A Review of Angels and Demons

 My wife and I just came back from seeing Angels and Demons.  I could never dislike a Ron Howard film; I think he is one of the best minds in Hollywood.  As I’m sure you know from all of the hype and trailers, this movie returns Tom Hanks to the role of Dr. Robert Langdon, but the movie doesn’t start with Dr. Langdon.  The movie starts with the beautiful Ayelet Zurer in her role as Dr. Vittoria Vetra, a scientist involved with creating the first real quantity of anti-matter.  The anti-matter is created and immediately stolen. 

Dr. Langdon comes in when the Vatican City Police request his assistance to find four kidnapped cardinals.  The kidnappings appear to be part of a plot created by an ancient group called the Illuminati.  Dr. Langdon goes to Rome and is quickly paired with Dr. Vetra when information is received that the anti-matter is somewhere in Vatican City and it will cause a cataclysmic explosion at midnight.

The Pope had passed away and the College of Cardinals was in deliberations. During this time the Pope’s assistant, his Camerlengo, was charged with handling business until the new Pope was named. Ian McGregor plays Camerlengo Carlo Ventersca, a priest with a strong will. He soon takes an active role in the investigation.

Information is transmitted indicating that one cardinal would be killed each hour until midnight and placed in public view. The wording gives many clues for the trio and the authorities to use. Just like in The Davinci Code; it is very entertaining watching Dr. Langdon piece together the clues that move them from one point to the next, but the bad guy always seems to be one step ahead of him.

I am going to be purposely vague to avoid spoiling the story for anyone. There are aspects that mirror The Davinci Code that make the story seem less original, but the twists and turns will keep you guessing. If you claim that you’ve figured this one out before the end you’re either brilliant or not quite truthful.

I promise you that you will not be at a loss for action and the back story of the church and the Illuminati give the plot a lot of depth. I believe a lot of license is taken with real history and I wouldn’t use the information in this movie to support or condemn the Catholic Church, but it sure gave the movie added power.

Another interesting aspect is seeing a bit of the organization of the Vatican Police and the Swiss Guard. I’m sure the portrayal is at least generally accurate and I have never seen a look inside those organizations before.

The movie is worth seeing. The end, in my opinion, will surprise you. The action is well done and you can’t go wrong with a Tom Hanks performance. There are a few instances when I would have to question the logic but talking about them would give too much away. I would rate Angels and Demons higher than The Davinci Code and for the most part I think it lives up to its hype.