“Angels and Demons” moves in a fast-paced, thrilling way that its much hyped predecessor, “The Da Vinci Code” could just never muster. While both films, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks as the globe trotting Robert Langdon benefited from massive pre release buzz, it’s the second of the two that really takes off.
In Howard’s second adaptation of a Dan Brown novel, the character of Langdon finally comes to life thanks to Hanks being allowed to bring more of his own personality to the role. Langdon is still portrayed as a rigid intellectual, but this time with some of the wit and charm we’re used to seeing from the Oscar winning actor.
And yet, as witty and charming as Tom Hanks is, Ayelet Zurer is merely competent as Vittoria Vetra and is sometimes overshadowed by the talents of Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna and Stellan Skarsgard, the Vatican Commander Richter.
When Langdon, a Harvard professor of religious iconology and symbology, discovers the resurgeance of an ancient secret organization, the Illuminati, he’s summoned to the Vatican where he joins forces with scientist Vetra (Zurer) to stop the Illuminati from kidnapping and killing four cardinals and blowing up the Vatican using antimatter.
“Angels,” much like “The Da Vinci Code,” is full of secret histories, secret societies and secret religious symbols passed down each century through art, signaling hidden meanings for the few enlightened ones, the aforementioned Illuminati.
Illuminati, meaning persons claiming to possess superior enlightenment, was a group formed by scientists and intellectuals in an effort to inform the public of scientific innovations and the lies of the Catholic Church. The church fought back with public executions of the Illuminati members. The members that were left went underground, leading to the many conspiracy theories surrounding the Illuminati.
Secret societies and a global conspiracy usually comprise the makings of a compelling story, but what made the novel so intriguing gets a little lost in the film version of “Angels and Demons.” In the novel, Brown spends countless chapters on the history of the church, the Illuminati and the hidden meanings placed throughout Rome and the Vatican through art and scientific thought. If characters in the film version would spend fifteen to twenty minutes talking about history it might put the audience to sleep.
What did work, and worked very well, was the witty dialogue by screenwriters David Koepp and Akiva Goldman. As the Illuminati assassin is walking away from Lagdon he turns back and utters his distrust for the church when he says, “Be careful, these are men of God.”
The ongoing debate of science versus religion has never been more relevant than today. In a time when fundamentalists are still trying to ban the teaching of evolution over the much more elusive creationism, what debate can have more meaning in our society? Robert Lagdon really says it best when discussing the subject. “Science and religion seem to be two different languages attempting to tell the same story.”
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard SCREENWRITERS: David Koepp, Akiva Goldsman, Dan Brown (novel) CAST: Tom Hanks,Ayelet Zurer, Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard MPAA RATING: PG-13