Adam Ginsberg Angels & Demons Movie Review

F

I like Tom Hanks and I like Ron Howard - and I lover suspense thrillers, so it was based on this that I decided to see the movie.

I found the movie entertaining - and I think as long as the movie is viewed as a religious thriller and not a religious film - it's enjoyable.

Angels & Demons has a number of things going for it: Tom Hanks, although in a role a found not believable, had great chemistry with Ayelet Zurer.  I also found there was some good humor. It was just difficult to see Tom Hanks (as Professor Robert Langdon) as a "Jason Bourne meets Inspector Columbo" character.

The idea of the Catholic Church being under attack by the long underground Illuminati allows for the same kind of mix of fact and fiction.  Placing this attack during the period immediately following the death of the pope is good as it catches the church at its most vulnerable.

Although the plot twists and turns, asking you "who dun it", I made my prediction about 15 minutes into the movie.  I hate when I'm right, so early in a good film - it ends up leaving me disappointed with the ending.

It's obvious, early on, that the attack will come from someone inside the Vatican - which is supposedly designed to give us an intriguing array of possible infiltrators. Is it the Pope’s Camerlengo, Father Patrick McKenna, a youthful priest with a curious tie to the late pontiff; could it be Commander Richter, head of the Swiss Guard, who controls the security for the Pope; might it be Cardinal Strauss, an older Cardinal with great influence – but not one of the four most likely candidates to replace the late pontiff?

Because the threat includes the kidnapping of the four most likely candidates – and the destruction of Vatican City via the releasing of anti-matter, Langdon is joined in his assignment to find the missing cardinals and prevent the explosions by physicist Vittoria Vetra.

I did find it odd that her makeup and hair remained perfect throughout the entire movie...and her form fitting, tailored business suit never showed a wrinkle.

Ron Howard is a brilliant director and, although this movie will not be considered a cinematography masterpiece, it was very well done.

I enjoyed the movie, although I found it was a bit too long. Do I think it's worth seeing? Yes - however I'd be more apt to recommend this movie as a DVD rental more than I would a trip to the movie theater.

***UPDATE: Angels & Demons was the number #1 film in America it's first week of release with ticket sales in excess of $48 million.  The key will be the sales in week #2. Will they sustain themselves or will we see a 50%+ drop off? I think we'll see the latter.

Final Grade: B

Movie Review courtesy of AdamGinsbergBlog.com