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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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- Jan said...
- Posted on May 21 2009 16:23 A brilliant vehicle to send the message - we shouldn't play God!
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- Hels said...
- Posted on May 21 2009 15:00 slow start but once it got going, was completely gripping - brilliant film!
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- Daniel said...
- Posted on May 21 2009 09:21 who ever thought the film was shit they haavent lived yet and the film is absolutly amazing
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- Glen.t.s said...
- Posted on May 20 2009 19:15 what a F**king flop wish i had gone to see 17 again it was that bad
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- Rick said...
- Posted on May 19 2009 19:00 Complete waste of time, thoroughly enjoyed the book, a shame I can't say the same about the film, too many changes and too much vital information ommited for my liking.
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- ohdear said...
- Posted on May 18 2009 23:47 This film is really bad, The book is so much better. Don't bother.
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- Bushytash said...
- Posted on May 18 2009 19:57 Well worth seeing for the roller coaster ride plot. Eye popping locations, and some exceptional sequences, especially with the helicopter. Faithful to the book.
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- Madison said...
- Posted on May 18 2009 15:06 Joyless and clunky.
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- jaz said...
- Posted on May 17 2009 15:05 The script was terrible, Robert Langdon's so-called 'expert knowledge' was frankly embarassing and whoever wrote this has provided us with a very classy example of American arrogance. The cherry on the cake is when Langdon tells a member of the Carabinieri to 'be a real cop' and ignore what the Vatican and the Italian government are telling him to do and drop everything for Langdon. The music goes into serious over-kill and the plot is predictable (thanks largely to the terrible dialogue and clumsily written characters). Apart from Langdon the token female... is a token female and the villain is nicely predictable. Embarassing and insulting this film seems to be making a special effort to be bad. Pehaps we should congratulate it on succeeding.
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- LJ said...
- Posted on May 17 2009 12:01 Pointless going to see, not very good
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- alan said...
- Posted on May 17 2009 09:21 Don't waste your money! for once the critics got it spot on. a really pointless flim.
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- jaycee said...
- Posted on May 16 2009 11:35 Rushed and boring at the same time, and the villain is so predictable form about half way in
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- Fred said...
- Posted on May 16 2009 11:08 If you liked DaVinci Code,you will love this film. Very true to the book, and absolutely enthralling.
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- usman khawaja said...
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Posted on May 15 2009 18:40
a wooden hanks on a weird tour of vatican in a mish mash of violent catholic vodoo and religious mumbo jumbo -
even rome looks ugly and even piazza navona looks like a haunted ruin -vicious and wretched waste - Report as inappropriate
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- Anthony said...
- Posted on May 15 2009 16:39 Nothing like the book at all but still pretty gd
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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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