I don't Hanker after seeing this again (Angels and Demons (DVD))

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	Angels and Demons (DVD)
Date:	10/11/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's okay

Disadvantages: It's okay

Angels and Demons (2009)

Cert. 12.

Directed by Ron Howard, yep 'Richie Cunningham' from 'The Fonz' this film is based on Dan Browns book of the same name, in the 'Da Vinci Code' series.

Whilst the film can be viewed as part of the series, as the book can be read as part of the series, in actual fact the film can be viewed quite easily as a one off thriller. I am not going to confuse you too much with the sequence of films vs the sequence of books as it is all rather odd, but if you read both books and see both films you will get it...maybe.

At 138 minutes....two hours and nearly 20 minutes it is not a short film, in fact, in truth, there are some bits that drag. The first 10 minutes are good, then we have a 20 minute section that is quite frankly, dull, I fell asleep and Mrs H had to wake me....far be it that she should have sat through that alone. So, I have to confess, there was a three minute section of this film I cannot review, no matter, it was boring.


~~The Plot~~

The pope has died and in the usual manner of things the Conclave is called....this is where lots of old men...oops, cardinals get together for a few days whilst people wait expectantly outside for a puff of white smoke to tell them that another old man has been elected pope. There are four 'hot favourites', the Preferati; however before the enclave, these four cardinals are kidnapped by The Illuminate, a secret society that are enemies of the church.

The Vatican authorities are informed that these cardinals will be killed, one after another and at a certain time there will be a bomb that destroys Rome using anti-matter. The anti matter has been stolen from CERN, where the Hadron Accelerator is looking for the 'God Particle'......ah, see, it's all coming together now!

Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) from CERN are called in by the Vatican police, so of course they come, to help find the cardinals and the bomb and save the day.

What ensues is a great chase across Rome, looking for clues, trying to save cardinals lives yadda, yadda, yadda.


~~~The Good~~~

Ewan McGregor playing the dead popes right hand man (Carmelengo) is actually very good. His N Irish accent is passable, and as a priest he seems quite believable. He is central to the plot in a number of ways and I wont spoil it for you, he gives, as usual, a pretty sound acting performance.

The scenery in and around Rome is spectacular, the arial shots stunning and the use of churches and church architecture gives the film, I dunno, depth. That, combined with the quite frantic chase scenes and edgy crowd shots show a lot of directorial flair in my opinion.

The CGI and the 'reproduction' pieces to replica churches, catacombs etc were all pretty convincing and some of the action scenes were well played and set out with the violence necessary and direct, not brutal and strung out.

The last 30-40 minutes of the film are incredibly tense and fast paced as a good thriller should be, and for me, saved the film, because up to that point it is decidedly ordinary.

Finally, the musical score is good, lots of violins and classical church type pieces.


~~~The Bad~~~

Tom Hanks really is quite wooden in this, though not as fixed as his hair do, which is, I'm convinced, a wig.

That he seems to know the answers to everything asked of him is stretching the academic credibility to the limits...this man is a walking encyclopedia, he even tells the cardinals a bit of catholic history at one point...come on!

The 'baddies' are quite cameo like and could have been designed in an Airfix 'build a baddie' kit.


~~~The downright daft~~~

Every little step that Hanks takes seems to lead him to another clue; "oops, scuffed my toe, that's handy, as I looked down I found a secret door", that kind of thing.

There is a scene where someone abseils, it is ludicrous and almost comedic....that and the fact that the same, gleaming Alfa Romeo police car seems to turn up everywhere...don't cars get dirty in Vatican City?

All the Italian police officers are complete stereotypes, slicked back black hair and smouldering looks...pleeeese!


~~~Finally~~~

So...the million dollar question, well £3.99 on Virgin FilmFlex.....did I like it? Mmmm, it was okay, good enough for a Tuesday evening. The first 40 minutes could easily lose half of that. Ron Howard is a 'safe' director, filming a 'safe' film with 'safe' actors. It was never going to be bad, but in my opinion, it is quite easily forgettable. Not as good as Da Vinci Code, and that was no classic.

Summary: Dan Brown adapted