Movies about angels are a varied lot. There are sweet, kind angles, goofball angels and deadly, menacing angels. Whatever your preference, there’s an angel movie here to suit your tastes. These are some of my favorite films featuring celestial beings.
Angel Movie #10: Constantine – 2005 – Tilda Swinton plays one of several angels in this movie filled with half angels and half-demons, waging a battle for control of Earth. Her portrayal of Gabriel is androgynous and she guides the main character in his efforts to set things right before his imminent death from lung cancer. More sci-fi than religious, this film is based on the comic book series Hellblazer.
Angel Movie #9: The Bishop’s Wife – 1947 – Cary Grant stole Loretta Young’s attention as well as the rest of the world’s attention when he played Dudley, the charming angel who has come to put the feet of Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham back on the path to God. It seems Henry is consumed by building a new cathedral and toils night and day to that end. His focus so narrowed and his passion so consuming, Henry soon finds that Dudley seems to be moving in on everything, including his family.
Angel Movie # 8: Angels in the Outfield – 1994 – Christopher Lloyd is Al, the Boss Angel sent to Earth to help Roger Bomman, a foster child who believes that if the Los Angeles Angels win the pennant, he might be reunited with his father. Al is invisible to everyone but Roger. Through AL, Roger convinces the coach that there are real angels in the outfield. Slowly the team, their fans and the world come to believe in the little boy who sees angels. Al helps Roger understand that sometimes dreams come true in ways we least expect.
Angel Movie # 7: Michael – 1996 – John Travolta is an unlikely archangel Michael, visiting Earth for the last time. A pair of reporters and one “angel expert” investigate and discover Michael is the real deal. They want to take him back to their offices in Chicago to prove he is real but he will only go on his terms. The journey he engineers is designed to bring two of his travelling companions together though they resist until the bitter end.
Angel Movie # 6: Dogma – 1999 – Matt Damon and Ben Affleck pair up as a couple of angels who’ve been kicked out of heaven and sent to Wisconsin. Bartleby and Loki have discovered a loophole that could get them back into heaven. However if they complete the plan, the world could be annihilated. The pair encounters a number of obstacles and other beings trying to prevent them from achieving their goal. The comedy takes an irreverent stab at the relationship between God, angels and demons.
Angel Movie # 5: It’s A Wonderful Life – 1946 – Henry Travers has the role of Clarence Oddbody, angel second class in the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. His portrayal of a simple, almost childlike angel embodies the sweetness we’d all like to think of as part and parcel of any guardian angel. On a mission to save the life of George Bailey and earn his wings, Clarence spends Christmas Eve showing George all that the world would or would not be without him. In the final scene as the cast sings Auld Lang Syne, George opens the cover of the book Clarence had been carrying and finds an inscription addressed to him, “Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love Clarence.” I still well up when he reads the passage.
Angel Movie # 4: Meet Joe Black – 1998 – Brad Pitt is one of the best looking angels of death that ever walked the Earth. Curious about human life, the angel takes human form and agrees to delay the departure of his intended victim in exchange for a glimpse of what life is all about. Along the way, the angel, now known as Joe Black falls for his victim’s daughter. A nuanced performance leaves you wondering if Death will leave his duties for good to pursue the life otherwise denied him.
Angel Movie # 3: Prophecy – 1995 – Christopher Walken is creepy and menacing as Gabriel on a mission to retrieve a soul that will end the battle raging in Heaven over the elevation of men over angels. The soul, retrieved from a dying man was taken by another angel, Simon, and hidden within a little girl. Gabriel will do anything to find this soul including reanimating corpses and tearing people limb from limb – a gruesome depiction of angels.
Angel Movie # 2: City of Angels – 1998 – Nicholas Cage is Seth, an angel whose duty is to escort souls as they depart this world for the next. He becomes intrigued by Maggie, a doctor who fights for her patients’ lives. He struggles to understand humans until he meets a patient, Messinger who was an angel until he gave it up to become human. Seth decides Maggie is worth giving up all his angelic powers for and he takes the fall.
Becoming human is an awakening Seth was not prepared for. He and Maggie begin their lives together and Seth has found the joy he never knew as an angel. But with it comes, as all humans know, great pain.
Angel Movie # 1: Legion – 2010 – Pal Bettany as Archangel Michael is formidable. God has lost all his patience with mankind and has ordered the angels to wipe them out. Michael disagrees and sets out alone to protect the humans. This brings him into conflict with longtime friend Archangel Gabriel and the conflict boils over into an incredible battle for mankind and the love of God. An awesome movie, Legion dares to challenge our trust in angels and angels trust in God.
Honorable mentions in the angel category also go to Death Takes A Holiday, Heaven Can Wait, Here Comes Mr. Jordan and TheLittlest Angel.
Source: Personal viewing, IMDB.com, Moviefone.com
