Angels & Demons : Movie Review


"Angels & Demons," Ron Howard's follow-up to the stiff, stately 2006 "The Da Vinci Code," might have been classy, entertaining junk -- if only it were entertaining. The picture is based on the Dan Brown bestseller of the same name, which was published in 2000, three years before Brown really hit big with "Da Vinci." As in "The Da Vinci Code," our hero is once again Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon (once again played by Tom Hanks, this time with a strange, matted coif that looks as if it should be topped by Ruth Buzzi's hairnet). Because he knows so much about symbols and stuff, Langdon is summoned to Rome to investigate a mysterious threat: Apparently, an ancient secret brotherhood of eggheads known as the Illuminati have hatched a plot to annihilate -- or should that be annihilati? -- the Vatican with a giant ball of light. Langdon is persona non grata at Vatican City -- the officials have repeatedly refused to let him riffle through their archives for his research, much as, in real life, the Vatican refused to let Ron Howard film there -- but now the guys in the lace dresses really need his help. When he shows up, he's met by Stellan Skarsgard, as the commander of the Swiss Guard, with a glare of disdain. "What a relief, the symbolist is here," he deadpans. Little does he know that Langdon's brilliant ability to say, "Hey! That ecclesiastical emblem is upside-down!" could possibly save his skin.

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Author : Stephanie Zacharek