Brad Silberling’s “City of Angels” (1998) is the American remake of Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire” (1987) and that is the biggest strike it against it.
There’s no way, let alone no point, to compete or attempt an improvement on Wenders’ film, a definitive portrait of angels among us and how life is a series of despairing and ecstatic moments.
Wenders’ film, even now, is a true original, in both presentation and tone, in its thoughtful meditation on angels in the presence of those experiencing sorrow and joy in late 20th century Berlin. “City of Angels,” which takes place in late ’90s Los Angeles, is an inevitably more mainstream and approachable work but is surprisingly strong and has aged better than expected.
Nicolas Cage stars as Seth, an angel who, like...