Fun, but short of the chilling thrills and suspense from Dan Brown's book

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2009)

Whoa, it's the return of Tom Hanks' Harvard University religious symbologist to the big screen, a little older perhaps, but... hey, wait a minute, isn't this film supposed to be a prequel to the $750 million box-office-"Da Vinci Code" ? Still, Tom Hanks, as Professor Robert Langdon, is not failing to bring his audience on a roller coaster ride, less thrilling and less chilling than I had expected, having read the book. Sure, it hasn't miss out the church intrigue, evil and mysterious cults, murders, violence and the greed for power to wet the audience's appetite. Events flow rapidly as Professor Langdon pieces together the abundance of puzzles to bring some tension and some suspense... all for good fun for the screening crowd and keeping the readers of Dan Brown's novel rather miffed with the unsuspecting changes from novel's contents. Refreshingly new in some way, perhaps, but the events do lose their energized, tantalizing, and mystifying appeals as Professor Langdon search his brains for clues and answers.
The film's opening is remarkably crafted to open up the story's theme - science vs religion. Hey, the juxtaposition of science and church, after all, is really nothing new! And when Professor Langdon lays his eyes on the Illuminati ambigram, shown by a Vatican visitor, he is ready for Rome. Yep, a dead Pope... and the four Preferiti candidates in Rome are missing. But, will the Professor be able to find the Path of the Illumination? Yep, be ready for your imagination to be stimulated. Oh yes, be prepared to unravel the mind-blowing conspiracies involving the 'Four Alters of Science' - Earth, Air, Fire and Water, and expect to be rocked out of your senses to learn about the many unexplained and mystifying 'Illuminati" symbols, vital to Professor Langdon in his quest to find the missing cardinals. Yep, a killer, from the mysterious ancient Illuminati secret brotherhood, is in Rome, on a vengeful quest against the Vatican's denial of science! And a highly powerful weapon of destruction, called the antimatter, is ticking close to midnight for the Vatican City's Armageddon fate. Can the symbologist save the Preferiti in time before the votes of the conclave are accounted? Can he save the Vatican City? The names of John Milton, Copernicus, and Raphael, are not spared in the Professor's race for clues. And expect to have fun, exploring some of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's celebrated creations... except everything is being rendered so visually fast to hinder the growth of one's fascination with Langdon's logic applications. I was expecting the version from Ron Howard, David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman to provoke and heighten my awe, disbelief, and admiration, as I follow Langdon's adventure. It failed!. Sure, there's nothing wrong for scriptwriters to take liberty with changes to their original sources. However, it can be rather discerning for the Dan Brown book fans to find their most memorable book moments are lost in the adaptation. No doubt, there are some new surprises to the story, but these fail to wet my emotional appetite to intensity. And the changes have reduced my shock and awe reactions. Unlike the book, it fails to lure me into wanting to revisit Rome. While Dan Brown's Rome reeks with compelling mystery and excitement, Director Howard's Rome is mostly dark, creepy, and unrelenting.
While the plot and subplots do capture some of Dan Brown's amazing twists and turns, rattling my brain's nerve tissues, it was Langdon's race against time that actually chills. Poor Langdon, he just can't avoid encountering deadly barriers! Oops, the story is not without the book's unconventional female protagonist, joining the Professor on his wild, 'wild-goose' chase to smoke out the villain's moves. Ayelet Zurer's antimatter scientist, Vittoria Vetra , may be watchable, but her Vittoria lacks excitement and curiosity, and, without the fascinating spirit, curiosity and energy of the book's character. Zurer's Vetra seems rather cold, prim, uninteresting, and her presence pretty irrelevant... not what I have expected Vittoria to be from the book's description - "lithe and graceful, unmistakably Italian - not overly beautiful, but... exude a raw sensuality." Besides, there's not one once of chemistry between Zurer's character and Tom Hank's in the film.
My favorite character is Ewan McGregor's Carmerlengo. He whisks in and out of sight without much ado, and yet, his presence is so astoundingly compelling. McGregor succeeds in bringing the unpredictable and charming Carmelengo directly from the book to the screen, with such absolute and immense exactness of characteristics of the novel's Carmelengo! My kudos to him! Stellan Skarsgard as Commander Richter does not disappoint. And Nikolai Lie Kaas's Assassin? He looks rather lame and passive, not the Dan Brown's mysterious, evil, and creepy Hassassin I was looking for. Of course, it's nice to see a film with a cast of international actors.... if only some of their characters don't look so awkward in their interactions. And while I miss the humor Dan Brown injected into his media characters, I am glad that this film is not missing out on how media folks can be so easily duped! I do miss the book's Agatha Christie-like style with which Dan Brown confuses and challenges one with inter-weaving and easy-to-miss clues and hints to keep one's brain cells moving helter-skelter before the final riddle is solved. Also, Ron Howard's film has not achieved in drawing me directly into the events as if I was there on the scenes. That said, I still wouldn't miss seeing Ron Howard's attempt to turn the book's 572-pages to life on screen in 138 minutes! The film may be scanty in its offering of memorable thrills and chilling suspense, it does, no doubt, give a very impressive visual observation of the lavishly and stylistically captured landlocked sovereign city-state with all the pomp and colorful ceremony, and... its enviable collection of some of the most famous and magnificent paintings, sculptures and architecture in the world.