portrays Catholics as imbeciles

Rating: 4/10 (29 March 2010)

The only thing that successfully carried over from the book to the movie is the complete misunderstanding of Catholicism. The Vatican is not like corporate America. While that model is easy for Americans and atheists to digest, it is simply not true. I know a lot of priests and bishops. They aren't against science. I think we learned our lesson with Galileo, Darwin, etc. and don't argue about it too much anymore. (And as much as science will understand, there will always be a need for God.) The only thing that was vaguely Catholic, other than the settings and costumes, was the very end when the Cardinal thanks Langdon and explains that Langdon was called by God, even though he wasn't a believer, to get this straightened out. That was the Catholic attitude. The rest of it was Hollywood.
Other instances of non-Catholic behavior: In St. Peter's square when the "stem cell research" supporter is yelling at the nun that "You are condemning sick people to death." and she replies "Man is not God.". That is not the problem Catholics have with stem cell research. The issue is "You have to kill babies to have enough stem cells to do your research." This is not the forum for a science or religious debate so I won't go into it. I'm just saying "Man is not God" is not the main argument Catholics make against stem cell research.
Catholics don't believe in suicide. The end scene when McKenna self-immolates is completely ridiculous. No priest would think he is going to heaven just because he said a little prayer just before he killed himself. That's just ignorant.
Even the supporting statements of Catholicism are very limited. When the head of Vatican security confronts Langdon with "my church comforts the sick and dying and feeds the poor. What does your church do? Oh yeah, you don't have one." He makes it sound like Catholicism is like joining the United Way. It's not. There are many more rewards than that. Those acts are just the fruits of our faith. Real Catholicism is about following the will of God, having a loving heart, trying to be like Jesus, and having the peace and joy of knowing that all will be well because you are following God's plan for you. From that we go out and comfort the sick and feed the poor, and many other ministries.
I thought the movie clipped along at a pretty good pace and the riddles were imaginatively portrayed. But the film bounced from scene to scene a little too fast in an attempt to create a frenetic pace. And the death scenes were unnecessarily gruesome. I can't recommend this movie.