Customer Reviews

Gabriel

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Synopsis: The Archangel Gabriel descends into the intermediate world of Purgatory on a mission to destroy a group of fallen angels who have taken control of the realm, thus preventing the human souls there from evolving upward. Six Archs (Archangels) have preceded Gabriel on this dangerous mission and all have mysteriously disappeared into the foreboding landscape. Will Gabriel be able to stand alone against the combined forces of Sammael, Amodeus, Lilith, Molloch, Ahriman and the rest? And what of the six missing Archs? What horrible fate has befallen them?

Critique: The '07 film `Gabriel' has cleverly blended disparate elements from numerable popular, financially successful films and added several interesting ideas of its own into one storyline that may not be highly original but is definitely entertaining.

Recipe for making `Gabriel':
- Begin with the basic ingredients (storyline) from the cult classic `The Prophecy' minus the comedic elements provided by Christopher Walken,
- Blend with the graphic, cinematic style of `Sin City',
- Sprinkle liberally with some of the pervasive melancholy made famous in `The Crow',
- Add a pinch of costuming ala `The Matrix', one creepy looking bald, vampirish bad guy reminiscent of `Blade II', an attractive brunette who bears a strong resemblance to Kate Beckinsale as she appeared in `Underworld' and a little `City of Angels' at the very end.

Secret Ingredient:
-For a deeper more profound flavoring check out an obscure, Indie film from '03 titled `The Despiser'. It also deals with a war in Purgatory in which the ultimate danger is that death in this realm equates to permanent extinction. Sound familiar?

While there are plenty of similarities and comparisons one can make with other films `Gabriel' is still somehow unique enough to carry a distinct flavor and texture all its own that should attract a wide audience of loyal fans. I'm certainly one!

I haven't enjoyed a movie so much in quite a while. It's dark, gritty, action-packed, but the action doesn't distract from the great story. I especially loved that it didn't shy away from using actual biblical angel names instead of making up something to avoid offending anyone. This movie can be watched on many levels: just for the surface story or for the deeper view of humanity, good, and evil through the eyes of the main character, Gabriel. Either way, it's a great movie for all angel fans or really anyone up for a dark action movie with a good story.

This dark, orginally unknown film is building a growing, enthusiastic following outside of its cult, low budget origins. Shot in the tradition of The Crow, Highlander and Sin City, it has an artsy, comic book appeal. Excellent production qualities, lighting and sets belie its tiny, independent film budget.

This is fantasy-horror stuff, and it takes awhile to get into the twisted apocolyptic world that the characters inhabit. However, the strong acting and near perfect casting soon grips you into this strong and mystical morality tale.

A truly remarkable find in film making, especially noteworthy coming from a group of relative unknowns from Australia. A great add to your collection.

I had some hopes for this movie when I picked it up, but after about an hour, my hopes became more concentrated on watching the timer drag slowly towards the 114 minute mark. This was a very disapointing film and the twist at the end was pretty weak I thought. All the arch angels of Heaven could not fight the forces of darkness in Purgatory, a place where the souls of people who's fate has not yet been decided go. I didn't know that that is what Purgatory was supposed to be. God can't make up his mind? Anyway, why were the fates of these souls undecided. They were practicing rapists, theives, killers and prostitutes. They were drug dealers and sellers of illegal firearms. They shouldn't have been in Purgatory if the only criteria is that God has not decided on where they should spend eternity. Anyway, the forces of darkness have taken over and arch angels from Heaven (or THE LIGHT as they called it. I guess because they had to be politically correct and not use words like God, Supreme Being, Creator etc.) were sent down one by one to defeat the forces of darkness and bring light back to Purgatory. Six archangels fail and Gabriel is the last one. When he arrives he becomes a warrior in a post-apocolytic looking city or something. I found it troubling that the weapons of choice by angels would be knives and guns and bombs and lead pipes. It was hard to accept this place as Purgatory. Anyway, the movie has it's moments when Jade is rescued, then plays not much of a part any more in the picture and when Raphael is healed. After that, the film is a series of ever increasingly boring fight scenes, including the final climactic one which seemed to take...well, it took an eternity for goodness sake. This isn't really an unwatchable film but I would not recommend it to anyone and for sure would never consider owning it.

