The all powerful Catholic church has a lot of sway, but even they couldn't stop the production of either "The Da Vinci Code" or "Angels & Demons" (though 'Demons' was banned in Samoa). And in some regards, despite my belief in the First Amendment, I can see why these movies would worry the Church. Yet people who watch it need to understand that it's a movie and not real. In a sense, it would be like security guards being offended by the movie "The Fan" because they didn't realize De Niro's character was actually the umpire before he killed someone. I mean, stuff happens, whether you're a powerful church or stadium security guard.
Anyway, I've read both "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons," two wildly popular novels by Dan Brown. After reading both, I liked "Angels & Demons" a whole lot more. Both subsequently had movies made of them, and again, I liked "Angels & Demons" a whole lot more.
Despite a few significant departures from the novel, I did enjoy "Angels & Demons." For those few of you who know nothing about it, I'll give a brief plot synopsis.
A bunch of scientists at CERN, the Swiss physics mecca, finally make antimatter, a highly explosive substance that sets off on contact. As soon as it is created, someone breaks in, killing a scientist and stealing the antimatter.
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), the esteemed Harvard professor of symbiology, is called in because the dead scientist is left with an ambigram with the word "Illuminati" scorched into his chest. The whole story of the Illuminati, a true organization, is somewhat glossed over, but the book goes into much better, interesting detail.
Langdon and a CERN antimatter scientist named Vittoria Vetra are summoned and paired up in Rome in Vatican City where the antimatter is discovered. But a catch: the guards can't find the antimatter. Rather, it is hidden somewhere with a wireless camera showing it in the vicinity. In a few hours, the antimatter will go off, demolishing Vatican City and the thousands that have gathered in St. Peter's Square to mourn the death of the pope. That's the other catch: a papal conclave is ongoing to find the next Pope, and Langdon must find the antimatter. Add to that that the Illuminati have kidnapped the preferiti, or the four cardinals most likely to be voted Pope, and chaos ensues.
As you can tell, the plot is very confusing, and after reading the book, I wondered how a director would create a movie. Overall, it is well done, and gets the practical basics in to the film. There's too much detail in the book to fit into the film. But it gets it done, which is impressive. Some of the changes I didn't like, and it's pretty long (understandably so, but there's some good acting and a couple of pretty cool scenes. The book is better, so if I were you, I'd read the book first, then watch the movie, and then complain, like me, about why the book is better. You'll understand.
"Angels & Demons" is rated PG-13 for violence, language and Catholic Church bashing (not really).
6 out of 10 stars
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