Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor & Ayelet Zurer
An entertaining drama and sequel to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code that, whilst overlong and suffering some flaws, is enjoyable and an improvement over its predecessor.
When Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, was adapted into a film in 2006 it was, unsurprisingly, a big Box Office success. However, despite its popularity it suffered poor to average reviews with the film being overlong, filled with too much exposition and not enough tension. However, due to its Box Office success, a sequel based on the book’s prequel, Angels & Demons was inevitable and while the result is still overlong, still filled with a little too much exposition, and it does improve on its pacing and is a more enjoyable affair.
Rather than place events before those of The Da Vinci Code as there are in the novel, the events of the film Angels & Demons follow on from its preceding film. Following the death of the Pope whilst the Vatican are preparing to choose a successor, a murder at scientific facility that sees the theft of an Anti-Matter device along with the kidnapping of four candidates for Pope-hood forces the Vatican to enlist the help of Robert Langdon (Hanks), the symbologist whose work has frequently exposed the Vatican and the Church’s secrets and misdeeds. With a threat to murder a kidnapped victim every hour until midnight and then to detonate the Anti-Matter device which would consume the Vatican being made by a secret sect called the Illuminati, Langdon must decipher a series of clues buried in old texts and Vatican landmarks to find out where each victim will be killed, where the bomb is located and stop them from happening.
Angels & Demons improves on its predecessor by narrowing its events down to single evening and within a single location, Vatican City, where The Da Vinci Code was a more widespread, sprawling affair. With a threat that they have only hours to stop, Angels & Demons has a far greater sense of emergency which translates into a faster paced and more enjoyable affair and because of the time restraints within the plot the exposition with which Langdon explains the clues, the history surrounding them and what they mean, whilst present, is kept more to the point since our characters really don’t have the time to talk for too long. Angels & Demons does still run for too long, giving too much reverence to the pomp and tradition of the Vatican particularly to the events that surround the election of a new Pope where, perhaps, the film is better served by focusing more on the threat they face and the actions of Langdon to stop it and there are a few too many moments where the characters stop to either repeat how serious the situation is or to, yet again, rehash the differences between faith and science and between Langdon and the Vatican officers also investigating the threat. However, the running time does not feel as long as it could thanks to the injection of more tension, several enjoyable set-pieces and the exclusion of a few of the novel’s less necessary sub-plots.
In terms of performances, Angels & Demons mainly relies on two. Tom Hanks, reprising his role as Langdon, is suitably serious giving the role the intelligent, focused hero it requires without trying to make him too much of a man of action (no attempts at gunplay here) and, while nothing original or noteworthy, it’s a performance that still satisfies. More enjoyable is Ewan McGregor as the young priest McKenna, the adopted son of the former Pope given leadership of the Vatican whilst a successor is chosen. McGregor has the meatiest role within the film representing a man trying to save the Vatican, aid Langdon and overcome the restrictions of the Vatican’s many, centuries old traditions. Less well served are some of the supporting roles. Ayelet Zurer, cast as the scientist aiding Langdon to find and defuse the Anti-Matter device is decent but mostly forgettable with a role and performance that lacks the interest or impact of Audrey Tautou’s from The Da Vinci Code. Few of the officer’s aiding Langdon in the investigation leave much of an impression beyond Stellan Skarsgard’s gruff chief of the Swiss Guard and the assassin behind the kidnappings is likewise unmemorable as a villain. Fortunately, with the film more driven by its events than its performances beyond those of Hanks and McGregor, Angels & Demons is not harmed too much by its casting.
Overall, while still too long and suffering from a less impressive cast that its predecessor, Angels & Demons is still a more enjoyable affair than The Da Vinci Code and whilst not gripping enough to warrant repeat viewings is still decent.
Rating: 3/5
