You'll forgive me if these next few movies reviews are a little shorter/lighter on analysis. Since I'm doing them so far away from having seen the movies, I may not remember everything I wanted to say about it.
First up is Angels & Demons, the follow up to 2006's The Da Vinci Code, even though in terms of the novels Angels and Demons actually was written first. Like many, I had been disappointed with the effort director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks had made with The Da Vinci Code. The film was flat and failed to capture the excitement of uncovering cryptic clues that made the book so popular. I was naturally nervous about this second entry, but still willing to give it a shot since both Howard and Hanks are smart enough guys to own up to their rare misfires and work harder to do better the next time out. The end result here is definitely an improvement, if for no other reason than they had better source material to work with.
The plot here sees Robert Langdon (Hanks) called into Vatican City to investigate the kidnapping of four cardinals on the eve of the papal conclave preparing to elect a new pope. Langdon is the guy chosen because the kidnappings seem to be related to an ancient group known as the Illuminati. The Vatican has been warned that they will kill one cardinal every hour leading up to midnight when they plan on blowing up Vatican City. The setup here is simple, yet creates an exciting setting. We watch as Langdon attempts to solve the clues to learn of each cardinal's location in hopes of preventing their deaths. The stakes here are very well laid out unlike the meandering plot of The Da Vinci Code.
Hanks, to his credit, seems much more relaxed in the role this time. He may not play Langdon exactly the way most picture the character as they read the books. But this time, he seems much more assured of how he wants to play the character, which in turns makes his performance better. He also has a better cast to work off of here as Ewan McGregor, Stellen Skarsgaard, and Armin Mueller-Stahl all bring some clout to their supporting roles.
About the only supporting character I was not crazy about was Ayelet Zurer, who played Vittoria. In the book, she's not only integral to helping Langdon solve these puzzles, but she also is somewhat of a love interest. Here, her presence is greatly diminished and she might as well be just a no name cop hanging around as Langdon solves the case. She had such a huge impact on Langdon in the book that he even reminisces about her in The Da Vinci Code. None of that relationship however is developed in the film.
Of course, just like with the Harry Potter films, there are bound to be changes/omissions whenever a film is adapted from a popular book. This film is no exclusion as several key scenes are either left out or changed drastically. However, unlike the alterations made in the HP franchise, I wasn't bothered by the changes here for two reasons. For one, it had actually been quite a few years since I had read the book, so I didn't really realize what had changed until I read about them online later. Also, I felt the film flowed very well and most of the changes seemed to make the story flow better.
What still remains is the outlandish way that the film ends. The over-the-top twists nearly ruin the whole film, but since these things happened in the book, you can't necessarily blame the film for how things get resolved. You'll likely roll your eyes watching these unrealistic events unfold, but at some point you just have to roll with it. Don't let the ending spoil an otherwise decent popcorn flick.
Like it's predecessor, this is a flawed film. However, thanks to Hanks and Howard's familiarity with the material and a more focused story, Angels & Demons is a much more tolerable movie. If you've read the book or actually enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, then you owe it to yourself to seek this out when it eventually finds its way onto home video. It provides just enough action and suspense to make it the perfect movie that will allow you to shut your brain off for a couple of hours and veg out. After all, isn't that the reason they turn books into movies in the first place? Grade: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment