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June 4, 2009 - By Mike Gray
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The story begins with the death of the Pope. In the midst of choosing a replacement, the four Preferitti (those favored to receive papacy) are kidnapped. In Switzerland, a precious and highly explosive substance known as anti-matter is stolen.
The Vatican is informed by a representative of the Illuminati that one Preferitti will be killed every hour and that the entire Vatican will be destroyed by the anti-matter at midnight. Thus, the Vatican police summon Robert Langdon, a symboligist who is essentially an unarmed and completely asexual Indiana Jones.
Again he is accompanied by a beautiful woman that he is apparently not attracted to at all, Vittorio Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), a physicist who worked on the creation of the anti-matter and apparently was required to spend a lot of time studying Vatican lore.
The duo is aided by Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor); your typical priest trained as a helicopter pilot (always handy to have those around). Together the three of them must unravel the mystery and save the Vatican.
This movie has a surprisingly intriguing plot that keeps you glued to your seat. It moves at a rapid speed and makes you pay attention to every detail. What really makes this movie interesting is the plausibility that a secret organization like the Illuminati may still exist. Brown managed to throw in a lot of points that would support this theory.
However, there are a few plot holes and inconsistencies with the movie; mostly the result of the filmmakers’ decision to change the story so that it would take place after “The Da Vinci Code” as opposed to before it.
One thing that was completely unexpected was the cinematography in this film; the scenery was great and everything was shot in a very aesthetically pleasing way. You get to see a lot of the Vatican throughout the movie. This is surprising because Tom Hanks and Dan Brown were banned from the Vatican due to the content of the previous film. You also get to see plenty of Rome as the team plows their way through crowded streets going from church to church in search of clues.
Several of the scenes were shot within historic churches with the protagonist always throwing in a handful of information about their history. It should also be pointed out that for some unknown reason every room in every church in Rome is undergoing renovation at all times.
It is tough to say whether the acting in this movie was good or bad. There was very little emotion throughout the entire film. Ewan McGregor was the only actor that really stood out. Perhaps the writing is to blame for that, as he was the only character who had to put his feelings on display.
Overall, this movie has a great story combined with phenomenal action scenes and special effects. It’s all told at a rapid speed which keeps you very entertained throughout. Howard has already announced plans to shoot another installment of Robert Langdon’s adventures based on Dan Brown’s upcoming novel “The Lost Symbol” making this a trilogy. Hopefully the next installment is just as good as "Angels & Demons."
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