Movie for This Week
Angels and Demons
Tom Hanks returns to reprise his role as Dr. Robert Langdon (The Davinci Code), the wildly talented symbologist, and historian. Based on the popular thriller novel by Dan Brown, Dr. Langdon is called in to assist the Catholic church. On the eve of conclave with all the cardinals assembled to choose a new pope an ancient secret society, the Illuminati, resurfaces to wage war and destroy the catholic church. But can the efforts of Dr. Langdon put an end to the Illuminati’s plot, or will the Vatican be obliterated in a blast of antimatter?
Sounds suspenseful, and it is….sort of; unfortunately, what reads well and seems intelligent in book form comes across as annoying and just too far fetched when put to film. Strained efforts to compact and edit the novel make the dialogue feel rushed leaving little room for character development, yet the overall film feels about 30 minutes too long. Meanwhile the cinematography early on leaves something to be desired. And, while the acting wasn’t poor, nothing here really jumps off the screen. The end result is a film that plays marginally better than it’s predecessor, The Davinci Code, but again fans of the novel will probably be disappointed. Maybe worth a matinee but more likely rental material. Angels and Demons is rated PG-13.