Angels & Demons

Publisher: Sony	Running Time: 2 Hours 18 Minutes
Release Date: May 15, 2009	Format: Theatrical

After an unsuccessful book to film adaption of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, director Ron Howard along with lead actor Tom Hanks are at it again with the book that came before Da Vinci Code. Angels & Demons is based on the novel of the same name from 2000. Does Angels & Demons succeed where Da Vinci Code did not? Read on to find out.

If you are not familiar with the book, Angels & Demons is the story of an ancient organization known as the Illuminati who seeks revenge on the Catholic Church for past transgressions against science and persecution of scientists centuries ago. After the Large Hadron Collider is tested by CERN, weapons grade antimatter is created that the Illuminati get their hands on. Used as a weapon the antimatter has the ability to wipe out Vatican City.

Tom Hanks returns as the main protagonist, Harvard professor Robert Langdon. Professor Langdon is a symbologist that the Vatican requests to assist in their search for the antimatter. Hanks is not a particularly convincing Langdon as he is quite a bit older and more out of shape than the character in the book. A few of the scenes in the movie are altered from what happened in the book, presumably to accommodate for the change in medium.

Ultimately there is a good amount of action, considerably more so than Da Vinci Code. The story follows closely to the book (aside from the slight modifications), which is both a good and bad thing. As with Da Vinci Code it does not translate as well in movie form as it did in the book, but at the same time, it is loyal enough to the book to where it is likely to satisfy fans. There is no need to read the book in advance of watching the movie, although it certainly wouldn't hurt.

After the disappointing Da Vinci Code movie, I think that expectations were tamped down quite a bit for Angels & Demons. The lower expectations work to its benefit. This is an entertaining film that does not get bogged down in the puzzle and riddle solving to the extent that Da Vinci Code did. Fans of the book should be satisfied, and those that have not read the book should be just as amused as those already familiar with the story. If only Ron Howard cast a more convincing Robert Langdon then this movie could have been a notch better. Nonetheless, it is still worth seeing.

Final:	7
Written by Kyle	Review Guide

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