Twist ending redeems otherwise implausible, hokey plot

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2010)

I've never been a big fan of the material Ron Howard chooses for his movies. The 'Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons' are no exception. But by the same token I will concede that Mr. Howard has come along way as a director. Most of his films are technically brilliant and he has evolved in his abilities to direct his actors.
After consulting Wikipedia's article on this film, I learned that there is actually an organization, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and there is a contraption, the 'Large Hadron Collider'. I also found out that the organization spent a good deal of time reassuring the local population that what they were doing was safe. Therefore, the whole idea that they could create anti-matter in three small cylinders, which could be capable of creating a low-grade nuclear-like explosion and then some psycho could somehow get through security at the facility and steal this anti-matter, was laughable.
If you're a Vatican History buff, you'll find 'Angels and Demons' just up your alley. The story begins with the death of the pope and a papal enclave is convened to choose the pope's successor. You'll find out who the 'preferiti' are—the four most likely candidates to be elected pope; they're kidnapped and immediately the Vatican police assume that the the Vatican's nemesis, the Illuminati, a secret society persecuted by the Catholic Church dating back to the time of Galileo, is behind the nefarious deed. In a nutshell, The Illuminati were the 'free-thinkers' who were suppressed by the Church during the Enlightenment, due to their advocacy of science. Later they supposedly turned violent and held a grudge against the Church for years.
Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbologist who is summoned by the Vatican police to save the four cardinals. Also called in is Vittoria Vetra, the scientist at CERN who's in charge of replacing the cylinder's batteries since once they run out, the explosion will occur (where was the Energizer bunny when you needed him most?) Langdon demands access to the Vatican Secret Archives where he discovers clues in a banned book by Galileo. The clues lead to four points of the compass in Vatican City, representing the four elements—fire, earth, air and water. Langdon deduces that the four cardinals will be murdered at four altars at these four different locations.
Langdon races around Vatican City along with the Vatican Police trying to save the four cardinals. The first three cardinals are dispatched in the manner associated with each particular element: Earth: Cardinal #1--suffocated by dirt; Air: Cardinal #2--lungs are punctured; and Fire: Cardinal #3—burned to death. Langdon manages to save Cardinal #4 who is dropped into a WATER fountain in a weighted gurney. The fourth Cardinal clues Langdon into the Assassin's lair—where the four cardinals had been held earlier. The police find the killer's van at a Mausoleum but conclude it's a dead end. Langdon and Vetra find a secret passageway and end up confronting the assassin who holds a gun on them. He reveals he's been hired by the Catholic church but has no orders to kill them so he lets them go (not at all credible). Langdon finds the last clue in the form of crossed keys, the Papal symbol. He concludes that the final victim will be Camerlengo McKenna (a priest who is chief administrator at the Vatican). The crafty assassin who outwits everybody, is unconvincingly outwitted himself by stepping inside a car and getting blown up by a car bomb (who worked that out, I have no idea!).
Now here's how all this nonsense is saved by the twist ending (SPOILER ALERT!). We're led to believe that the Camerlengo is the good guy. He tries to convince Cardinal Strauss, the head honcho at the conclave to evacuate the Vatican, since the anti-matter is about to explode. The Cardinal, and the other stuffed shirts want to follow their protocol in choosing the pope, so they decide to rely on the Vatican police (along with Langdon) to save the day by finding the anti-matter. Also when Langdon finds the Camerlengo with the chief of the Vatican police, it appears the Illuminati have already branded him (just as they did with the four other cardinals) and the Camerlengo blurts out that the Police chief is in league with the Illuminati (so he gets killed). Finally, when the anti-matter cylinder batteries are about to run out, the Camerlengo (who believe it or not, has training as a helicopter pilot) takes the cylinder up into the clouds in a helicopter, where the anti-matter explodes but kills no one. The Camerlengo parachutes to safety and is hailed as a hero—in fact, the conclave (using an arcane rule) wants to vote him in as the new Pope.
The twist is when Langdon, using a key the Vatican Police Chief gave him just before he dies, unlocks surveillance video stored on the hard drive of the Chief's private computer, revealing that it was the Camerlengo who was the bad guy all along. Not only did he kill the three cardinals but also his adoptive father, the Pope himself. It seems that the Camerlengo was mad at the Pope due to his liberal stance toward science. After Langdon reveals the plot to the Papal enclave, the Camerlengo commits suicide by setting himself on fire.
Ron Howard did well in concluding that the Da Vinci sequel needed to move at a faster pace. And kudos to the production team who recreated Vatican City without having any access to shooting there. Despite the positives, I did sit through most of 'Angels and Demons' with a smirk on my face. After all, the entire premise is based on completely implausible events. But I have to admit, the twist ending at the end is so clever, that I didn't see it coming at all! And yes, I'm willing to say, despite all the hokeyness, to a certain extent, it won me over.