I was rather surprised by this film because I expected it to be yet another low budget flop. surprise! It is very good, has a lot of action, gunfighting, and even some special effects that were pretty good.
the story starts off with Gabriel last of the ArcAngels (their spelling, mine is ArchAngel)
well, each time he taps into the "source aka God" for power he not only grows weaker, but alerts all the demons exactly where he is.
as if that's not enough, the last 6 arcangels failed to bring about an end to the darkness and now it is totally up to gabriel to end Sammael's Reign of evil and put an end to darkness and finally release the sun.
a really well done flick but if you are looking for constantine style effects you will be dissappointed. this film has quite a few talkie spots but the story is so compelling you might not notice.
most of the effects are comprised of super strength, speed, some glowy Particle effects and changing eye color. (eyes seem to represent demon (reddish amber) angel (blue) and regular human eyes.)
my only minor gripe with the film was the fact everyone (angels and demons) used guns for fighting and naught else. still great though.

Overall: this is a good film not overloaded with effects, blood and gore etc. it is a gripping story about the final fight for purgatory and the souls of earth and the fallen angels. I'd recommend it.

4 Stars.
Extras Include:
deleted Scenes, and 3 making of featurettes. not bad.

Buy it here!
Gabriel

... So I gave this 4 out of 5 stars though if I wasn't such a sucker for these types of dark and stylistic pieces, I would have given 3.5 out of 5 stars.

"You threw me far from Grace. Now I fall unto it." - Gabriel

I had a hard time rating this film. First off, it seems as if it should be horrible; or at least cheesy and over done. But it's not. It's spectacular. In the tradition of such movies as Night Watch / Day Watch (Two-Movie Collection), Immortal, and The Crow (Miramax/Dimension Collector's Series), 'Gabriel' makes up for any plot deficiencies with style and grit. In short, I think it deserves the title Cult Classic in every way :)

The story is this: the "Arc Angel" Gabriel has been sent down to Purgatory - a dark city styled much like that created for 'The Crow' - to fight against the Fallen (who control the city). He is the last hope of the Light and has more than just Fallen to worry about. He's been sent down in human form, and for the first time in his existence, must battle to understand the new emotions that go along with his existence: fear, hate, anger, sorrow and even love.

The premise is your standard Good versus Evil, and the idea that Purgatory is city where "Arcs" and "Fallen" battle for the souls is bit unbelievable. Much of the dialogue is also standard and expected, considering the premise - but for whatever reason, in this case the combination works perfectly.

Stylistically 'Gabriel' is a masterpiece. From camera angles and lighting to visual effects and soundtrack, the film is a wonderfully dark abstraction. Andy Whitfield embodies the role of the conflicted archangel Gabriel - his nuanced and soulful performance bringing heartfelt believability to his character; even in moments that would normally be unparalleled in their cheesiness. All of actors, in fact, shine within their roles, though I will admit, I especially liked Harry Pavlidis performance as the Arc Uriel.

The creators' theatrical influences definitely shone through as well. One scene at the very beginning reminded me of the moment in Brandon Lee's 'The Crow' where Draven is stumbling down the street when a bunch of children run circles around him - able to 'trick or treat' on Halloween for the first time since the gangs took over. There were other throwback scenes like that one, and I loved that the filmmakers payed homage to their inspirations in such a way - without interrupting the flow at all.

A note on the American release: for whatever reason the international (or possibly just the U.S.) release has a different ending than the original Australian version. Not to spoil, but the original edit made things a lot clearer, and I prefer it. The U.S. edit is a step too abstract and implies the wrong thing in my opinion. However, it is purported that 'Gabriel' is the first of of a trilogy - the second and third parts to be released at an unknown date in the future - so maybe the end of the first will be worked out at a some other time. Personally, I hope that's sooner rather than later :)

Also, the website (http://www.gabrielmovie.com) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gabriel-Trilogy-Official-Page/73917071242?ref=nf) pages are a real treat and worth checking out if you interested in connecting with other fans, or just looking at what went into this film, and what is to come in the trilogy.

