, having their members "paying penance" when Jesus already paid for our sins, if one makes him one's Lord and Savior, a simple confession to God directly is all one needs to do. God said not to go to anyone else, so Mary and saints are simply Roman pagan gods and goddesses with Bible names...the Egyptian obelisk, the homage to the Egyptian fertility god, rising up like a giant middle finger, or more accurately, like a giant phallus to God, should be their most glaring clue.

Heston was also in the 10 Commandments, and anyone professing to love God would know how he feels about false gods, especially those of Egypt.

The brothers committed the murders because of their religious foundation and the death oath that was taken (and only revised later, probably in light of the highly publicized murders). Mormons have made many excuses for how they "don't really take that oath seriously", but if not, then why did they take an oath before their god (who, unlike the God of the Bible, who has always been, and always will be, and made the world and humans, theirs began as a human (so, even a child can realize he can't be a human AND have create the very first one), tried really hard to be good and perfect by human standards (God's idea of perfect is you trusting him completely), succeeded, became their god, and their men can do likewise, and be granted a world to rule. The womenfolk get the dubious pleasure of being spirit baby making machines. Thank God it's the construct of a Luciferian Freemason, and isn't so...)... if they had no intention of keeping it?

So, in upstate NY, just after the drowning of a fellow Freemason who did share information about the activities of the lodge, the trial was by a "jury of their peers", which meant - jury of 12 Freemasons who had taken the same death oath to lie to protect a fellow brother.

The locals knew this, because the secrets had been made public.

Being a Freemason wasn't cool anymore. 33° and above, they take another death oath. This time to worship and serve Lucifer, and to "work to destroy and defile the name of Jesus Christ, and to "pour down a steady stream of vilification upon Christianity", while publicly they can pretend to be anything from an atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, pagan, even a Christian, or anything else. Many world leaders are 33° Luciferian Freemasons. As are many heads of major corporations, and other influential people the masses trust. They often make their position clear by symbols on items they wear or use or otherwise display.

So, the locals were rightly angry at the acquittals.

And rightly angry when Joe came out about a year and a half later with his Freemasonic religion for the whole family. The Freemasons also were not happy. He claimed his god (certainly not the God of the Bible, it goes against everything he commands) told him that he was to take the wives of other men as his own. Nope. That is not the God of the Bible, that would be adultery. And God wants people to stay married when they get married, not covet another man's wife (it's in the 10 Commandments, for Pete's sake). And he took men's underage daughters for wives of his own as well. Breed 'Em Young was no better, and also did the same. Coveting that which did not belong to him.

Then there were all the cons, including starting a bank to take everyone's money, and leaving his accomplices holding the bag.

THESE are the reasons Joseph Smith was run out of town to town, and Young as well. Real men and real Christians weren't having this Satanic doctrine being peddled to them or their town. Even secular people weren't having the con games. Joe's family were known for their cons. The religion wasn't the first.

God made sure there were over 5,000 copies of the Old Testament, scattered hither and yon. That way, a counterfeit would be readily apparent. Any tampering would stand out. And no ancient fakes exist. The writings have been found, in varying staged of the whole Old Testament (sometimes it all hadn't happened yet, but what had was kept as a record, so they all substantiate writings found even in Egypt. Their records align with biblical ones on the Hebrews living there.

But the Mormons...had one record that their angel of light (if there were such a thing, or just another con) gave and took away, supposedly to protect it, after assisting with translation...which was grammatically incorrect and needed 6 revisions. God confirms his word with his word. Makes sure there's a way to assure no counterfeits or random additions are added.

So, the correction is, it was a century earlier, BUT the violence written into their death oaths, that did carry into the late 1900's, and they were still being acted upon. And those who took the oath before it was altered (it's rumored to have changed, I don't know what they may have changed it to), those people would consider themselves to still be under oath.

If I didn't mention it, that includes the obligation to kill another Mormon who tries to leave, to protect their soul from damnation.

Definitely not the God of the Bible. Absolutely not. Besides, Jesus didn't have a Satanic brother (that would elevate Satan from a fallen angel to a son of God, and therefore part of God (God is in Jesus and Jesus is in God) which is absolutely is NOT any of those things. He also never "tried to force people to be good", as they claim.

In case any other discrepancies are in there...that covers a few.