Fallen

Denzel Washington stars as a Philadelphia homicide detective who comes to believe that the dark spirit of a dead serial killer may still be among us, passing from body to body to wreak more havoc--a premise which, unfortunately, deprives this supernatural thriller of the one thing exceptional thrillers have: a single charismatic villain. So, Fallen becomes a thriller almost entirely of situation (the threat of a malevolent eternal entity), and even though director Gregory Hoblit mounts a few unique and creepy moments, including a chase through a busy city street which becomes a psychic relay race, his treatment of the material is disappointingly conventional, like a slightly gloomier-than-average television crime drama. In short, it's just not all that disturbing, or even particularly creative in its approach to the subject of demons walking among us. When you're watching a movie about the vengeful soul of an ageless fallen angel, you might reasonably hope for a bit more than gunplay and the crooning of Rolling Stones tunes. Optional. (S. Renshaw)