Must Be Missing An Angel (Angels and Demons (DVD))

Member Name: JayHall1991

Product:	Angels and Demons (DVD)
Date:	11/07/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Performances, Visual Style

Disadvantages: Everything Else

The death of a progressive Pope has left the Vatican and members of the Catholic Church in a state of complete mourning; however, when the four potential replacements for the papacy are kidnapped and publically threatened with execution Professor Robert Langdon is called to unravel the mysteries surrounding the group accused of this conspiracy, The Illuminati. With time ticking and the fresh threat of annihilation to the Vatican he must work alongside Vittoria, a beautiful physicist, and Camerlengo, charged to protect the Catholic church, to unravel a web of lies and revenge.

Angels and Demons is a fairly pacey, mysterious and interesting thriller which outsmarts its predecessor in almost every way; it is more engaging, more convincing and builds to a more satisfying finale. However, it is still haunted by the constant and overpowering sense of ridiculousness which haunted The Da Vinci Code and is often wildly and hilariously overblown. It lacks any sense of shape, seemingly happy to float around, never really knowing what it wants to be or what it wants to audience to feel; Howard fails to give the material any semblance of direction or purpose. It juxtaposes quiet, dull postulating with relentless and frantic action which makes the whole piece feel uneven and it goes for cheap, easy thrills when well planned and intelligent plot twists would have been so much better. The audience is given no reason to care about the characters or the situations in which they find themselves; the film fails to include one poignant moment and it fails to get any kind of emotional response from the audience. The whole thing feels tired and shabby and it outstays its welcome far before the bloated running time comes to an end. Angels and Demons never really gathers any momentum, despite a few genuinely thrilling and intense sequences as well as the best efforts of McGregor and Hanks, limping along until it gets a bit of energy in the final act. Beneath the ludicrous set pieces and implausible narrative turns there are some truly interesting ideas and a decent story, but the screenplay insists on removing the source novel's most compelling elements and dwelling on its least.

The main problem with Angels and Demons is the cast and crew's insistence on making everything so overblown; almost every scene is over-the-top and it quickly becomes humorous in its unsuccessful attempts at building tension. Every second is imbued with a jarring sense of urgency which never allows for compelling human interactions or intelligent story telling; instead of making the content genuinely gripping Ron Howard opts to fill the film with shouted dialogue and ludicrous orchestral backing. Keeping up with the sweeping camera angles and Hank's screaming is extremely exhausting and fails to cover up the fact that a lot of the film is actually pretty ordinary and boring. It's just not a very cinematic story - in novel form it seemed more personal and stimulating, but on the big screen it can't help but feel forced and hollow. The whole film feels like a languid walk to a finale which deserves better. It tries to please everyone and ends of failing at nearly everything; it just isn't convincing as an action flick yet can't sustain itself as a philosophical drama. The opening is relatively gripping in that it throws up some shocking and relevant questions and there is a similarly satisfying half-time twist, but the film has too many moments that don't add anything new or exciting. Some of the films mindless theorising is diverting and pushes the plot along but most of the dialogue keeps the audience at arm's length, never making them feel as if they are a part of the action. All the way through the film I wished that something would capture my imagination or demand my attention, but nothing really did and I was left very cold throughout the proceedings.

I don't know how factual Angels and Demons is, I'll leave that question for people more knowledgeable about the Catholic religion, but it never feels very legitimate, floundering to make a point and coming across as silly rather than involving. When the film sticks to trashy action territory it is actually pretty good, the whole film is absurd and when the crew realise this towards the finale they kick it into hyper drive, replacing plausibility with pure escapism. When it gets running with executions, car chases, deadly battles and hysterical shouting it becomes at least slightly engrossing, hurtling towards an amazingly absurd final stretch. In these moments Angels and Demons comes off as a more adult version of National Treasure; an adventure for grown-ups with well choreographed stunts and a pleasing level of farce which cannot be found anywhere else. Where The Da Vinci Code was talky, Angels and Demons is swift and frantic, which is both its blessing and its curse. It is, at times, compulsively enjoyable but is also depthless and not half as intelligent as it thinks it is. When it gets into intellectual debate it becomes plodding stupid, with the cast obviously straining to attach some meaning to the pointless dialogue. The screenplay fails to make Robert Langdon a compelling or three dimensional central character; he remains dull and flat. He isn't a strong enough anchor for the film and doesn't ever seem to be a real person, making it hard for the audience to be emotionally invested in his journey. The screenplay does include some well written moments, whenever McGregor and Hank are forced into confrontation the dialogue is intense and snappy, but it bogged down by stupidity and a relentless dullness.

I actually think that Tom Hanks is a good choice for Robert Langdon; he brings vitality to the lifeless role and has a certain charisma and humour which suggests that he knows how crazy the film really is. He is convincing as an intellectual and imbues the character with gravitas and a rehearsed confidence which works extremely well, whilst being at least partly believable as a modern Indiana Jones type. He knows how to instil the dialogue with urgency and an intensity which makes the whole thing feel important and tries to throw in some quirk and nuance, making the film feel more poignant than it has any right to be. Whilst many have criticised his interpretation of Langdon, perhaps because of the level of wit he brings to the essentially serious part, I feel that he brings a lightness of touch and a graceful presence to a stodgy film project. He isn't really given a huge amount to do besides look serious and do some running, but he is definitely a bright spot in a pretty dingy flick; he works really well with the rest of the cast (especially McGregor) and, after the film descends into a lengthy and ludicrous history lesson, brings spark and life throughout. McGregor is also fantastic as Camerlengo, bringing a real sense of intensity to the role and bringing depth to the dialogue. He perfectly represents the internal struggle of the character and shows himself to be a character bound by duty but haunted by external influences. He is soft and harsh at the same time and the juxtaposition is extremely effective. Ayelet Zurer is hilarious, but not in a good way, as Vittoria -delivering her lines with a sense of urgency and aplomb which is neither appropriate nor particularly dramatic.

I think that a lot of Angels and Demons faults can be blamed on Ron Howard, who provides such a confused, dumbfounded and ineffective vision for the film that it is bound to the ground constantly. He doesn't know what he wants the film to be so imbues it with very little intrigue or focus; it keeps stopping and starting and doesn't form a coherent narrative. Howard, despite the visual appeal of the film, doesn't direct with any kind of style or grace and regularly creates shifts in tone and pace which fall completely flat. He brings very little weight to the religious and intellectual aspects of the screenplay, yet seems fairly inept at bringing adrenaline and pizzazz to the action sequences. A lot of it gives the impression of being phoned in, with little feeling of passion or even true interest in the source material, with Howard cutting out important aspects of the original narrative for tiresome and mind numbing twists and turns.

Overall, Angels and Demons is a mildly diverting but hugely disappointing addition to the Langdon franchise; it lacks style and mystery and falls at almost every hurdle. Better luck next time?

Summary: An Aneamic Adaption