Good adaptation, serviceable thriller.

Rating: 7/10 (17 January 2017)

This is being unfairly maligned by critics. This is at once more thrilling and more involving than The Da Vinci Code was, and Ron Howard's direction is more surefooted and fast-paced here. Visually gorgeous. By streamlining the novel's narrative, the film loses much (but not all) of the science vs. faith dichotomy that gave the book its weight. As it is, the film version ofAngels and Demons makes for a very entertaining thriller.
Some of the dialogue is poor, you have to suspend disbelief the way you would for a James Bond or Indiana Jones movie, and keep in mind that this is historical fiction (emphasis on fiction). If you can do that, this is a blast. Ewan McGregor rocks. Be warned, it is violent and intense, and pushes that PG-13 boundary. My grade: B+