Ryan McNeil
Just a few days ago, I wrote a post about my rating system, and mentioned how movies I give 2.5 stars to are ones I thought were good…but good in the grand scheme of things. Others might think they are bad, but I can almost always remember movies that were worse.
The latest member to the McNeil Two-and-a-Half Club is ANGELS & DEMONS, the somewhat (?) anticipated sequel to THE DAVINCI CODE. It was an interesting afternoon at the movies for me…since in true 2.5 form I didn’t hate it…but I certainly didn’t love it either.
ANGELS & DEMONS begins with the death of a Pope, and subsequently The Vatican assembling its Cardinals to elect a new Pope. While this is taking place, a theft has taken place at CERN, a top secret research facility in Switzerland. Someone has murdered a researcher, and stolen a small supply of antimatter – just enough to level Vatican City to a smouldering pile of rubble. The thief did find the courtesy to leave a note: it was taken by The Illuminati, a secret scientific society once persecuted by The Vatican, now hellbent on revenge.
The note was signed with a fancy-schamncy symbol that reads “illuminati” when viewed both right-side-up and upside down. Such a symbol prods The Vatican to reach out to the world’s leading sybologist, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks). He is brought to The Vatican and told that a live feed video of a bomb has been revealed, and four Cardinals have been kidnapped. He meets with a the reluctant head of security Commander Richter (Stellan Skarsgard). He is also introduced to the slightly less reluctant papal gofer, Carmalengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor).
As Langdon reads the letter sent by Illuminati threatening violence, he sees clues in the wording that no one else has detected. Puzzlingly, as he explains this to McKenna and Richter, neither seem convinced, and neither are in any hurry to aide Langdon’s investigation. The only help he seems to be able to count on is from Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), a CERN researcher who can see that Langdon is on to something, and hopes to help him diffuse the bomb before it’s too late.
While I usually try not to compare movies in my reviews, ANGELS & DEMONS must be compared to THE DAVINCI CODE, if only because the exact same creative team was responsible for both films. In many ways, this film is much better than its predecessor. This story feels more focused, more concise. It’s almost as if someone took the screenwriter aside and said “Okay…last time we tried to stay too faithful to the book. This time, don’t transcribe the story – adapt it.”
However, within the framework of the story itself is another puzzling detail. After the first murder in Switzerland, The Vatican is sent a letter by The Illuminati taking responsibility. Not only does the letter take responsibility, it cryptically outlines their entire plan!! I know Illuminati are a secret society and all, but have they never watched a James Bond film??
In DAVINCI CODE, watching Langdon follow the clues laid out by the murdered Grandfather felt natural – he’d want to leave clues for his granddaughter pointing her toward the truth. Langdon following the clues mapped out by Illuminati feels like second rate villainry. Or worse, complete stupidity.
For the most part, the acting in this film is as good as it has to be – though both Armin Mueller-Stahl and Ewan McGregor manage to rise above. As Cardinal Strauss, Stahl plays his part with an uncanny sense of patience and dignity. With his every word, you can tell that even in the face of certain danger, he wants to protect The Vatican’s image and traditions. He plays his part so well in fact, that he keeps the audience guessing as to whether or not he in fact might have something to do with this dastardly plot. (Illuminati, take a note – true bad guys don’t tell everyone they’re bad guys until after they’ve executed their bad guy plans).
McGregor likewise seems to understand that even though this movie is a thriller, it doesn’t mean that he can check his acting skills at the door. He too carries himself with a high degree of dignity, and even goes one further by engaging the debate of science vs. faith. His character is well aware of the atrocities The Vatican has committed in its long history, and while he isn’t about to persuade anyone to toss tradition aside, he sympathizes. His role is one of the highlites of the movie…well, until what should be a pivotal scene for him.
Looking at the big picture, all the pieces seem to have been assembled to make for a really good movie. However, it all seems to have been hampered by poor execution. I was almost waiting for someone to point a finger and exclaim something like “To the fountain!!”. For me, ANGELS & DEMONS just felt a bit too much like “Scooby Doo and The Vatican Too”. The ticking time bomb, the endless series of clues, the omnipresent heavy score…the only thing missing was the Illuminati declaring how they would have got away with it too, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.
"Scooby Doo and the Vatican Too" priceless! Pure comic genius!
Amanda
My friend saw this and said that he enjoyed it. I haven't seen The Da Vinci Code so I didn't bother seeing this since this was a prequel.
@ Amanda… Happy to amuse as always.
@ Farzan… If you're curious to see it, it's actually a prequel. While the movie has set itself as a sequel (there's a fleeting, and unimportant, reference to "past events"), you don't need to have seen TDC to get this flick.
If you're curious to see it – give it a look!