Directed by:
Ron HowardCinematography:
Salvatore TotinoComposer:
Hans ZimmerCast:
Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Carmen Argenziano, Thure Lindhardt (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Tom Hanks reprises his role as religious expert Robert Langdon who discovers the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization of all time - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of their most despised enemy, the Catholic Church. With the clock ticking on a seemingly unstoppable conspiracy, Langdon embarks on an action packed hunt through sealed crypts, ancient catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth as he a follows a a 400 year old trail of symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope of survival. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (12)
Brown’s books are undemanding and intellectually shallow, but bloody good page-turners, ideal to relax in summer by the sea. With the films it’s worse because they drag quite a bit, are too talkative and the lack of logic that the books can hide between the lines (or have at least plenty of space to explain in some way) floats to the surface, making it almost impossible to ignore. Angels and Demons suffers from the same problems as The Da Vinci Code, though perhaps it’s more tense. The result, however, is still a not very interesting thriller that might surprise a few people with a couple of rather brutal scenes, but that will bore most due to its chaste asexuality and correctness. 6/10
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Surprisingly better and more compact than the first part. Ron Howard finally understood that a cute Audrey Tautou and dodgy action scenes won't improve the story better and started relying on other things. For example, an agile script that piles one puzzle on top of another with fairly entertaining and dynamic sequences, and a fantastic (again) Hans Zimmer, who delivers uncompromising bite to the entire piece. He might have composed the same thing for the eighteenth time, but it still sounds beautiful. It sounds unbelievable, even in those few miniature action passages, Howard surprisingly toughened up. It's still a wimpy, predictable, and conflict-free Hollywood shitshow, but at least this was bearable.
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Howard's kiss-ass apology to the Vatican after The DaVinci Code. In the first half it's still a pretty solid conspiracy routine, in the second half it becomes a gala performance of artlessly silly scenes, whose total zaniness is further enhanced by the fatality of Zimmer's music. Soundtrack rating: 4/5
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After the first hour, Angels & Demons becomes repetitive and the audience loses interest in the detective storyline, no matter how dynamic it may be. More ideas wouldn’t be unwelcome. The impressive climax, however, salvages a lot. And the work with the actors (and their hairstyles) is definitely better than in The Da Vinci Code. What fascinates me the most about this “saga” is that for all its straight-facedness, first-class filmmaking team, solid actors and controversial topics, it is unable to be anything but a simple-minded blockbuster for the masses. The masses that are unaware that 50% of their experience is provided by a guy named Hans Zimmer.
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It's just like the books - Angels and Demons is better than The Da Vinci Code. Thanks to Howard, who made the whole film a frantic race against time, thanks to Zimmer, whose music was almost visible given how distinctive it was, thanks to the interesting Vatican plot, thanks to the likeable Hanks... Yeah, four stars is adequate.
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