Angels & Demons
Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgaard
Dir: Ron Howard
Rating: 3/5
Angels & Demons comes just three years after the box office success of The Da Vinci Code that, despite not being a hit with the critics, was one of the biggest grossing movies of 2006.
Tom Hanks is back to have another crack in the role of Robert Langdon and Ron Howard returns to the director's chair for Brown's lesser known novel.
What terrifying discovery would make the Vatican turn to Robert Langdon, the man who cracked history's most controversial code?
When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati "the most powerful underground organization in history" he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church.
Upon learning that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, Langdon travels to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist.
Embarking on a nonstop, quest through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow the 400-year-old Path of Illumination that marks the Vatican's only hope for survival.
Tom Hanks is much better in the role of Robert Langdon, while there was nothing particularly wrong with his performance in The Da Vinci Code, in Angels & Demons he just seems more dedicated and more into the part an the story, and with a bit of weight off and a hair cut he looks better too.
And he is supported by a great cast of Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer who both turn in some very strong performances, this could be the role that sees Zurer break into the mainstream.
Angels & Demons is a much quicker movie and real danger, in the form of the destruction of the Vatican City, looms over the whole film, with The Da Vinci Code there was no real consequence if they discovered the truth or not, it's not so this time around making it more of an exciting ride.
There is more to bite your teeth into in this story with gruesome deaths of cardinals, which Howard doesn't shy away from which is nice to see. But at 138 minutes it is a tad long.
But there are some beautiful locations mixed into some awesome sets and with an exciting end fans who haven't read the book will find Angels & Demons a piece of great entertainment.
However those who are fans of the books, similar to The Da Vinci Code, will realise that there are major flaws in the story, which major plots missing.
While I appreciate that the book needs to be cut down to fit into a reasonable running time and you can understand why cutting out Langdon visiting the murder scene at the CERN facility was cut.
However that fact that Ron Howard failed to include the part of the story where the Pope fathers a child is very disappointing and you wonder if it was left out to appeal to the bible belt in America.
When the credits role, for fans of the novel anyway, there is a feeling that you have been cheating of a story that really would have ruffled a few feathers. If you are doing to adapt a novel don't wimp out of including the controversial parts.
Angels & Demons is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw