Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
Ali Zamani’s (Maul Dogs, Opus of an Angel) follows up 2020’s Angels Fallen with Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace. Featuring a bigger budget and richer story, Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace adds more lore and opens up the world not unlike how Hellbound: Hellraiser II did the same for Hellraiser. The greater star power (Cuba Gooding Jr., Denise Richards) and more epic plot help this film really hit the landing.
Gabriel (Josh Burdett) is an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD. After having a surprise late-night chat with Balthazar (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Gabriel is compelled to form a team to battle Michael (Michael Teh). Along the way, the heroes get a nice load of weapons courtesy of Deborah (Denise Richards).
A big plus for Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace is the bigger scope we get to the story. Balthazar reveals some of his backstory fighting demonic creatures in a flashback that is begging for a Clash of the Titans style prequel focusing on his character. Locations are better this time around too with striking cathedrals and moodier lighting than before. Director Ali Zamani (who also gets a Story by credit this time around) really knows how to make the most of his budget; everything is up onscreen whether it’s impressive set design or delightfully gnarly creature designs.
Cuba Gooding Jr. (Boat Trip, What Dreams May Come) makes for an engaging Balthazar that has a bit more of a sense of humor than his character did in the first film. Denise Richards (Money Plane, The World Is Not Enough) is fun as the sort of Q to Josh Burdett’s James Bond. Josh Burdett (Red Devil, WarHunt) has to carry a lot of the film on his shoulders but manages to pull off both the opening war scenes (which sometimes feel like they lept out of a scenario from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III) and the quieter character moments quite well.
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace is definitely a film that improves as it goes along. Structurally, it feels a lot like the first albeit with a different team being put together before the real adventure begins proper. It’s a film that matches its ambition, which is a nice thing to see after the somewhat curtailed original. Even better, its ending teases a truly climactic third entry that promises to really up the ante.
A fun mixture of hard-edged action with winged angels, Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace hits the nail on the cross. At times both frantic and thoughtful, it’s a unique horror-action film that goes to some unexpected places. This one is worth tracking down.
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace is now available On Digital and On Demand.