It will only be waste your time. Actress is cute only. But no story at all. And end the movie suddenly. so disappointed.

So this landed on my desk at the library a few weeks ago and I decided to at least watch the movie after I'd avoided reading the books for almost eight years. (Angels, demons and "one true God" is a bit too much monotheism for this Polytheist girl.) To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed this movie despite some glaringly obvious issues, which I'll get to in a moment. First of all, the Southern gothic setting, the misty autumn atmosphere and blueish tinge of the movie worked in favor of "Fallen." Right from the start you get into this alternate universe/Fantasy mood and it won't let you go until the very end. As far as I read the movie had been in the works for years and the cast had been decided upon long before filming occurred. That may explain why none of the cast look like teenagers but well into their twenties. Most of them are. That aside the actors - though mainly unknown - are top notch in my personal opinion. Great casting on all levels. Addison Timlin has something gentle, broken and yet determined about her. Harrison Gilbertson is simply perfect for the role of Cam. There's something undeniably charming and enticing about him and yet you can feel the danger emanating from him. Jeremy Irvine's performance was also pretty solid. The story is a typical Fantasy YA Romance with a few elements that remind of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight." (Let's remember that when the first "Fallen" book came out "Twilight" was the creme de la creme of YA, and frankly, I still love it, so there.) There's a love triangle of sorts, a big secret surrounding the three main characters, tragedy and forbidden love. If that is your thing this movie won't disappoint you. Alas, it may confuse you if you don't know the books. I had a few pressing questions that were never answered throughout the movie, instead I was rewinding and forwarding again to see if I'd missed anything. First of all: Why does everyone wear black. Is everyone into Metal? The Gothic lifestyle? - Aha! And ever since I decided to read the book I can give you the answer: There is no official or sponsored school uniform at Sword & Cross except all students must wear black. I mean. It would have been one sentence in the movie...you could have explained this so easily...but okay. Secondly, if Penn has access to Luce's student file, and knows it by heart as it appears, why was she surprised it was Luce's birthday. But how did Cam know? Come on. (Big YASS, well done from me on integrating the beautiful dress from the book cover of "Fallen" into the movie though!) What exactly is Molly's issue with Luce. It's obvious she's not just your stereotypical mean girl but she knows a LOT about Luce's past. Does everyone know about Luce at this school? What was that scene with Roland, Arianne and Gabby discussing Luce's inevitable death? If you are an astute viewer you may at some point come to the conclusion that all of the above characters may not be human and that is how and why they have insight into Luce's current as well as previous lives. Which brings us to this question: How did they all end up at Sword & Cross? Or more accurately: How did Luce end up there with all of them? This is also explained in the book and it also would have taken no more than a sentence to explain in the movie. I was always wondering if the angels somehow caused the fire to get her to Sword & Cross? They are "fallen" angels after all, right? Or was it Daniel even? Or Cam? But for what reason? So this remained pretty confusing throughout the entire movie until the end. It's a darn shame that most of the characters that are important in the book are banned to the sidelines in the movie. Arianne's character would have deserved more. And so would have Gabby's actually. At the end of the movie it is revealed that they, too, are angels. They kneel over a dead Penn and tell Luce not to worry, that they would take her with them. What does that even mean? Take her where. They are banned from heaven. So...like...is Penn still alive? Are they gonna revive her with angel powers and put her someplace safe to recover? Sigh... Finally, let's talk Miss Sophia. Okay, so in some bizarre "twist" (cop-out?) Penn overheard Miss Sophia talking to someone (whom??? And what was said???) and alerted Luce to the fact that it had been her who set the fire in the library. But...like... is the conclusion that Miss Sophia also set the fire at the lake house? She didn't even know Luce's current incarnation then. What is going on. So then I thought it must have been the shadows, right? But shortly afterwards Daniel explains that the shadows, the "Announcers," can't hurt anyone but only show you your most memorable moments in life. (That's not even entirely correct in the books at least). So who set the fire that Trevor died in? This is driving me nuts. None of this made any sense. There was a lot that should have been explained in more depth, even if only - as I have said - just in a side sentence or two. Instead this movie relies a lot on being artsy. There are a lot of atmospheric and scenic shots, a lot of slow mo too...and that's nice...but if you'd cut all of that out or shortened it somewhat you would have had enough time for actual plot and character development. I wonder why this film came out so late, far after these kinds of stories and this genre are actually interesting for the intended peer group. It's a shame. Also not having any promotion at all didn't help the matter I reckon. I would have rated this movie a 6 before reading the books and confirming a few suspicions that were insinuated in the movie. I am not sure if Torment will ever be shot or not (I hope it will!) but I am crossing my fingers that they will do a LOT of explaining to make up for some of the first film. Though I focused more on some of the issues "Fallen" had it really and truly is an overall intriguing, enjoyable and pretty swoonworthy film with great music, acting and atmosphere. I have rewatched it several times now and am still entertained by it at least.

Acting was really bad, typical high school drama level, and in some cases such as school personnel you would think they had never been in a school. Teen level plot of eye candy lovers with Bible history 101 as their backgrounds as they seem to be immersed in the story of the fallen angels doomed to stay on Earth as a result of the conflict between God and Lucifer (i.e. Satan). The building for these trouble teens seemed like a prop for a Victorian horror set. The CGI was cheap and the dialogue high school level. Scenes were dumbed down, e.g. the students sneaking out for an all night kegger in which kegs appear out of nowhere in this isolated setting.

The movie is not as horrible as some here are saying. I'm not sure what people are expecting. For a low budget YA adaption, I thought it was pretty good. The cast is spot on, IMO. I wish the actress playing Luce had been picked as Bella. I loved the film overall, enough to go buy a copy. I've seen it about six times, liking it more and more. It's a quiet movie, but with beautiful filmography and great music. Go into it with an open mind and you just may like it.