City of Angels tries to be the ultimate love story with two big time actors and an over the top script, and while it may not quite reach that level, it will definitely tug on your heart strings. Dr. Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan) is a surgeon who’s offbeat nature and inner confidence borders on cocky. When a seemingly routine operation strangely goes bad, she starts to question her abilities as a doctor and wonder if some things are just out of her hands when faced with a seemingly higher power. Seth (Nicolas Cage) is the angel that is tasked with taking Maggie’s patient away after he dies, and he gets totally consumed and infatuated by Maggie’s beauty and inner turmoil. While angels cannot be seen, Seth feels that Maggie can feel his presence and that there’s a special bond between them. When Seth finds out that another angel was able to make the move to the physical world, the inner conflict begins as he tries to decide whether or not he and Maggie are really to be.

This film has some amazingly beautiful parts in it followed by super sappy Hollywood fluff in others. The team of Cage and Ryan both deliver solid performances, but I wouldn’t consider this the best performance for either. Seth’s character sometimes comes off like a weird stalker instead of a innocent angel that lacks the human experience. The story is over the top, and while it manages to live up to the enormity in some aspects, there are a lot of spots in the movie when it feels like a made up story. The soundtrack, led by the ultimate rock love song “Iris” from the Goo Goo Dolls, is good as well as the overall style and direction of the movie.

City of Angels is probably a better movie than we’re giving it credit for, as there are some parts that will truly touch you and probably bring about some tears. I think the biggest issue is that the expectations of the movie are a lot higher than it was able to deliver. As a date movie, City of Angels isn’t necessarily the best choice since the topic matter is a little deeper than your traditional date movie. For couples that have been together for a while, it can be a solid choice that will make you hold your significant other a little bit closer. But for a first date, or just a younger crowd in general, City of Angels probably won’t be for you.