Angels and Demons

Based on the novel by Dan Brown, Angels and Demons features The Da Vinci Code's hero Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) as he works with Vittoria Vetra (Ayerlet Zurer) and Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) to stop a threat to the Vatican. Having seen the Da Vinci Code, I expected some puzzles to be solved by Robert Langdon and a storyline that takes a winding route to a grand finale. Unfortunately, this movie neither lives up to the Da Vinci code's standard nor fares well against the other movies currently playing in theaters.

Despite a somewhat interesting start to the movie, the excitement peters out as the movie runs its course. I found the characters to be rather flat, as Langdon doesn't really show emotion of any kind, even when shouting. The villains are a bit nebulous and at times not that villainous at all, and the story left me confused: who should I dislike more, the bad guy who threatens someone with harm, or the person charged with capturing the criminal, but who takes 15 minutes to wash his face when he knows that he has a very limited amount of time to save someone?

There are some holes in the storyline that left me wondering what was going on, and there is one leap that made me wonder why Langdon was even necessary in this movie at all. Ewan McGregor does put in a decent performance in his role as the Camerlengo, but he is the only highlight in this otherwise unremarkable film. It is possible that a reading of the Angels and Demons book would increase your enjoyment of this motion picture, as you would be able to fill in the blanks, but I highly doubt it. If you haven't read the book, save yourself the trouble and don't see the movie.

Rating: 5.0/10.0