| Overall Grade: |
C- |
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| Story: |
C- |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
C |
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| Visuals: |
B+ |
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Not At All, An Illuminating Experience
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
May 17, 2009
17
of
17 people found this review helpful
"Religion is flawed, because Man is flawed."
If you are expecting a mind-blowing narration or illustration of Dan Brown's bestselling Novel, Angels & Demons, be prepared to be disappointed. I know I was. The movie was seriously flawed.
Dan Brown's brilliant work had been brutally modified into something so much less eminent. In the movie, the Scientist who had been brutally murdered wasn't Vittoria's father but instead just a partner named Silvano; and get this, he wasn't branded or stripped naked. Robert Langdon wasn't called to CERN by Maximilan Khloer, but instead by the Vatican police when they received the Illuminati fax and the threat. This wipes out Vittoria's thirst for revenge and guilt, the Hassasin's mad blood lust and Langdon's initial skepticism about the Illuminati. Tell me, what is the point of having such brilliant, award winning casts when all the deeper acting parts have been taken out? If you are not enraged yet, you will be when you find out they have completely omitted Maximilan Khloer; the brilliant Scientist and leader of CERN who hated religion in every fiber of his crippled being.
The problem is that Ron Howard has taken most of the interesting bits out of, to be frank, what could hardly be described as a literary masterpiece and turned it into a straight-forward treasure hunt adventure. As a thriller, Angels & Demons isn't brainy enough when stripped of its conspiracy theories, wild allegations and "science versus religion" arguments. As an action-adventure flick, brainy hero Robert Langdon provided too few visceral thrills -- even the tyrannous murders are surprisingly tamed. A neutered Angels & Demons ends up being just a hurried tour of Rome while Langdon tries to solve a puzzle in order to save the lives of the cardinals and prevent the destruction of Vatican City.
The uninspired perfomances of the star-studded cast did not help one bit. Leading lady Ayelet Zurer has nothing to do but look uncannily like troubled Mary Mack running to home to save her roast from the oven. The Hassasin wasn't really as committed to the cause as he should be; and he was nowhere near a pervert either. Of course, you can't blame the actors completely. The screenplay rids itself of character, backstories and motivations, leaving not much for the actors to do but run around and look mildly disturbed.
Yet, it is not a bad movie either. An average movie, a good plot (downgraded from preternaturally outstanding) and if you had always wanted to visit Rome but could never afford it, this is the movie for you.
If you are a fan of the book, well... Just try your best to enjoy the movie. |
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