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Bookmark this pageAngels & Demons (2009)
Director: Ron Howard
Synopsis
Tom Hanks returns in this follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. Symbolist Robert Langdon deciphers his way into the shadowy underworld of the Illuminati and discovers an unholy plot to murder four cardinals using antimatter.
Movie review
From Time Out London
Faith is the guiding principle behind Ron Howard’s second adaptation of a Dan Brown bestseller. Faith that this will match the $750 million worldwide gross of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and they’ll all be in for lots of lovely Mammon. On this occasion, crisis hits the Vatican after the death of the Pope and the election of a new leader for the world’s billion Catholics. Four cardinals have been kidnapped, and worse still, a stashed-away vial of ultra-combustible anti-matter (stolen from the CERN labs in Switzerland) threatens to blow half of Rome to kingdom come. Enter Tom Hanks’s exposition-spouting symbologist to explain the historical basis and present implications of this attack from the self-styled ‘Illuminati’– men of Renaissance learning who went underground centuries ago after the Vatican moved against them, and are using modern technology to hit back.The conflict between religion and science gestures towards thematic substance, but the film, unsurprisingly, takes a conciliatory line to give both sides of the argument their due. With only hours before the Vatican goes ka-boom! the story is pacy enough, despite the cast – Ewan McGregor’s peachy papal insider, grumpy Vatican security chief Stellan Skarsgård – needing to explain the plot every five minutes, while a miscast Hanks traces a string of conveniently planted clues and the clock ticks away. The re-creation of St Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel on the Hollywood backlot is a production achievement, yet the movie’s about as exciting as looking over someone’s shoulder while they finish a crossword.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 2021 May 14-20, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Hayley aged 15 said...
- Posted on May 30 2009 18:21 i went to see this with my mate and her bf and i must admit i am a big fan i loved reading and watching DaVinci code but i was besotted by this film it was incredable and deffo worth the money i loved it so much i keep going to the pictures to watch it. The twist was imence. However i was debating on reading the book be4 i went to see the film but i chose not to as i wanted to get the big ''whooaa'' from the film and a bigger ''whooaa'' from the book
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- Rose said...
- Posted on May 30 2009 17:17 Really good clever film. Tom Kanks was amazing as expected and the story was admittedly slightly prefictable yet misleading with the twist right at the end which had me and a lot of others fooled! I dont think the start was particularly slow at all, you just need to be aware of whats going on. I wasnt too sure on the theme being included with religion as im not usually a fan but this was a gripping plot and i enjoyed it loads!
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- Tao G said...
- Posted on May 29 2009 15:15 Fogot the rating. amazing film
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- Tao G said...
- Posted on May 29 2009 15:14 Amazing film loved it. the only problem was a slow start but over all worth the money !
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- howard said...
- Posted on May 28 2009 17:52 worthless dont bother wastin ur money
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- ronnieblue said...
- Posted on May 27 2009 17:10 forgot the stars lol
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- ronnieblue said...
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Posted on May 27 2009 17:08
after reading reviews i was not going to go
but good sense prevailed with a nice twist in the tail - Report as inappropriate
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- phil said...
- Posted on May 27 2009 14:22 This film didnt get going for me. My gf said they missed parts out and the main killer wasnt as evil as he was in the book. It was a good film but that was it just good, stayed on one level throughout and didnt really get going for me, more of a dvd night in really
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- Liz said...
- Posted on May 27 2009 07:41 So it's not perfect....great entertainment though! There is tension and plenty of twists and turns. It's a gripping story, well told.
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- Russell said...
- Posted on May 26 2009 09:04 Before I say anything, I have to admit that I am not a fan of Tom Hanks, however even allowing for that... this is a fairly silly film, loads of cod religious philosophies that might appeal to conspiracy theorists but frankly doesn't stand up to any kind of analysis and lots of pointless... and fainly obvious... plot twists. Wouldn't say it was a total waste of money... Hanks hair has to be seen to be believed, but it was pretty close. Having said that if you liked the Da Vinci Code, this is much of the same and might appeal.
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- kelly said...
- Posted on May 23 2009 21:06 well ii personally liked the film, i wouldnt say it was a waste of money and i liked it so much im going to read the book [ and the davinci code] although, at times the plot was predictable at times ( but most films are like that ). its a film to watch ;]
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- kelly said...
- Posted on May 23 2009 21:05 i personally liked the film, i wouldnt say it was a waste of money and i liked it so much im going to read the book [ and the davinci code] although, at times the plot was predictable at times ( but most films are like that ). its a film to watch ;]
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- LS said...
- Posted on May 23 2009 20:27 Brill. Really enjoyed it.
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- GS said...
- Posted on May 22 2009 11:04 Dull, clunky direction my numbers, and a join the dots convoluted plot! What a waste of talent. Poor
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- mary from inverurie said...
- Posted on May 22 2009 08:39 Great direction, casting and music. Thorougly enjoyed this one
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Cast & crew
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Ayelet Zurer, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Thure Lindhardt full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 138 mins
UK Release: May 14 2009
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