"Angel Eyes"

P. Diddy might find �Angel Eyes� too draining and heart-wrenching to watch, at least till The Fizzle.

The Fizzle?

Yes, The Fizzle, The Twist�s under-achieving, delinquent sibling in the Plot Family. Unlike The Twist, which takes a story and effectively turns it on its head by connecting seemingly diverse elements, The Fizzle throws a story on its back to wallow and strain like Angus Young atop an overturned Gamera.

From the get-go, �Angel Eyes� has some great direction, cinematography, editing and character development, plus very capable acting from both Jennifer Lopez and James Caviezel. But then, suddenly, everything becomes diffuse, predictable and, well, sappy.

Lopez plays Sharon Pogue, a nuts-and-bolts Chicago cop with a litany of personal and family issues. The character may not be novel, but Lopez conveys resolve, frustration and solitude without drifting out too far on the sea of clich�. Until The Fizzle, that is.

Caviezel, a physical alloy of Bob Denver, Randolph Mantooth and Guy Pearce, plays Catch, a mysterious dude who pretty much just walks around the city and never shaves. It�s clear he�s haunted by some catastrophic event in his past; and though astute watchers might guess what it is, the good script and performances sustain an enjoyable amount of uncertainty, if not suspense. Until The Fizzle, that is.

What P. Diddy might not care to watch is J-Lo and the loner falling in love, making love and loving love. The way they meet is pure Hollywood, but the progression of their relationship is interesting and believable. Until The Fizzle, that is.

�Angel Eyes� screeches to a halt just when it should be amping up. This is the fault of a script that sputters out thanks to stock emotional scenes, ineffective juxtaposition and a cookie-cutter ending. Essentially, the film goes from taught to trite as fast as a Ferrari goes from 0 to 60 (or 60 to 0, depending how you look at it).

All this said, �Angel Eyes� is still decent, passable entertainment. Wait for the video/DVD and rent it on a rainy Sunday.