So what do we remember from The Da Vinci Code three years ago?
Well, we remember that the movie version of Dan Brown's controversial page-turner was a murder mystery of Biblical proportions, but was exposition-heavy and tepid. That it was limited by unconvincing action sequences from director Ron Howard. That star Tom Hanks wore a haircut that proved to be strangely distracting. That the screenplay by Akiva Goldsman was too slavishly reverential to the source material.
And that, however flawed it was aesthetically, it was a national hit and an international smash.
Not exactly a bomb, in other words, but not exactly a crackerjack cinematic suspense thriller either.
Angels & Demons, based on an earlier novel by Dan Brown but presented as a sequel, brings Howard and Hanks back again, the latter as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who is called upon to solve a murder and prevent a devastating terrorist act against Vatican City, where the film is largely set over a six-hour span.
And although Howard has tweaked a number of elements (including Hanks' haircut), my reaction to this followup as opposed to that of its predecessor can be summed up in one word:
Ditto.
The plot is triggered by the death of the pope and the arrival in Rome of the world's cardinals for the Conclave ritual, in which the College of Cardinals are to elect a new pope.
In Geneva, Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra, a member of the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) played by Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, is experimenting with the creation of antimatter. But her partner is found dead and a canister of dangerous, powerful antimatter is missing.
Then at the Vatican comes the worst-scenario threat: the ancient, underground, Catholic Church-opposing brotherhood, the Illuminati, claims to have kidnapped the four leading papal candidates and to be in possession of the antimatter. They threaten to kill each of the cardinals and then blow up the Vatican.
But is it indeed the Illuminati behind this murderous conspiracy, or is it another group attempting to frame them?
Thus is Hanks' Langdon, who has written a book about the Illuminati, called on to search the cathedrals, crypts, and catacombs of Vatican City and somehow prevent the catastrophe.
And here's our first red flag: that the Vatican authorities would turn to a symbologist rather than a military operative or superagent in the midst of all this life-and-death mayhem never really computes.
The veteran supporting cast includes Ewan McGregor as the acting head of Vatican City, Stellan Skarsgard as the commander of the Swiss Guard, and Armin Mueller-Stahl as an influential cardinal. So there's plenty of talent on board. But an actors' picture this is most definitely not.
Like a football coach at halftime, veteran director Howard (Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13), has adjusted his game plan this time out in an attempt to avoid the limitations of, and complaints about, The Da Vinci Code.
But although the action sequences are more polished and the screenplay less thematically crowded, this being closer to a pure action thriller, there's nonetheless still too much of the high-octane conflict.
And the exposition that is so voluminously and relentlessly dished out makes the viewing experience another uphill slog. In the first film, the characters stood around or sat around as they talked. Now they run or walk as they talk. But, either way, they remain hip-deep in cumbersome exposition.
The scripts for both films (Akiva Goldsman returns as scenarist, this time along with David Koepp) involve the tension between religious faith and science, and Angels & Demons is not quite so talky and somewhat faster-moving than its predecessor.
But the events of the narrative are improbable at best and ludicrous at worst, with a third act that is so over-the-top preposterous, even for a thriller, that the film comes tantalizingly close to self-parody, despite its impressive technical production values.
So we'll expose 2 stars out of 4. Neither angelic nor demonic but more exhausting than exciting, Angels & Demons is a bruised and defused ticking-bomb thriller.
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/16/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Planet 51," "New Moon," and "The Blind Side." (3:02)
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/9/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Precious," "2012," and "Pirate Radio." (3:02)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 11/13/09
This week KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the drama "Precious," the adventure disaster "2012," and the comedy "Pirate Radio." (17:24)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 11/06/09
This week KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine look at the comedy-war film, "The Men Who Stare at Goats," the animated re-make, "A Christmas Carol," and the horror-mystery-thriller "The Fourth Kind." (18:45)
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/2/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "The Men Who Stare at Goats", "A Christmas Carol" and "The Fourth Kind". (3:01)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 10/30/09
KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the Chris Rock documentary, "Good Hair," Michael Jackson's "This is It," and the action-crime-drama "The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day." (17:43)
Movie Reviews - Week of 10/26/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Good Hair", "This Is It" and "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day". (3:00)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 10/23/09
KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the animated adventure "Astro Boy," the bio-drama"Amelia," and the action-adventure-comedy "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." (17:20)
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In Geneva, Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra, a member of the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) played by Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, is experimenting with the creation of antimatter. But her partner is found dead and a canister of dangerous, powerful antimatter is missing.
