Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati – a secret, underground organization – after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.
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Reviews
Alunauwie
10
By Alunauwie
Angels & Demons delivers a gripping follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, blending science, religion, and mystery with improved pacing and visual execution. Though fictional and controversial, the film presents its themes with cinematic flair, strong performances, and a more engaging narrative. A thrilling watch, as long as viewers remain critical of its historical liberties.
Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)
CinemaSerf
6
By CinemaSerf
With a Papal election looming, the Vatican is nervously suspicious that the ancient cult of the “Illuminati” are up to their old, destabilising, tricks again and so they have invited “Langdon” (Tom Tanks) - the religious equivalent of “Sherlock Holmes” to come and investigate some malevolent shenanigans that might even have resulted in the poisoning of the late Pope himself! Aided by sceptical scientist “Vittoria” (Ayelet Zurer) and local police inspector “Olivetti” (Pierfrancesco Olivetti) they soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that is seeing some of the cardinal electorate brutally murdered and is putting the wind up the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) who is charged with organising the conclave and his Swiss Guard police chief “Richter” (Stellan Skarsgård) who appears as much of an hindrance as an help to the sleuthing American. Now if this is to be taken as a theologically based crime thriller, then it does work well enough. Sadly, though, much of the political and ethical aspects of the original book have been thrown under the cinematic pope mobile and the thrusts of conflict between the scientific and the faithful are largely sidelined in favour of a more traditional killer thriller replete with secret passages. The shockingly wooden McGregor is nowhere near his best here; Hanks delivers really only adequately and I found the denouement frankly quite preposterous - even by divine standards. The production is slick and it looks professional enough, but there’s precious little chemistry between Hanks and anyone, really; there’s an awful lot of dialogue and I just felt a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing. Sometimes the original words on the page provides more fodder for our imagination than any adapted screenplay, and I reckon this is certainly an example of that. Watchable but entirely forgettable.
