Ron Howard and Tom Hank’s team up for a second tale in the world of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon and the results exceed that of the Da Vinci Code, and is a solid picture on its own right in the end.
The CERN particle acceleration research center is in the business of colliding atoms in hope of discovering the scientific answers to the creation of the universe but has a side project that is interested in the collection of a highly volatile substance called anti-matter. Incapable of coming into contact with another any piece of matter the substance can cause, in the universe of the film, substantial devastation from the said incident of contact. When one of these canisters of harvested anti-matter is stolen and a scientist murdered, the project’s second in command, Vittoria Vettra, is called to Vatican City along with Robert Langdon to help investigate in a plot against the Vatican during the Conclave selecting the new Pope after the recent death of the previous. The four Preferiti cardinals have been kidnapped and the vile of antimatter is somewhere hidden in the Vatican and with the threat of the Preferiti to be murdered on the hour leading up to the destruction of Vatican City by the anti-matter at midnight there is little time to spare. Langdon and Vittoria meet with the Swiss Guards head of security and the Camerlengo, who is a priest and acting authority of the papal office during the time of the popes death and until the next is anointed, who reluctantly grant access to the Vatican archives so that Langdon can take the clues they gathered in an attempt to stop the Preferiti murders before they happen by following the path the kidnapper has laid in front of them. Langdon’s using his symbology skills gets the info to start down the path and with that the story is off to the races.
The film itself starts off a bit on the slow side, full of exposition and plot propping as the film spends time setting up the eventual chase and hunt for the Preferiti, one might worry that the film might be taking some of the same mis-steps the first one did. Thankfully, the film keeps things rolling and rarely slows down once they are on the trail of the illuminati and heads off on a sprint to the finish once they begin the search for the place where the “fire” brand will be used. The films pacing makes the films runtime, a bit over two hours, mostly fly by and doesn’t drag like it’s predecessor; the plot doesn’t really allow for dragging in the first place.
The production values on the film are allows fairly top notch with a special nod to the CGI and matte artists on the film for making a lot of the destinations these characters visit come to life as the filmmakers were not allowed to film in a number of the books locations due to reservations from the church. While a keen eye can catch most of the blue screen work, it still looked pretty good almost every time. Also, props to the filmmakers for not making the solving of the puzzles and clues so damn easy this time around, my biggest complaint with the first film besides pacing was the seemingly ease at which many of the stories puzzles were solved in a second by Langdon. This film felt more natural as they worked through each clue on their way to the next spot on their path.
The message of the film and the battle of faith vs. reason are also there but not shoved down our throats, especially once things get rolling. The faith vs. reason battle is well on display during the first few scenes and is definitely an ultimate plot point, bet I think Howard and crew did a good job of not overbearing one party with too much favor in the end.
The changes to the film from the book are all pretty much acceptable as well. The eliminate most of the fantastical aspects of the book, trim down some characters relevance, and truncate some story lines. Instead focusing on the reason (Langdon) plot lines and the faith (Camerlengo) plot lines the films focus is tight and the story constantly is moving forward with pretty much zero meandering. Though, the film does end up making a couple of minor leaps for the audience when buying into some of the assumptions the characters make, but these are few and far between.
The actors in the film are also fine as well with no one really doing a stand out turn that is to be marveled at. Hank’s Langdon is just as sound as his previous turn and brings a bit of humor and intelligence to that character that is needed. Hank’s is a nice hero that is easy to root for and fun to follow, which is exactly what the book calls for. Ayelet Zurer plays Vittoria and she does fine enough in her limited work and I am glad they decided not to play up any of the implied romantic sub-plot it could have gotten into. Ultimately though, Zurer is left with not a lot to do and the character is rather forgettable and almost pointless in the end. The real co-star of the film is Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo and he probably does the best work of anyone in the film. McGregor is always fantastic and it is nice to see him in some main stream work again. He carries himself so confidentially yet is humbled by the loss of his “father” and his desire to do good by the church. Stellan Skarsgard plays the grumpy and unconvinced commander of the Swiss Guard and while he plays the part right, he like Zurer doesn’t have a whole lot to do. With that said he does good work but you are left feeling his talents were a bit wasted.  One last mention for Nikolaj Lie Kaas, who is cool and calculated as the Illuminati assassin and does a fine job at creating a threatening and immediate enemy to the hunt to save the Preferiti.
In the end, Angels and Demons is a fun and fast paced adventure/thriller. The plot twists and turns while engaging you with the premise of faith vs. reason. The actors are all good around even though a couple seem wasted in the end. McGregor gets to shine in a major picture again while Hanks continues to turn in another solid role to add to the resume. While there isn’t a whole lot to complain about in the picture, there is similarly nothing to really poor praise upon either. The film will entertain and bring nothing to the table that you haven’t really seen before, especially if you have read the novel, but that shouldn’t keep people from see the film as there is plenty of fun to be had and you will find little to complain about when it is all said and done. In fact, if you haven’t read the book, you will probably find even more enjoyment out of the picture as there will be a higher sense of mystery and suspense to everything.
Angels and Demons is a C