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ANGELS & DEMONS |
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Many moons ago author Dan Brown
wrote a book based on symbols, the Catholic church, some mad scientists and
an anti-matter bomb. The book failed and seemed dead. That was until his next book The Da Vinci Code became a global best
seller. Then, just like that, his first book gained renewed life and took
off. Both were based on a central character named Robert Langdon. Now, just as with The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard takes
the helm and drags two- time Oscar winner Tom Hanks in the lead. “Angels
& Demons” is the continuation of Langdon's adventures in symbolism more
than a sequel to Da Vinci Code. Sort of like Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger were continuations of the Jack Ryan
character in Hunt for Red October.
A sequel would pick up right at or close to were the previous left off. |
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For Howard "Angels & Demons"
continues his ever other film pattern. Ever since "Apollo 13" (Great) every
other film has been so-so. Consider "Ransom" (so-so), "Edtv' (Great), "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas" (so-so), "A Beautiful Mind" (Great), "The Missing" (so-so)
"Cinderella Man" (Great), "Da Vinci Code" (so-so), "Frost/Nixon" (Great) and now... Tom Hanks loses that stupid mullet
that made it difficult to take the character seriously. That itself improves
on "Da Vinci Code"! The same people who appall him, the
Vatican, beckon Hanks - as Langdon. It seems the Pope died suddenly of a
slight case of poisoning; surely an inside job. But they are more concerned
about a threat issued by an ancient mad scientist group called the
Illuminati. They are in a continuous war against the Catholic Church because
of what the church did to scientist since Galileo. Talk about holding a
grudge! So they have captured four of the
Cardinals considered front-runners to be elected the new Pope. In the
meantime, they have secretly hidden an all- consuming anti-matter bomb
somewhere in the Vatican that will obliterate most of Rome. The bomb will go
off after the Illuminati have
executed each of the Cardinals one-by-one in succession every hour. |
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So you are thinking why not just
blow the bomb and be done with it? Because then the movie would only be 15
minutes long! Langdon's job is to decipher symbols
hidden throughout Rome and the Vatican to figure out where the Cardinals and
bomb are. Joining him is the lovely Vittoria
Vetra (Ayetlet Zurer) whose dad was killed during the anti-matter heist.
She’s like a James Bond femme fatale
but even more useless. He is watched over by the boss of
the Swiss guard Commander Richter (Stellan Skarsgard) who seems a bit put off
that Langdon was called in. Together they begin a fast paced
odyssey finding and deciphering symbols to piece together the puzzle. The action is well paced, the acting
is taught, and Ayelet jiggles adequately. The story is completely
implausible. Moreover, it is lacking the Mr. Big of the bad guys. In a story
this convoluted there must be a Mr. Big. You know Fearless Leader, Number 1,
Dr. No, Darth Vader and the Emperor, Kahn, a Bill to kill - a face for the
bad guys. Someone so evil that evil is scared of him. Nope. All we get is a mysterious
group that is pissed off at the church. Big whoop! And if they are so darned smart, why
don’t they just blow up the Vatican? Didn't they see enough James Bond movies
to know you never let the other guy figure out your plot? Okay, I'm being harder than I guess
I should be. "Angels & Demons" will win the box office and will definitely
entertain. That's basically what we want, while we wait for Howard's next
great movie. --GEOFFREY BURTON
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