Movie Notes: Angels And Demons
May 28th, 2009
= 3 stars
Starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer
Directed by Ron Howard
Synopsis
Following the Pope’s death, symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and scientist Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) become involved in a mysterious plot to destroy Vatican City using a vial of antimatter stolen from CERN. The perpetrators are soon revealed as the Illuminati, a shadowy secret society striving to destroy the Catholic church.
The Good
- Some amusingly grisly murders associated with the Greek classical elements (earth, fire, water, air) Se7en style. Each murder scene provides clues which Langdon must decipher to find the next imminent location. It all plays out at a brisk, National Treasure style pace.
- Entirely unbelievable, but one should check plausibility at the door as soon as “symbologist” and “antimatter from CERN” appear within the first ten minutes.
- Fixes some problems with The Da Vinci Code: Gone are the CGI animations of Langdon’s analytical mind, dull talky moments, and the bad hair style.
- One decent sequence involving Langdon trapped in a Vatican library with the power shut off and precious air running out.
The Bad
- Eventually, the endless puzzles must lead somewhere, and the final destination is oddly unsatisfying. I’ll just say there’s a “mastermind” behind all the Illuminati stuff which really stretches the credibility meter – especially when one backtracks and considers the complicated clues left for Langdon to follow. Despite its religious theme, I never got the same mystical “ooh” as The Da Vinci Code.
- Adding to the disappointment: with the mention of secret societies, I expected some unsettling Eyes Wide Shut type scenes with a couple of self-flagellating Cruises, Gibsons, and hopefully Tautous. Not to spoil the ending, but we see nothing of the sort.
- Langdon’s female counterpart Vetra ultimately proves to be little more than window dressing, her final purpose literally snatched from her hands.
- Howard’s direction causes a few unintentionally funny moments: spurting chest blood, a body dumped out of a truck, and so many location subtitles you’d need a symbologist to help sort them out.
Conclusion
Angels And Demons does raise an amusing thought: minus the religious elements, what’s left? A grab for power in a leadership vacuum amid really bizarre rules and rituals everyone blindly follows in the name of societal continuity. From that perspective, the dead-serious, running about in convoluted circles – while passable summer entertainment – is ultimately rather silly. If you disliked The Da Vinci Code (which I enjoyed), this ain’t much better.
IMDB: Angels And Demons
Wikipedia: Angels And Demons
Rotten Tomatoes: Angels And Demons 37%
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Posted In: 3 Star Movies, Movies 3 stars, Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor, Ron Howard, Tom Hanks
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I really haven't seen either movie. But I've read novel that Dan Brown has ever written. Regards to the two that had movies made – Da Vinci was the first thing I ever read of his, with Angels/Demons next.
It probably would have been better to flip those two. I found Da Vinci Code extrememly satisfying to read – and Angels/Demons was… well, Da Vinci Code 1.0. Mainly because of the characterization (or shallowness of it).
Did it feel to you like that in regards to the movies?
Well, I did read the book The Da Vinci Code but not Angels and Demons. And I
don't really know why this movie was made second, perhaps because the The Da
Vinci Code was more popular. It does seem the movie is intended to be a
sequel to The Da Vinci Code movie because there is some reference to a
“previous adventure” that Langdon had that didn't exactly endear him to the
church. So that's the movie “canon” anyhow.
But to answer your question, yes I think this Angels and Demons movie should
have been made first with The Da Vinci Code following, just like the books.
The story and puzzles were rather lacking in this one…
You're right, for the movies they made Angels and Demon's a sequel in the story arc. I just looked it up because I was curious about that myself. I saw the Da Vinci Code in theatres back when it came out and thought it wasn't that great of a movie. I think I'll be passing up this movie since its essentially the same thing.
Yep if you didn't like The Da Vinci Code I doubt you'd like Angels and Demons – save that 10 bucks and *maybe* see it as a rental in a few months.
If you didn't like Da Vinci Code, skip this one.
I found the book to be much better. The film does not do the book justice.