Editing City of Angels (film) (section)

===Professional critical reception===

[[Roger Ebert]] gave ''City of Angels'' three stars, saying Meg Ryan was at her best here, but the film was "more of a formula story" than the original ''Wings of Desire'', and that many of its qualities were lifted from there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-angels-1998 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=City of Angels |work=Rogerebert.com |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602121204/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/city-of-angels-1998 |archive-date=June 2, 2017 }}</ref> In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', [[Emanuel Levy]] positively reviewed Cage as "endlessly resourceful" and Ryan as "terrifically engaging".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/city-of-angels-2-1200453464/ |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |title=Review: 'City of Angels' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=April 6, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628083544/http://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/city-of-angels-2-1200453464/ |archive-date=June 28, 2017 }}</ref> In ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', Jennifer Wolcott compared it to ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'' (1990) and ''[[Contact (1997 American film)|Contact]]'' (1997) as a U.S. film that could explore religion and love, highlighting Maggie's realization that her life will continue after the death of her blood cells, and that love is more than "a chemical reaction".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wolcott |first=Jennifer |title='City of Angels' explores faith |magazine=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=April 17, 1998 |volume=90 |issue=99 |page=B1 }}</ref> ''[[Sun-Sentinel]]'' reviewer Roger Hurlburt praised the acting, direction and "profound" feelings, and advised readers, "don't forget the [[Kleenex]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804080276_1_angel-seth-maggie |last=Hurlburt |first=Roger |title=What Happens When An Angel Falls in Love |work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=August 15, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816110141/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804080276_1_angel-seth-maggie |archive-date=August 16, 2017 }}</ref>  Wenders was satisfied with the adaptation of his work, remarking, "It's done with respect, with a sense of discovery all its own".<ref name="Mermelstein"/>

''[[The New York Times]]''{{'s}} [[Stephen Holden]] wrote the standard romantic clichés were "sumptuously" displayed, Cage resembled a [[serial killer]] more than an angel, and he preferred Ryan.<ref name="Holden">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D02E2D9143DF933A25757C0A96E958260 |last=Holden |first=Stephen |title=Film Review; Heaven, He's From Heaven, But His Heart Beats So . . . |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808233752/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D02E2D9143DF933A25757C0A96E958260 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 }}</ref>  [[David Denby]] wrote in ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' that unlike Berlin, Los Angeles offers "the sunlit paradise" where people do not need convincing as to how nice life can be.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/2538/ |last=Denby |first=David |title=To Live and Fly in L.A. |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=20 April 1998 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909092336/http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/2538/ |archive-date=September 9, 2017 }}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a C, with Owen Gleiberman describing it as "a hymn to sappiness".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://ew.com/article/1998/04/16/city-angels/ |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |title=City of Angels |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=April 16, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809040315/http://ew.com/article/1998/04/16/city-angels/ |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> [[CNN]]'s Paul Clinton dismissed the remake as a "schmaltzy" and "vapid" version of ''Wings of Desire''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/10/review.city.of.angels/ |last=Clinton |first=Paul |title=Review: 'City of Angels' has no spirit |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525123703/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/10/review.city.of.angels/ |archive-date=May 25, 2010 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s Michael O'Sullivan dismissed it as "a mawkish debasement of its source material", asking "When will Hollywood learn to leave well enough alone?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/cityofangelsosullivan.htm |last=O'Sullivan |first=Michael |title='City of Angels': Clipped 'Wings' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 10, 1998 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510163749/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/cityofangelsosullivan.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2017 }}</ref> Michael Wilmington gave it two and a half stars in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', enjoying the appearance of the film but concluding it feels "forced and mechanically weepy".<ref name="Wilmington"/> Writing for ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'', William Thomas credited Silberling for "a fresh eye", but felt the film fell short in "philosophical claptrap".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.empireonline.com/movies/city-angels/review/ |last=Thomas |first=William |title=City Of Angels Review |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=January 1, 2000 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711070454/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/city-angels/review/ |archive-date=July 11, 2017 }}</ref> [[Andrew Johnston (critic)|Andrew Johnston]] writing in [[Time Out New York]] concluded: "In the final reel, what began as a philosophical study of death and longing becomes a blatant tearjerker, but even then the accumulated momentum sweeps you along. Mainstream films are seldom more lyrical."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnston|first=Andrew|date=April 16, 1998|title=City of Angels|journal=Time Out New York}}</ref>

In 2012, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included it in its Top ten On-Screen Depictions of Heaven list, for its portrayal of the "go toward the light" afterlife experience.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/09/top-10-on-screen-depictions-of-heaven/slide/city-of-angels/ |last=Skarda |first=Erin |title=Top 10 On-Screen Depictions of Heaven |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801153427/http://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/09/top-10-on-screen-depictions-of-heaven/slide/city-of-angels/ |archive-date=August 1, 2014 }}</ref> In his ''2015 Movie Guide'', [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it two and a half stars, judging it "still intriguing" though losing much of the atmosphere of the original.{{sfn|Maltin|2014}} That year, ''[[Indiewire]]'', in reviewing remakes, called ''City of Angels'' "a sickly bastardization" of its source material, though remarking Wenders himself was unable to duplicate its success with his 1993 sequel, ''[[Faraway, So Close!]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/10-movie-remakes-involving-auteur-directors-265323/ |title=10 Movie Remakes Involving Auteur Directors |last=Staff |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[IndieWire]] |date=April 7, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809000420/http://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/10-movie-remakes-involving-auteur-directors-265323/ |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> In 2017, [[MSN]] included it in its 20 All-Time Worst Movie Remakes list, acknowledging it as a financial hit but "a schmaltzy tearjerker" compared to the poetry of the original.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-my/entertainment/gallery/the-20-all-time-worst-movie-remakes/ss-BBCmCjJ#image=7 |title=The 20 all-time worst movie remakes |publisher=[[MSN]] |date=September 6, 2017 |access-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808234923/https://www.msn.com/en-my/entertainment/gallery/the-20-all-time-worst-movie-remakes/ss-BBCmCjJ#image=7 |archive-date=August 8, 2017 }}</ref>