Angels and Demons review
Beware of minor spoilers for Angels and Demons.
It is no secret around here that I'm one of the minority - I loved The Da Vinci Code! Sadly, not many people feel as I do since Da Vinci received negative ratings from a majority of film critics although opinions became mixed once the general audience began seeing the film. To quickly explain my thoughts on the first film; I'm a sucker for stories that tell mythical tales from ancient times and although Da Vinci isn't a period piece from the era of Christ it still holds a mystical intrigue. That, and the simple fact that Tom Hanks is my favorite actor. It's also worth mentioning that Hans Zimmer's score is one of the best scores in his career but that is simply my opinion.
It goes without saying that I've been a supporter of a sequel film. In preparation for this new film Angels and Demons, I purchased a copy of the Dan Brown novel - I only read about half of it however and that was nearly a year ago, if not more. I'll admit that I've never been much for reading especially when it's going to be a movie. As the Dan Brown novel laid on my desk collecting dust, I waited patiently for the next film, a film that I've been very much looking forward to.
The Da Vinci Code, despite awful reviews, still made a killing in the box office taking $217 million domestically and a amazing $540 million internationally. The cash rolled in for Sony and Columbia - they'd be idiots if they didn't continue the Robert Langdon adventures and so far, as I'm writing this, Angels and Demons has brought in $48 million domestically and over $100 million internationally. A good start.
"Despite his notorious relationship with the Church, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is once again called upon to decipher the clues to a catastrophic conspiracy. The Pope has died, and before conclave can begin to determine his successor, the four preferitti (primary hopefuls for the papacy) are kidnapped. An ominous threat of their hourly demise, along with the complete annihilation of Vatican City, is issued as an elaborate revenge scheme for a persecuted group known as the Illuminati. With their meager time limit steadily counting down, Langdon, accompanied by beautiful physicist Vittoria Vetra, must travel throughout Rome to unravel the carefully hidden signs that will lead them to a terrifying adversary, a harrowing discovery, and the shocking truth." [IMDB] Once again Akiva Goldsman, this time along with David Koepp, adapts Dan Brown's novel for Ron Howard who returns to direct the sequel. Along with returning star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Angels and Demons stars Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra, Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, Stellan Skarsgard as Commander Richter, Piefrancesco Favino as Inspector Olivetti and Armin Mueller-Stahl as Cardinal Strauss.
The most common problem that I've gather from people who've seen The Da Vinci Code is that the film is unrelentingly boring with a lot of exposition from Tom Hanks' character - I can't really argue that because it's true but I was able to deal with it with great ease. What people wanted out of the sequel is for it to be faster paced with more action, an understandable need given its summer movie status, however, most general audiences don't understand that fast paced action doesn't necessarily make a good film. Than again, if the general audiences loved cerebral films more than action films, films like The Wrestler or the upcoming The Girlfriend Experience would make $50 million plus opening weekend. I can't really make an argument about this subject because, lets face it, fast paced action is thrilling, exciting and sometimes simply awesome. I'm only trying to express the fact that fast paced action films usually aren't the most enlightening films, however, in the case of Angels and Demons you might be able to get both. Ron Howard's adaptation does indeed step it up a notch when it comes to thrilling action and although it doesn't contend with high octane action like Transformers or smaller films like Crank, Angels and Demons brings a sense of urgency to the plot but also keeps its deep conspiracy theory exposition, which I like. Honestly, who doesn't love a conspiracy theory film, be it political, religious or just plan creative fantasy? I know I do which is the reason why I enjoyed Angels and Demons.
I mentioned earlier in the article that Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors if not my absolute number one favorite actor. That reason alone is a plus for any film so discussing Hanks' performance would be fruitless given that I'm convinced whatever role he plays, he's awesome. Just as a side note, my favorite Hanks performance is Saving Private Ryan which is a heartbreaking film. There's two cast members that I think deserve the best performance mention - Ewan McGregor and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Over the years I've seen Ewan McGregor in plenty of films which of course includes the Star Wars prequels were he was perfectly cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi - a role that typcasted him somewhat, at least with the hardcore science fiction fans. That, however, doesn't keep a good actor down as he continues to work in film and here in Angels and Demons he continues to prove he has range as an actor even if he seems a little misplaced in the role of a Priest. Things do get interested towards the end of the film when certain things are revealed which brings McGregor's Camerlengo Patrick McKenna more depth making his character very enjoyable at the end. If Armin Mueller-Stahl isn't a huge presence in any film he does, I don't know who would be. His deep German accent while wearing a Cardinal uniform fits so well with the actor you'll find yourself thinking, "why isn't this guy the Pope". When I was first introduced to his character during the start of the film I couldn't help but hold a sort of dislike to the character but when circumstances change throughout the film those feelings disappeared ending with a high admiration for him. I love one of his last lines in the film - it's not anything big that holds weight to the plot but his delivery of it is so powerful for me.
With all of the things I liked in this film I will admit or rather ponder if the Dan Brown novels make a good transfer to film. Mostly, I'd say yes if in the hands of a capable production team and I do very much like what Hanks and Howard have brought to the big screen, however, I can sometimes understand why people aren't as keen to the films as they are to the books. The sad truth is, when a book is over 700 pages long there's absolutely no way it could entirely be adapted to film unless if it was done over two or three films, so given that fact the films would seem incomplete. Not only with these two films, but with many that had to adapted from book to film, I think we should give those screenwriters credit for the work they have to put into it. It really doesn't matter if the film comes out good or not, at least when it comes to the effort. That is, of course, not including the hacks that Hollywood studios hire occasionally.
So how do I rate this film fairly? What do I take into consideration? Angels and Demons isn't a perfect film at all even though I feel positive about it. In short, although it's thrilling with some good performances it doesn't have the greatest plot to chew on. The antimatter plot just doesn't sit well with me which is ridiculous because The Da Vinci Code could arguably have a more ridiculous plot than this. I suppose when it comes down to it, Angels and Demons doesn't have the same mystical qualities that I loved in Da Vinci. In many places it also seems rushed because of a need to make it faster paced because they were afraid of boring the audience with exposition. Instead of Robert Langdon sitting down or standing in one place explaining the worlds mysteries to us, he would do it while running. Sure, again, it adds a sense of urgency to the plot but doesn't necessarily make it a better movie.
Even with my problems with Angels and Demons, I still enjoyed it but I think it's safe to say that I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code more and that may surprise some people but I don't care - that's just me. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think it's only fair that Angels and Demons scores a 7 out of 10. I can't say everyone is going to like it but for those of you who like Da Vinci, you'll more than likely like Angels and Demons. Those of you who like thrillers, you may like this as well but there's no doubt that this film is simply something that you'll have to come up with your own opinion on. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing it again and I'll probably pick it up on DVD, at least for the special features if nothing else.
-Phil
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I can’t agree with you Phil.
I liked this movie significantly more than the DaVinci Code. Tom seemed more comfortable, and the cast seemed to flow much better. I enjoyed McGregor, and several other actors’ performances. I thought they did a great job altering this movie to be set after “Code” even though the book it was based on came out first.
Lacking the hype that “Code” had, this movie probably won’t have as big a box office, and that’s a shame. This movie did what all good movies should do, pulls me into the story, doesn’t make me look at my watch, and surprises me at the end. Angels and Demons is the better book, and movie.
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