I decided to go see Angels & Demons last Friday. I did like
The Da Vinci Code overall as well as the book versions of both. This isn't a movie that is going to appeal to everyone because of the plot, but I think it worked as an entertaining movie.
An experiment at the CERN facility in Switzerland creates antimatter. Shortly after that, one of the scientists is murdered and some of the antimatter is stolen. At the same time, the world is watching the Vatican after the death of the Pope. The Cardinals have arrived and are preparing to start Conclave, the process of selecting the new Pope. Four of the Cardinals are kidnapped and the Illuminati takes credit. The group also claims to have planted the antimatter somewhere in Vatican City and that it will go off at midnight that night. An Inspector with the Vatican police decides it would be a good idea to call in Robert Langdon to try to figure out the few clues they have to go on since he knows a lot about the Illuminati. Vittoria, one of the scientists, is also summoned to the Vatican because of the antimatter. She and Robert try to find the cardinals and the antimatter before it is too late.
My ThoughtsI did enjoy this movie overall. It works overall as a decent thriller, though some things aren't that realistic. There are people who have issues with the Catholic Church, so it isn't so far fetched that someone would target the Vatican during an important time when the new Pope is being selected. It does seem a bit odd that will all the police type figures around - the Swiss Guard and Vatican Police - that a college professor would be brought in to try to deal with the situation. It does mostly work and makes for some interesting scenes. The mystery works, though it could have been stronger. A few scenes have some suspense without the movie being that suspenseful overall. The action scenes are fine, though nothing truly outstanding. The camera work in some scenes did bug me, especially when the camera got jerky during some scenes. That always annoys me. I don't think that the movie was depicting Catholics or the religion in general in a negative way. One character ends up doing some terrible things because of their ...rather...twisted view of their religion, but that doesn't make all members of the religion twisted and evil. The cast does work well - and Tom Hanks's hair looks much better than it did in Da Vinci Code.
Overall I think this is an entertaining movie, though it isn't going to appeal to a lot of people.
I did get a longer review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.
Angels & Demons
