Fallen

The Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley is top-billed in Fallen, a surprisingly entertaining action-fantasy miniseries about a teen who discovers that he possesses unearthly powers. That's a hackneyed premise on which to hang four hours of TV (Fallen aired on ABC Family in 2006), but thankfully, the film's writers and producers have found a novel wrinkle on which to hang their story. Wesley's Aaron Corbett is one of the Nephilim, a race of mysterious beings mentioned in the Book of Genesis and other religious works; for the purposes of Fallen, the Nephilim are the sons of the angels cast out of Paradise with Lucifer, and Aaron is the Redeemer, who can send these outcasts back to Heaven. This newfound status gives Aaron powers ranging from mastery of languages to the ability to speak with his dog, but also makes him the target of the Powers, rogue angels assigned to eliminate his kind. To protect his family, Aaron hits the road with former Power Camael (Rick Worthy) and a Fallen named Ariel (Ivana Milicevic). What follows is surprisingly engaging drama well balanced with some impressive CGI-driven fights between Aaron and the Powers. Wesley is fine as the conflicted Aaron, and he's well supported by Tom Skerritt as Ezekiel, his Fallen advisor, as well as Hal Ozsan as the loose-cannon Fallen named Azazel and Bryan Cranston as Lucifer himself. Though clearly aimed at teen audiences, Fallen is the rare kid-friendly effort that holds appeal for nearly every member of the family. Unfortunately, the DVD is bare-bones save for a promotional trailer. --Paul Gaita

Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries) stars as Aaron Corbett, a high school jock with a promising future. But on his 18th birthday, his life forever changes when his incredible powers emerge, revealing the terrifying truth of his identity. As The Redeemer, a half-angel, half-man who can return fallen angels to heaven, Aaron holds the entire world's destiny in his young hands. He must battle warrior seraphs and confront the fallen angel who has sparked his nightmares (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad). But can he save himself and the girl he loves? Based on the bestselling book series, Fallen soars to new levels in the battle between good and evil.