Nerdly » ‘Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace’ VOD Review

12th Jul2024

‘Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace’ VOD Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: Josh Burdett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Couture, Michael Teh, William McNamara, Denise Richards | Written by Ali Zamani, Chris Kato | Directed by Ali Zamani

You can add Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace to the list of sequels nobody asked for or thought they’d ever see. For those of you who missed it, the original Angels Fallen was a 2019 film about demon hunters who track fallen angels with a smartphone app and fight them with guns and tasers. Throw in cameos by Eric Roberts and Michael Madsen and you have another forgettable straight-to-streaming film.

But somebody must have remembered it because here we are with the story of Gabriel (Josh Burdett; The Phantom Warrior, WarHunt) who was left with physical and mental wounds by his time in Iraq. One night, he wakes from a nightmare to hear a voice telling him his time has come. He finds Balthazar, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. (Judgment Night, Skeletons in the Closet) taking over from Michael Madsen, in his kitchen drinking his wine.

Elsewhere, a gang of Nazis are playing fight club when Marcus Abel (Randy Couture; The Bell Keeper, Ambushed) shows up to challenge their champion, He wins, and surprisingly they pay him rather than kill him. Then a stranger shows up, looking to fight him. The stakes, a bag of gold bars against his soul. You can guess who wins a flawless victory.

The next day, Balthazar, visits Gabriel at work to lecture him about doubting God’s existence because of what he saw during the war. He also tells him he’s been chosen to defend the Earth against the Archangel Michael, (Michael Teh; Paradise Cove, Days of Our Lives), reprising his role from the first film, and his legion of demons. That, of course, means putting his old crew from Iraq back together. But while he’s doing that, Michael has sent Marcus out to assemble his own team.

Director Ali Zamani (Incision, Hacked) is also back from the original, this time co-writing with Chris Kato (Incision, Bang Bang Betty: Valerie’s Revenge). Despite the plot, and probably due to the budget, they keep the effects in the first hour of Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace to a bare minimum, giving the film more of a thriller vibe than a horror/fantasy one.

That’s strengthened by the fact that the bad guys vanish from the film after Roman, better known as The Picasso Killer (William McNamara; Honeymoon in Paradise, Amber Road) is recruited. It makes much of Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace about Gabriel getting his team back together rather than one of supernatural warfare. It also wastes a chance to remind the viewer of what they’re up against and help raise the stakes.

Eventually they meet up with The Warriors of Peace who, naturally, say they can’t get involved, and Deborah (Denise Richards; Alpha Code, Starship Troopers) who designs demon-fighting weapons, including a potion that can raise the dead, and the film finally brings on the demons. Thankfully, the effects used to render those demons while still CGI, are much improved over those in the original. The creatures themselves range from humanoid to reptilian and even a traditional horned demon. Unfortunately the scene where Gabriel gets his wings looks more like something from a comedy than a serious film.

There’s also plenty of action in the last part of the film, Balthazar even gets to fight some winged demons in a brief flashback. Unfortunately, Arifin Putra from The Raid 2 and Foxtrot Six is wasted in a weak role that’s there more for comic relief than his fighting skills. Eve Randy Couture who doesn’t return for the final showdown gets a better showcase for his skills.

The other problem I had with Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace is how preachy it gets. Obviously, the film was going to have a religious underpinning, I expected that. But Zamani and Kato frequently stop the film dead in its tracks, even interrupting the final showdown to lecture the viewer. Unless you only care about preaching to the choir, a bit of subtlety is usually a lot more effective.

Overall, Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace is a bit of a mixed bag, but the demon-fighting scenes in the final act may make it worth checking out, especially if you like your cheese on a wafer rather than a cracker.