Angels and Demons Review
On the first page of the novel “Angels and Demons,” Dan Brown cleverly informs his audience that everything in the novel is a work of fiction by simply listing the few things that are fact. What follows is a rather incredulous story that works due to its strong pace and flowing action. In this regard, the new Ron Howard film offers a similar experience.
“Angels and Demons,” which as a novel was a prequel to “The DaVinci Code,” is considered a sequel for the purposes of the film. Other little changes like this pepper the movie, but for the most part it plays as a decent adaptation of the novel. Tom Hanks reprises his role as professor Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist who focuses on matters relating to the Catholic Church. When the Pope dies, four of his possible successors go missing and the only clues are in the form of symbols – of course, the only person who can help solve this mystery is Langdon. Soon, he finds himself with scientist Vittoria Vetra (played by Ayelet Zurer) in a race against time to find both the missing clergy and, more importantly, an anti-matter bomb.
If the premise sounds ridiculous, it is – and it was in the novel as well. But, like the novel, the film approaches the situation with its characters taking it seriously. If you’re willing to suspend your belief for a while you’ll wind up watching a relatively fast paced film that feels shorter than its 140 minutes would suggest.
That’s not to say there aren’t a number of eye rolling moments. Right off the bat, Robert Langdon leaves a swimming pool in Cambridge, MA, and in the next scene arrives in the Vatican via Helicopter. The film is peppered with things as ridiculous as this, but it lets you laugh along with them – as if the filmmakers were in on the joke. On top of that, the visual recreations of the Vatican are stunning as are a number of other visual effects.
Is “Angels and Demons,” a masterpiece? No – but it does make for decently fun summer fare and is a step above the first film. It flows well, doesn’t try to be more than it is, and is overall well made (including a strong Hans Zimmer score). There are a lot worse action adventure movies that have come out recently – this one is at the very least moderately enjoyable.
