Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is brought to
the Vatican
after it is revealed an old organization (known as the Illuminati) appears to be back and they have kidnapped four of the
top candidates to be the next Pope after the last one dies. The Illuminati
threaten to kill one of the four candidates at one an hour and destroy the Vatican
in light at midnight. A small
amount of anti-matter has been stolen from the CERN particle accelerator and the Illuminati plan to use it as a bomb that
Langdon and others (Vatican Police, Swiss Guard) must find before the batteries holding the containment field run down. Also along for the ride is a scientist from CERN, Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer). Langdon must decipher the clues to the path of Light that shows where the four cardinals
will be killed and the final destination leading hopefully to the anti-matter before time runs out.
ANGELS & DEMONS in some ways is a better
adaptation of a Dan Brown novel than THE DA VINCI CODE ever was. Director
Ron Howard energizes the film more this time round and keeps the action following. The
script is leaner and cuts out parts from the novel including a little character development between Langdon and Vittoria. The main plot is still there. The
name of the Pope gives me a chuckle when I come to think of who is playing the Camerlengo.
I don’t know why the Vatican is up in arms about
this film and refused to let the filmmakers shoot there. Then again the
Vatican has been a little too slow to change and thinks they
can just put the Catholic Church in a good light. The plot of ANGELS &
DEMONS is just fiction. Still I do think the film respects science and
the church at the same time. I don’t see anything the
church should be offended about. Some of the music score remind me of music in
a Dario Argento film (I don’t know if Hans Zimmer was responsible for that or if it was the people who provided additional
music on the film).
Tom Hanks slips back into Langdon’s
character with ease as some of the other seasoned actors slip into their roles and run with what material is given them (Skarsgard
and Mueller-Stahl). Ewan McGregor does seem like a little bit of a weak
link here. Above all, ANGELS & DEMONS is a thrill ride.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY- The director
and crew reveal how they created the world of the film from production design to visual effects to how much visual effects
were used in creating parts of the sets to the music.
WRITING ANGELS & DEMONS- The screenwriters
and director Ron Howard discuss how they adapted the novel into a movie in addition to author Dan Brown providing a new clue
not in the novel (for the screenwriters to use).
CHAARCTERS IN SEARCH OF THE TRUE STORY-
the cast discuss the characters they play and one was changed from the book (to make him a nicer character).
CERN: PUSHING THE FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE-
a look inside the real CERN and featuring interviews with the real scientists who work there (in addition to interviews with
Ron Howard and Tom Hanks).
The 2-disc addition and the Blu-ray feature
the extended cut which is eight minutes longer. Both have additional featurettes:
HANDLING PROPS, ANGELS & DEMONS: THE FULL STORY, and THIS IS AN AMBIGRAM. The
Blu-ray features some BD Live content in addition to having both versions of the film and a digital copy. There is a Target exclusive which includes the Theatrical Cut DVD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: ANGELS & DEMONS is a better film than THE DA VINCI CODE.
The featurettes on CERN and production design (and visual effects) are my favorite of the extras.
This DVD review is (c)11-27-2009 and the movie review is (c)5-17-2009
David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments
to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
