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Angels
and Demons Directed by: Ron Howard Starring:
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Review by Michael Knight I really like a film that, while being entertained, I can also learn something new. In this movie, I learned new things about the catholic religion and their method for choosing a new pope. I learned about Galileo and the Catholic Church’s oppositions to his scientific findings. I also learned about the origins and purpose of the Illuminati. Naturally this is a work of fiction and at a point you have to separate the history from the fiction. What this movie really is, overall - a fast paced action/thriller. Following
the death of the current Pope the Vatican begins the ceremony to choose
the new leader of the Catholic Church. Cardinals from around the world
gather for this event. In the midst of this gathering, the four favored
cardinals, ones which have the best chance for a positive vote, are
kidnapped. The culprits leave a videotaped threat, a coded poetic riddle,
for the Swiss Guard (the Vatican City police force) to study. The Swiss
Guard reluctantly call in renowned symbologist, Dr. Robert Langdon (Tom
Hanks) to help decipher the video taped riddle. Langdon quickly realizes
that the tape and kidnapping are the work of the Illuminati. He also
deciphers that the cardinals will be killed one by one, at the hours of
eight until eleven o-clock, unless Langdon can crack the coded symbols. At
the hour of twelve midnight, Vatican City will be consumed by light
(destroyed). Destroyed by what?, is answered by Scientist, Vitoria Vetra (Ayelet
Zurer), who’s studies in advanced physics lead her to collect the
largest concentration of antimatter ever collected. At the moment of
success, the antimatter was stolen from the research center and is now
somewhere in Vatican City counting down the minutes to when it will
detonate. So, Langdon, Vetra, and detectives set out across Vatican City,
following clues and symbols, left in the art and sculptures by the
founders of the Illuminati. This should lead them to the ancient church
that housed the secret meetings by the Illuminati many centuries ago,
which is now being used to hold the kidnapped cardinals. The
settings in Angels and Demons are astounding as the story leads you thru
Rome, to churches adorned with the art, architecture and sculptures of
many of the great artists and artisans to ever grace the world with their
talents. The beauty of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Square are
amongst the sights and places the story leads you. After seeing this film
I would actually like to visit Rome and Vatican City and experience these
great works for myself. Although some of the sets were re-created for the
film, they were done so with great detail and accuracy. I
have heard many a complaint about this movie not being a complete chapter
by chapter version of the critically acclaimed and popular book by Dan
Brown. I for one am glad that this is a trimmed down version. I think The
DaVinci Code (the previous movie adapted to screen by a Dan Brown novel)
was too long. Trying to put all the theories and explanations found in Dan
Brown’s book into that movie took away from the pacing, characters and
flow of The DaVinci Code. This makes Angels and Demons a superior movie,
in my opinion, It is more fun to watch and more entertaining. Some things
are better left to be read in books, rather than trying to be explained in
movies. I think the latest trend for longer and longer film lengths should
be trimmed back as well. I tend to find myself thinking “OK lets get on
with it” in a lot of newer movies. Whether
or not you will like the climax and ending of Angels and Demons will
depend on your level of “suspension of disbelief“. For some it may be
a bit far-fetched to swallow. For myself, I was completely engrossed in
the film and I like to let myself be entertained, as long as the story is
written well and done well. If I wanted complete and utter realism I would
watch the evening news with all the bad news from around the world. Sounds
depressing. No, I would rather be entertained and sometimes that means
believing in the fantastic. I
really liked this movie and would recommend it. I watched it twice in a
few days time. It is even one of the rare movies that I watched all of the
special features. Angels and Demons is a fast paced thriller that keeps on
building in intensity right up until the explosive climax. | ||
