War is declared and Britain must take action against Nazi Germany if Europe is going to be saved from its ruthless clutches. Determined to beat the enemy Flt. Office Earl Kirk, a young South African pilot, volunteers his services to the Royal Air Force, sacrificing his family, his future and himself in the fight against evil. Whilst in combat, surrounded by bombers and under relentless attack, Kirk must make the decision that could change his and his crew's life forever.
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This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
So much average
Great Film overall
DVD Review from Technology Tell Magazine by Steve Anderson.There are certain breeds of movie that we don't see often. Science fiction and Westerns commonly top the list, but war movies are also frequently spotted in attendance. Our friends out at Entertainment One, meanwhile, look to fix that with "Angel of the Skies," a movie that takes another look at World War II, this time through the aviators' eyes."Angel of the Skies" follows Earl Kirk, a South African man who leaves his pregnant fiancée to go fight in World War II as part of the Royal Air Force. There's no shortage of fighting left to go, and eventually Kirk is shot down along with his crew, forced to parachute into occupied territory. Now, the handful of men who escaped death in the skies must set out on foot, dodging a vicious SS officer who will go to any lengths to finish the job his countrymen started in the sky.The good thing about "Angel of the Skies" is its wonderfully immersive quality. This feels like a look at the war, in this era, and at this point in time. It's deliriously authentic; it's like being there. It's the next best thing to actually being there. But this immersive nature also means the movie sacrifices a lot in the way of action, particularly in the early going. I don't believe I heard a shot fired in anger for the entirety of the first half hour, and that's a bit of a lag. Considering the movie only packs around 100 minutes to its name, losing roughly a third of those to a gunshot-free existence is a tough road to hoe.Still, the further good news is that once it gets started, it gets started in earnest. There's more than its share of action, with a good bit of suspense tossed in for extra fun. It's always good when a genre movie can toss in elements of other genres–action blends with suspense or horror, comedy blends with action or a Western, and so on. "Angel of the Skies" does a fine job of mixing, and gives us a wonderful synthesis. War buffs, you'll not be disappointed, and action buffs in general, this is a fine slice of cinematic action.Special features include a trailer for "Angel of the Skies," a set of audio options and English subtitles.Though it takes a while to get started, "Angel of the Skies" will do a very nice job overall. A slow start isn't near enough to cut the tension that will be sparked throughout this one, and the whole thing will make an excellent addition to the roster of war movies out there.
I just LOVE WW2 flying movies. This has to be the worse I've ever seen. Never mind the wrong salutes and wrong uniforms. The rank of Lieutenant has NEVER existed in the RAF (or RCAF - same structure). Pilot Officer, Flying Officer, Flight Lieutenant and so on. If memory serves, this structure was established in 1919! Prior to 1919 the RAF was the RFC.The VW Kubelwagen the SS men were driving had a RIGHT hand drive. In Germany, right hand drive vehicles have NEVER been in use. Not even in WW2.The list of errors goes on and on and on...Too much crap, not enough believable action!!! Compared to such greats as Reach For The Skies, or The Battle Of Britain, this REALLY sucks!!!
This is a South African made film about some of the former colonies men who volunteered their services to fight for Britain at the hour of her greatest need in the dark days of World War 2. Meet Captain Kirk (yes he is really called that) played by Nicholas Van Der Bijl, in a performance of varying degrees. He leads a motley crew of his fellow countrymen who use such vocabulary as 'cheerio' and 'filly' in reference to ladies. Anyway they are fighting for RAF, Bomber Command and have to go and bomb the bejesus out of Germany etc.Well whilst over Germany they get shot and have to make an emergency landing and then decide to battle their way back to France and the safety of the British lines, this is set late in the war and Operation Overlord has already taken place so we are well past D Day. What happens next is the story of their journey.Right, for war film buffs there are a few things wrong with this film, first off the planes are all CGI, which is not a problem as they are all done really well even the Mescherschmitts, with props that look real and proper smoke etc so well done there. Problem is these guys are flying during the day. By this stage of the war the USAAF were doing the daylight runs and the RAF were doing the night runs. And they had fighter escort in the latter stages when this is set and there are none here. They are also flying Liberators which were never deployed to bomb Bremen by the RAF as depicted here. Now you are doing CGI so you could have got a Lancaster or a Wellington even, but still never mind.The acting is all quite good and the love interest in the shape of Kirky's beloved in good if underplayed Lillie Claire as the neglected and dutiful lover is actually really convincing. This does have its moments and is far from being a bad movie, but factual errors really annoy some people and it is not a real full on 'action fest' especially once the plane goes splat, but I still found a lot to actually like here, hence the rating. If factual errors annoy you then best to avoid, and it was originally released as 'Angel of the skies' in a reference to the plane and not the overblown title we have presented here.
I watch a lot of war movies (especially with my dad). So don't think i'm against war films as i write this...This was a horrible horrible movie. I don't even know where to start, the title sequence felt like it went on forever, with the same grainy film in a loop overlapping at what felt like a whole newspaper I had to read. The visual effects were appalling. Felt like it was rushed by a 9th grader using 3D studio max for the first time.The characters was one dimensional and the acting was just soooo soooo baaaaad. The story was boring, after the first 15 min I lost interest.And the sound..ARRRG the sound....The background sounds were out of place and repetitive. The voices in some scenes sounded as if it were re-dubbed.The ONLY reason i'm giving it a rating of 2 out of 10, is that at least the costumes looked authentic.Rather save your money and re-watch something brilliant like Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The Pacific or We were soldiers.