ANGELS & DEMONS

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons is a sequel to last year's hit movie, The Da Vinci Code. Both films are based on novels written by Dan Brown that I've never read, and although I'm told that Angels & Demons was published and takes place before The Da Vinci Code, the film adaptation is being touted as a sequel, which is confusing because it's actually a prequel. This never becomes an issue, however, as I didn't have any problems at all following Angels & Demons’ rather mundane plot.

Now, I'll readily admit to never having gotten caught up with the whole Da Vinci Code craze. For a while there I seemed to notice a copy of the novel glued to everyone's hand while they walked down the street, and the very notion of a single tome capturing the imagination of nearly the entire American populace made me shudder with apprehension. Harry Potter I can understand somewhat, but seeing a guy wearing a grimy tank-top, NASCAR hat, and jeans with a hole ripped in the posterior carrying the Da Vinci Code with an actual BOOKMARK sticking out of it was a bit much. Needless to say, I never read it, nor did I see director Ron Howard's 2006 film adaptation starring Tom Hanks.

So, here I am, walking into Angels & Demons with nary an inkling of what the hubbub is all about concerning the series. Anyway, the film opens with the funeral of the Pope in the Vatican, which is sad. But after that scene we find ourselves at a lab in Geneva where some scientists are experimenting with the creation of antimatter, the stuff that powers the Enterprise and Photon Torpedoes in Star Trek, which is cool. However, the antimatter is stolen right after its successful creation, and soon afterward a Vatican police officer visits Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks, reprising his role from The Da Vinci Code), who is a professor at Harvard University who specializes in religious iconology and symbology (I'm sure his classes are just packed). It seems that someone is threatening the Vatican and has kidnapped the four cardinals who were jockeying for the recently-vacated Popemobile. The dastardly fiend promises to start rubbing them out, one an hour, starting at 8PM that evening. Now, I'm not sure how being a professor of iconology and symbology qualifies Langdon as a detective, but nonetheless, he arrives at the Vatican and is informed that, in addition to the kidnappings, the stolen antimatter is hidden somewhere in the city, presumably to be used to blow up the world capital of Christianity. That's naughty.

Langdon, knowing everything about religion like he does, deduces that the culprits are the Illuminati, who are a sect of Catholics who had the audacity to favor science over the Church's teaching (GASP!). Way back in the 17th century, after the Church gave the Illuminati the boot, they went and formed their very own club, waiting and plotting their revenge. Almost 400 years is a long time to hold a grudge, but I'm still annoyed that I never got that Star Wars Boba Fett Slave 1 spaceship that I wanted for Christmas when I was 10, so who am I to judge?

So, Langdon, knowing everything about religion like I said, also figures out that the cardinals are being held in for different hidden locations, locations that can only be discovered by deciphering ancient clues to discover the locations of the....um, locations (Hello? Thesaurus?). Thus begins a race against time to save the abducted cardinals before they are executed, find and diffuse the antimatter bomb, and uncover a conspiracy within the Vatican itself that may or MAY NOT be orchestrated by the Illuminati...apparently this is one of those situations where nothing is what it seems! All in a day’s work for your average Harvard professor.

Personally, I didn't find Angels & Demons all that compelling, which speaks volumes about the supposed quality of its cinematic predecessor, The Da Vinci Code, which by all accounts is an inferior movie. There was a lot of controversy prior to the release of Angels & Demons about the content of the film upsetting the real-life Vatican, what with the movie featuring wanton violence in Vatican City and a supposed thematic hard stance against the Church's customs, especially their aversion to science. In reality, the film takes the easy way out. Sure, it's violent in parts, but it's disappointingly tame when it comes to making any sort of statement about the Church's policies in its dealing with the modern world. Robert Langdon's character is set up several times to deliver scathing rebuttals to blind religious rhetoric, but always opts for the soft, politically correct response instead. Odd, since Langdon supposedly has all these major issues with the Church.

Likewise, Langdon's puzzle-solving merely came across as Indiana Jones-lite, with Langdon knowing the answers to obscure religious nonsense that Vatican scholars wouldn't on their best day. The action scenes were tight, however, but I can't think of any film, good or bad, that ever fell flat when going for a fight scene or shootout. Hollywood is just full of professionals that can take care of that for you easily.

As for the acting, the usually excellent Tom Hanks under whelms here, as he appears to be phoning in the role. It also doesn't help that Hanks is A) obviously wearing a hairpiece, and B) is sporting a nice gut. I know getting older is a fact of life, but it's depressing when it happens to actors that you grew up watching. It has a way of killing their mystique. Moving onward…Ewan McGregor shows up as a member of the Vatican (I didn't even know he was in the movie before viewing it...seems he'd be worth advertising), and pulls off an impressive, multi-faceted performance here. The rest of the cast is solid, but none are especially noteworthy. Director Ron "Opie" Howard doesn't seem to get as much out of his actors as he used to. But at least he still knows how to construct a movie that flows well, even if where it flows to isn't all that thought-provoking or exciting.

So in the end, Angels & Demons is an average effort from all hands involved, save perhaps for Ewan McGregor, who always brings the goods (except if it’s a Star Wars movie). You can't really go wrong if you choose to spend your hard-earned dollars on it- it'll entertain you, but it's also fairly forgettable, and if that notion is worth 10 or so bucks to you, then go for it. There are worse ways to part with your money, like sewing it into clothing or giving it to strangers on the street holding a "Ninjas killed my family, need $$$ for Karate lessons" sign (which I’ve really seen).

Until next time, when I’ll be reviewing the highly-anticipated Terminator Salvation (please be good, please be good)…

Christopher Boyle

May 21, 2009 9:58 AM Eastern

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