When I saw this on the shelf, I thought, "looks like a good idea, but it's probably gonna be cheap looking". NOPE! I was so impressed when I started seeing what these guys did! Amazing visuals. Great action. Thoughtful dialogue. Fearless film making! It's all more impressive considering the budget! ($200,000?!?!?!) What an incredible team! Check it out.

Supposedly this is the first in a trilogy. I hope the other two films really get made.

'Gabriel' was a movie that, on it's surface, didn't have a screaming potential. I picked it up on a whim as a rental, expecting a fair movie. I was actually surprised with the direction the movie took, forcing a very gritty feel of Purgatory, and grating it against the slow decline of morality and society as Demons swayed the balance of power. In a solid attempt to force the more attentive viewers to weigh what they were watching, the director pushes Purgatory as a near-rendition of Earth itself. I found myself thinking, "Is this really what Purgatory is supposed to feel like, or is this more the influence of the Demons pushing the realm towards their end of the spectrum?" Followed closely by the thought that if Demons were guiding Purgatory into such a decline, is the statement then that Earth is the ultimate decline?

I may have read into this further than some, but I found it an enjoyable tangent to keep in perspective. Further, the action is solid throughout, and the acting (for a lower budget flick) is fair to good. The script doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination, as the plot itself isn't full of too many twists. I believe a lot of the "imagination" comes from the viewer, as they are guided through a turf war between Angels and Demons, intent to sway the balance of power in their own direction.

A movie like this is bound to capture the attention, and hold a place on the favorites' list, of many avid film watchers - especially those that enjoy good action splashed with some flavor and perspective.

Gabriel is an awesome, action, gritty, entertaining film as long as you can get past the negative aspects. For starters be prepared to watch some bad acting, actually pretty horrible acting from the actors playing characters Amytiel and Sammael. Gabriel is of course Andy Whitfield is pure amazement to watch (Spartacus: Blood and Sand) The graphics are of low quality as well. The introductory scene of the film contains the best visual effects you will see throughout the entire film. The soundtrack goes along with the film, the best part of this movie (besides Andy Whitfield) is the plot/ script. Pure brilliance, its basically set in Purgatory and Angels vs Fallen Angels has been going on for quite some time each side sending one warrior every so often who takes human form. The Fallen are winning and the Angels last hope is Gabriel. Since the Fallen feed off emotions it is easy to see why they are defeating the Angels who have never experienced emotions. There is action, romance, and an enjoyable climatic ending to the film. I just wish the Australian team that put this film together could have gained slightly more funding to produce this film. That is the only element that it is lacking. Rent it first but for me it is a must own.

Outside of the subject matter, I wanted to see this film to see what else Andy Whitfield has done besides the Spartacus series. I could have done without this.

Others have noted the obvious similarity to "The Prophecy." True enough but "The Prophecy" handled the subject matter so much better. This film is just plain "too." Too much style. Too much mood. Too much gloom. I think the director was just trying too hard to put out something really stylish and it grew tiring to me very quickly.

Basically, Gabriel has come to earth to try and rescue some of the other archangels and return them to their former selves and, at the same time, do in archangel Michael who is trying to hunt them down and kill them.

"Prophecy" had an advantage in that humans were brought into the fray with a would-be priest none the less. Add the Native American, non-Christian contingent and you have for an interesting story. This movie deals almost exclusively with the archangels themselves, so, much of what happens seems removed from anything the normal viewer would have an attachment to.

And the claustrophobia. A huge majority of the shots were close-ups. Everything was framed really tight. Even one scene shot in an abandoned drive-in theater did nothing to open things up. And as most of the actors needed a shave or bandages or washing or whatever it felt as though there were a slimy layer over everything. Just not very pleasant to watch.

Running time. At an hour and fifty four minutes, this went on way too long. There just wasn't enough story here to keep it going that long.

I know there are many out there who like this and applaud the style. I suppose if I were younger I might be one of them. But at my age style only goes so far and it just isn't enough to rescue this movie.