As a result, Angel Eyes turns out to be one of those wonderful (cough, cough) films that makes you feel as if it were well over two hours -- when in reality it's only about an hour and forty minutes. This should give you a hint of the drag in Angel Eyes.

Things begin when Chicago P.D. officer Sharon Pogue (Jennifer Lopez) rescues the mysterious Catch Lambert (Caviezel) from a car accident, and is later saved in turn by the same mysterious man during the pursuit of a dangerous gunman. Over a period of time, Sharon and Catch become close and develop a romance, but Catch's past remains elusive. Only after what feels like an eternity does the audience find out the mystery man's hidden back-story.

      Even given this much, it's impossible to classify Angel Eyes. A number of different themes try to surface throughout the film's running time: There's the good old cop story; the emotionally disturbed/bad childhood story; the guilt from the loss of a loved one story; and the classic love story all thrown into one. To save this film, all director Luis Mandoki (Message in a Bottle) had to do was choose one -- but he didn't. No single theme ever rose to the top, and because there was so much going on, it was difficult to stay interested. With such a simplistic story, in which any intelligent viewer can guess the ending from the start, why muck things up any more than necessary?

      And then there's the title itself -- Angel Eyes. The connection between the story and the title is fuzzy at best -- probably the only possible reason for choosing Angel Eyes as the title was the benefit of having a close-up of Jennifer Lopez's face for advertising. Note to Warner Brothers: it isn't J. Lo's face that will draw an audience.

      As the leads, Lopez and Caviezel did have chemistry, and the best part of the movie is admiring the actors. Jennifer Lopez is beautiful and Jim Caviezel is adorable, but acting and chemistry can't save a bad script. Beyond the cutesy scenes of a developing romance, nothing (like Catch's mysterious past or Sharon's bumpy childhood) really sticks. In the end, the film develops a depressingly somber atmosphere that doesn't do much for enhancing the viewer's enjoyment.

      When the ending finally rolls around, be prepared to leave Angel Eyes disappointed. Any expectations that might somehow be built during the film's length will be shot down with the inevitable ending -- which fails utterly in inducing any emotion. At best, you'll feel indifferent about the entire movie.

Beth Reimann, 2001