I had always thought that the audio book Angels & Demons was
better than the Da Vinci Code ( I listened to them in lieu of
reading them). The plot was more intense, exciting and certainly
more engaging. Despite some segments I felt should have been
included ( I.e.- Langdon’s romantic tryst with Vittoria), director
Ron Howard and Tom Hanks have created an equally vibrant adaptation
of Dan Brown’s novel. It has all the usual intricacies of it’s
subject matter, yet is counterbalanced by much more action.
Like The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons has sparked a
controversy, though certainly not as volatile. It’s a fictional work
that casts reflections on real entities- especially the Catholic
church. So it’s not surprising there would be some protests from
members of that community. There was even talk of a boycott by The
Vatican.
Tragedy in Rome. The Pope, supreme leader of the Catholic
church has died. Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (a very demure Ewan
McGregor) with painful reluctance, destroys the sacred Ring of the
Fisherman worn by every Pope until his passing. Consequently, all
secondary leaders now must meet in Conclave to select a new Pope.
However, the four primary candidates, four cardinals, have all been
kidnapped.
Meanwhile, over 400 miles away in Geneva, Switzerland, physicist
Vittorria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) and her colleagues are understandably
distressed when a particle of antimatter is stolen from their
nuclear lab. The thief’s method of removal is particularly gruesome.
When these two calamities are quickly connected, it
is up to our hero, Harvard professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to
unravel it. The Vatican sends one of their police officers to
collect him. He informs Langdon of the fate of the four cardinals
and suspects that an old enemy, the Illuminati, is behind it. There
is some bad blood between Langdon and the Vatican regarding their
sacred archives, but fortunately, all that is set aside for a
dilemma that is much bigger.
Ron Howard makes a gallant,
successful effort to avoid too many factual dissertations in
exchange for a “24ish” type scenario. Racing through Rome at
breakneck speed, via cinematographer Salvatore Totino, you quickly
discover that time is a luxury Howard does not waste. He keeps your
eyes riveted this time around, taking Langdon and the lovely
Vittoria through a maze of clues, trying to prevent a cataclysmic
event.
Unfortunately, the Vatican did not bestow the same film
production liberties granted Howard by the French, permitting him to
shoot inside the Louvre Museum. They banned the movie from it’s
grounds. But thanks to the magic of Hollywood, you hardly notice it.
Production designer Alan Cameron and visual effects super Angus
Bickerman recreate all of St. Peter’s Square so vividly that it
detracts nothing from the film’s realismor mayhem through the
streets. It’s a seamless journey right through to the climax.
At this writing, I don’t know if Angels & Demons will amass (no pun
intended) a world wide box office total like The Da Vinci Code.
Nevertheless, it was considerably more exhilarating and should leave
you with a new, healthy respect for the power of antimatter.
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