Angels & Demons (2009)

Faith is a gift I have yet to receive.

Angels and Demons is directed by Ron Howard and adapted to screenplay by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman from the Dan Brown novel of the same name. It stars Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Armin Mueller- Stahl. Music is scored by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Salvatore Totino.

Symbologist Robert Langdon (Hanks) is summoned to Rome and asked by the Vatican to help when four cardinals are kidnapped. Upon examining a tape recording that announces that the cardinals will be killed one at a time hourly, Langdon places the crime at the door of the ancient Illuminati. It's a race against time to not only try and save the lives of the cardinals, but also to avert the detonation of an anti-matter bomb which will destroy Vatican City.

In spite of The Da Vinci Code making gargantuan amounts of cash, there were many who actively hated the movie. Yet this follow up from Howard and his makers still enticed just under $500 million's worth of worldwide paying punters into see it. Ultimately it's a very different movie to Da Vinci, where that film was sombre and talky, and had a great religious hook that caused tremors in Christianity, Angels and Demons is a pacey race against time serial killer thriller. Albeit one that is still religion based and additionally topped up with some sci-fi gubbins.

The ticking time bomb format works well as a cliff hanger and the narrative allows Langdon and his latest lady investigator, CERN scientist Vittoria Vettra (Zurer), scope for no-nonsense detective work. There's a good solid mystery story at the heart, one which doesn't veer to being over complicated, and the production value is of a very high standard. Casting is first class, with McGregor and Skarsgard complimenting the reliable, and thankfully new haircut sporting, Hanks. It's a little draggy in the mid-section, as history comes crashing into the mix and the makers feel the need to be cerebral, and the finale is bizarre if wholly appropriate, but herein lies the problem…

If you can judge it on its own terms, not as a Dan Brown novel recreation and a link to bad memories of Da Vinci Code (not me, I liked it well enough actually)? Then it's a film of simple pleasures. If not then it kind of goes without saying that you probably already dislike the movie! 7.5/10

Angels & Demons delivers a gripping follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, blending science, religion, and mystery with improved pacing and visual execution. Though fictional and controversial, the film presents its themes with cinematic flair, strong performances, and a more engaging narrative. A thrilling watch, as long as viewers remain critical of its historical liberties.

Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)

With a Papal election looming, the Vatican is nervously suspicious that the ancient cult of the “Illuminati” are up to their old, destabilising, tricks again and so they have invited “Langdon” (Tom Tanks) - the religious equivalent of “Sherlock Holmes” to come and investigate some malevolent shenanigans that might even have resulted in the poisoning of the late Pope himself! Aided by sceptical scientist “Vittoria” (Ayelet Zurer) and local police inspector “Olivetti” (Pierfrancesco Olivetti) they soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that is seeing some of the cardinal electorate brutally murdered and is putting the wind up the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) who is charged with organising the conclave and his Swiss Guard police chief “Richter” (Stellan Skarsgård) who appears as much of an hindrance as an help to the sleuthing American. Now if this is to be taken as a theologically based crime thriller, then it does work well enough. Sadly, though, much of the political and ethical aspects of the original book have been thrown under the cinematic pope mobile and the thrusts of conflict between the scientific and the faithful are largely sidelined in favour of a more traditional killer thriller replete with secret passages. The shockingly wooden McGregor is nowhere near his best here; Hanks delivers really only adequately and I found the denouement frankly quite preposterous - even by divine standards. The production is slick and it looks professional enough, but there’s precious little chemistry between Hanks and anyone, really; there’s an awful lot of dialogue and I just felt a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing. Sometimes the original words on the page provides more fodder for our imagination than any adapted screenplay, and I reckon this is certainly an example of that. Watchable but entirely forgettable.