Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons

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Quotes:

You said they'd be killed publicly.
Open the doors, and tell the world the truth.
If God has a problem, it will not be with what I have done but what I am about to do.
Faith is a gift that I have yet to receive.

After the sudden death of the reigning Pope, a Conclave is organised in which, behind locked doors, the Cardinals meet to choose a new Pope. During this process, the de facto head of state of the Vatican City is the Camerlengo, an Irish priest, played by Ewan McGregor. A message is received from the Illuminati, an ancient secret society opposed to the Catholic Church’s approach towards science: the four Cardinals most likely to be elected have been kidnapped and will be killed, one every hour, at significant church sites around Rome. In addition, a hugely powerful bomb composed of stolen anti-matter will explode at midnight. The Vatican calls in its old enemy, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, (Hanks) to help discover the locations alluded to in Illuminati’s communication. Langdon is joined by Vittoria Ventri, (Zurer) an Italian scientist who might be able to prevent the bomb exploding – if its location can be found in time. Also involved in the hunt is the head of the Swiss Guards who police the Vatican, (Stellan Skarsgard) while the most prominent of the Cardinals, Armin Muller-Stahl, is determined not to interrupt the conclave. Director Ron Howard is having fun with Angels & Demons, which is a lot more entertaining than the previous film based on a Dan Brown book, The DaVinci Code, mainly because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.The film is wildly, recklessly improbable from start to finish – in fact, it’s utter nonsense. But it’s entertaining nonsense, and it’s very well made in classical style. It’s good to re-encounter Tom Hank's impossibly brainy and intrepid Robert Langdon again, and the supporting cast is terrific – especially Ewan McGregor as the intelligent, forward-thinking camerlengo. The Vatican didn’t permit filming on its premises, but that doesn’t seem to matter as it’s well represented in a film which makes the very most of its Rome locations. Hans Zimmer could have toned down his music score, but generally Angels & Demons achieves what it sets out to achieve – it’s a mostly satisfying thrill ride. 

By paying less respect to Dan Brown's novel, Ron Howard has made Angels & Demons a more entertaining film than his plodding treatment of the author's Da Vinci Code of exactly three years ago. Conspiracy theories are still there in vast numbers, but director Howard has settled for an out-and-out racing against the clock action thriller rather than bogging the movie down with talk on issues of religion and science. Teetering close to absurd in some areas of the plotting, and the dizzying number of chases involving official cars hurtling around Rome's narrow streets, the film still achieves impressively realistic representations of famous Rome landmarks despite mostly being shot on studio sets. Tom Hanks, reprising his role of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon for his fourth film made with Howard, has an improved haircut and looks in better physical shape - necessary given the physical demands of his role. There's an alarming number of corpses, and enough possible Illuminati masterminds to have you totally engaged trying to finger the villain before Langdon does. At least you leave Angels & Demons ready to talk about the action, the surprise helicopter training a priest has received, and the several bizarre murders rather than Hanks' bad haircut, or the lack of action which marked Howard's earlier film. As many have pointed out, if you've read the book you may end up disappointed. I enjoyed this a LOT more than The Da Vinci Code.

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