God and Lucifer are engaged in a war for the souls of humanity; a standing wager for the souls of all mankind. Angels and demons are forbidden to manifest on Earth, but they are allowed to possess and influence humans, and half-breeds are used to peddle influence. Exorcist John Constantine was born with the power to see angels and demons. At age 15, he committed suicide to escape his visions, but he was revived after spending two minutes in Hell, and his soul is bound for Hell when he dies for the sin of taking his own life.
A freeze frame shows Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who describes himself via a voice over, stating that he lives in America though is currently in Paris. Andre concludes that he is a good guy, though laments that he is lying all the time, including to himself. When the frame unfreezes, Andre is slapped to the ground, and three thugs demand he pay back the money he owes. In the next scene, Andre is shown being held over the railing of the Eiffel Tower by a bodyguard of Franck (Gilbert Melki), who also demands Andre repay him owed money. Desperate, Andre pleads his case to both the American embassy and a Paris police station, though neither is able to help him.
After his release from prison, gangster Eddie Kagle (Paul Muni) is killed by his partner in crime, Smiley Williams (Hardie Albright). Kagle ends up in Hell, where "Nick" (Claude Rains) offers him a chance to escape hell and avenge his own death in exchange for help with a problem. Kagle looks exactly like Judge Frederick Parker, an upright man who is causing Nick distress because he is entirely too honest. Nick fears that Parker may cause him more anxiety in future, as he is running for governor of his state. Nick wants to destroy Parker's reputation and Kagle readily agrees to have his soul transferred into Parker's body.
Seth (Nicolas Cage) is one of many angels who watch over humans and protect them in unseen ways. Seth's main responsibility is to appear to those who are close to death and guide them to the next life. As part of this task, Seth and one of his fellow angels, Cassiel (Andre Braugher), like to ask people what their favorite thing in life was. Despite these daily encounters, they have trouble understanding human beings and their ways.
In 1939 New Orleans, a roguish German Shepherd named Charlie B. Barkin escapes from a dog pound with the help of his friend, a dachshund named Itchy Itchiford. They return to a casino riverboat on the bayou, which is formerly run by Charlie with his partner, a bulldog named Carface Caruthers. Not wanting to share the profits with Charlie, Carface persuades him to leave town with 50% of the casino's earnings. Charlie agrees, but is later intoxicated and murdered by Carface. He is sent to Heaven where a whippet angel named Annabelle (who was named in the sequel) tells him that a gold watch representing his life has stopped. He steals and winds it, sending Charlie back to Earth, but is told that if he dies again, he will go to Hell. After reuniting with Itchy, they discover that Carface is holding an orphan girl named Anne-Marie (presumably kidnapped from the orphanage by Carface), who has the ability to talk to animals and gain knowledge of a race's results beforehand, allowing Carface to rig the odds on the rat races and become rich. They rescue her, intending to use her abilities to get revenge on Carface, though Charlie tells her that they plan to give their winnings to the poor and help her find parents.
A long-running live radio show is in danger of being canceled by new owners of the company that holds both radio station "WLT" and the theater where the show is broadcast. The film takes place on the night of the show's last performance. The show has two visitors: an angel calling herself Asphodel (Virginia Madsen) comes to comfort the people who work on the show and to escort one of them to the afterlife, while "the Axeman" (Tommy Lee Jones), a representative of the new owners, arrives to judge whether the show should be canceled. He makes it clear that the show is not what he considers modern popular programming, and though he too is escorted by the angel, the show is shut down anyway. In an epilogue at the end of the film the former cast members are reunited at Mickey's Diner. Their conversation pauses as they are joined by Asphodel.
Thomas Dagget, a seminary student, loses his faith when he is shown disturbing visions of a war between angels. Years later, Thomas is a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Two angels fall to Earth: one, Simon, warns Thomas of coming events, before disappearing. The second, Uziel, dies attempting to kill Simon. Investigating the disturbance, Thomas finds in Simon's apartment an obituary for a recently deceased Korean War veteran named Arnold Hawthorne and a theology text he wrote. In Chimney Rock, Arizona, Simon finds the veteran and removes the soul from the body.
Une bataille se joue entre Dieu et Lucifer et, tant que cette guerre dure, les âmes ne peuvent quitter le corps des morts. Ainsi, Gabriel descend sur Terre afin de chercher des combattants tandis que Dieu envoie Simon pour l'arrêter. Il va être aidé par un prêtre devenu policier.
Pete Sandich (Dreyfuss) is an aerial firefighter, flying a war-surplus A-26 bomber dropping fire retardant slurry to put out forest wildfires. His excessive risk taking in the air deeply troubles his girlfriend, Dorinda Durston (Hunter), a pilot who doubles as a dispatcher, and is also of concern to his best friend, Al Yackey (Goodman), a fellow fighter. On one flight, Pete makes one extra drop, runs out of fuel, and barely manages to glide onto the runway.
Après la tragique disparition de sa fille, Mack Philipps, père de trois enfants, est rongé par la tristesse et la culpabilité, niant l'existence de Dieu. Un jour, il reçoit une mystérieuse invitation le conviant à un week-end sur les lieux du crime, une cabane abandonnée où sa fille a été retrouvée assassinée. Intrigué, il s’y rend et rencontre trois personnages. De reproches en échanges, il va découvrir qui sont vraiment Dieu, Jésus et le Saint-Esprit. Cette rencontre va non seulement lui permettre de guérir sa souffrance, mais également le réconcilier avec lui-même et avec Dieu.
In the early 1960s, Bobby Fantana (Lewis Smith), a young greaser-type rebel, challenges Joe Barnes (Mark Metcalf) to a game of chicken for making a pass at his girlfriend Emily (Jane Kaczmarek). Bobby wins the race easily when Joe dives out of his car, but Bobby is unable to get out of the car in time due to his bracelet getting caught on the gearshift. He dies as his car plummets over the cliff into a fiery wreck.
In Heaven (which resembles a modern police headquarters), angels are tasked with ensuring that mortals on Earth find love. The "Captain", Gabriel (Dan Hedaya), is upset at reviewing the file of angel partners O'Reilly (Hunter) and Jackson (Lindo), all of whose recent cases have ended in divorce or misery. Gabriel is being pressed for results, so he introduces a radical new incentive: if their latest case isn't "cracked" – meaning, if the pair in question do not fall, and stay, in love, O'Reilly and Jackson must stay on Earth forever, which does not appeal to them. They open their case file to learn their tasks.