Angels and Demons is not the film that The Da Vinci Code was. Brown works both stories in similar manners. Harvard symbologist, Langdon races around a European locale with an attractive brunette, deciphering ancient symbols and vague directions to solve an old mystery.
The Pope has just died and an a long forgotten enemy of the Catholic church known as the Illuminati has just reemerged. The are a secret organization that has long been at odds with the church as it puts science ahead of faith in God. They have stolen and planted bomb, somewhere in Rome. Langdon, along with a beautiful, Italian scientist, Vittoria, embarks on a hunt through crypts, catacombs, churches and the Vatican archives to find it. With an assassin busy dispatching Cardinals in very grotesque manners, and a traitor behind the papal walls, Langdon has his hands full in a movie that, for the most part takes place in a four hour span.
Whereas The Da Vinci Code sparked controversy as it questioned Jesus’s divinity, Angels and Demons merely points out that the Vatican has a history of slowing down science as they fear it contradicts their belief. Stem Cell research is briefly mentioned.
Hanks is in fine form playing a brainy, less action packed, Indiana Jones. He finds ridiculously confusing clues and easily deciphers them. He finds a clue, some one dies, some one yells at some one else and then he finds another clue only to have some one else die and another person raise their voice.
The mysteries of old Rome are fascinating, but Langdon is just not that interesting enough of a character. Anyone from the Hardy Boys to Miss Marple could have done what he did, and the movie would have been no less entertaining. People went to see the Indiana Jones movies because of Indiana Jones. Brown and Howard may be able to put Langdon in interesting mysteries, but they are unable to give Langdon enough personality. When asked if he believes in God, he gives some bullshit on the fence answer. Moderates are the most boring people in the world.
