An Awesome Trip to Christian Rome--Just Let the Pesky Plot Zoom!

Rating: 7/10 (22 June 2009)

Angels and Demons (2009)
An Awesome Trip to Christian Rome--Nevermind the Plot!
The plot? The plot zips along with an almost hilarious series of cliffhangers and twists of identity, but maybe necessarily. That's the kind of movie it is. It's a great ride, so hear me out.
The main scientist characters (yes Tom Hanks as Tom Hanks, though they give his character another name, and his rather dull female sidekick) need to solve a terrible mystery as the world awaits a new pope and a high tech bomb ticks away. There are underground chases and shootings, lots of fire and murder, and an inevitable helicopter scene (listen for the foreshadowing on that one). The hero becomes a villain, the villainous old men become passively agreeable (I never knew the cardinals were such a clubby lot, did you?), and the secondary villain gets his comeuppance without much fanfare or grief.
None of this, none of this, matters. Not really. This whole plot idea, not bad not good, is just a way to tour Rome and its Christian era art, especially Bernini. For that alone, it's worth it, and try to catch it in a theater, because the visuals are a treat. The camera-work isn't groundbreaking, but it's alive and gorgeous, thanks to Salvatore Totino (who also provided the one saving grace for the earlier and otherwise disappointing The Da Vinci Code). One scene after another has the camera moving (and moving, and moving) through chamber after church after street after piazza. The light, the art, the set design, and the ambiance (lots of flashlights needed) are great all along. There's even a vision of heaven, sort of, that would make Barberini happy (though without the bees, inside joke).
And what about the plot, with antimatter and the predictable Vatican intrigue? It is serviceable. Or better yet, it's perfect because it makes us take the Roman tour as fast as possible without being distracted by silly things like character or emotional depth. The acting isn't bad at all, led by dependable Ewan McGregor, who doesn't get a chance to take off his clothes (it might be on the editing room floor--let's wait for the director's cut someday, like in six weeks). Too bad the script is puerile--he has to give a speech about how science and religion are buddies, and then another about how science is the enemy of religion. Yes, a duplicitous priest. But that's part of the fun. All the old wrinkled men playing old wrinkled cardinals are fine enough, too.
Ron Howard directs the way he always directs--with the highest level of conventional craft. He knows how to make a movie move, edited tightly, and with visual panache. For those who can overlook the forced and sometimes preachy or teachy script, it might resemble a great movie.
But to me it's not a great movie. It's a great city. And I'll take Angels and Demons in its glib velocity because I can't get to Rome myself. In fact, I could watch it again today just for the ride. And that last scene, when they pull the curtain away and there we are behind the most famous balcony in the world, the light of the day pouring in and countless thousands of people cheering? Even an atheist can appreciate the aura of power and joy and absolute worldly hope of religion. A surprising tear jerker ending. That's good movie-making.