Fallen

Directed by Gregory Hoblit, Fallen follows homicide detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) as he witnesses the execution of a notorious killer (Elias Koteas’ Edgar Reese) and subsequently becomes convinced that the madman’s spirit is jumping from body to body with impunity. There’s little doubt that Fallen, running a far-from-brisk 124 minutes, suffers from pacing issues that persist virtually from start to finish, with the deliberateness of the movie’s opening half hour especially problematic given the fairly underwhelming nature of Hobbes’ initial investigation (ie it just becomes a matter of waiting for Washington’s character to catch up to what we already know.) It’s just as clear, however, that Fallen benefits substantially from Washington’s engrossing performance and Hoblit’s striking, Se7en-like visual sensibilities, while the inclusion of several impressively conceived and executed sequences (eg Hobbes watches in horror as Reese passes from body to body on a crowded city street) ensures that the movie grows more and more compelling as time progresses. And although there’s a palpable lull in the buildup to the climax, Fallen concludes with an absolutely enthralling stretch that confirms its place as an erratic yet rewarding thriller – with the movie’s only real deficiency its often severe overlength.

***1/2 out of ****