| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Only better but not much superior than Code
by bck (movies profile)
May 14, 2009
20
of
26 people found this review helpful
This is definitely an improvement over the previous adventure that features symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks). Then again, the literary prequel is a far better book than the more controversial, but plodding, The Da Vinci Code. This cinematic sequel does make some oblique references to the previous movie, but otherwise, it stands extremely well on its own.
Set outside of our reality, two separate events kick off the movie that brings the age old conflict of science vs religion to the forefront again. In the Vatican, the Pope has died and the time honored process of selecting a new pope is under way. Over in CERN, the Large Hadron Collider has created anti-matter. Langdon is brought in when it is suggested that the ancient order of the Illuminati is behind the theft of the anti-matter and the kidnap of the four candidates for Pope. Langdon is assisted by Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) from CERN and Inspector Ollivetti (Pierfrancesco Favino) of the Vatican Police. What follows is a race against the clock to save the four papal candidates and find the bomb.
The ticking clock ramps the pacing of the film, placing an urgency to the proceedings that was sorely lacking in Code. The direction is tighter as well with less of those visual flourishes that gave a slight insight into Langdon's perception of the codes. What we get instead is a sense of scale, not just with running around Vatican City, but also of the often crowded locations. The random pieces of information is also kept to a minimum, providing just enough to give some meaning and understanding to the events and some bits of history behind them.
Hanks is amiable for the most part, returning to a comfortable role (and a much better hair-cut, for some who may be concerned of a returning mullet). The rest of the cast are uniformly good and given the pacing of the movie, there isn't much in the way of developing relationships (as in the book) Favino's, Inspector Ollivetti is quite charming actually and he does have a nice air about him that keeps things on an even keel as opposed to the more stringent Swiss Guard Commander Richter (Stellan Skarsgård) who is too wary of Langdon.
In all, a better pace and a tighter story (driven by a better score from Hans Zimmer) helps keep the movie entertaining and enjoyable with highlights being a somewhat storied tour of Vatican City and some hidden treasures. While the book is entertaining, the movie manages to keep up and improve over the previous movie, but it doesn't do any more than that. Still, it is entertaining enough. |
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