A Fictional Account on The Wars Between Science and Religion

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2010)

For those who wish to see a live fictional encounter between the bitterest of all rivalries, science vs. religion, then "Angels and Demons" is your meal ticket. To all you pro-Catholic fanatics, do not despair, it's not putting down the teachings of Jesus, so please don't condemn Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and all those that contributed in the makings of this movie.
This is assuming the prequel to "The Da Vinci Code", the opening scene kick off with the Pope's death. And since the Vatican is now in the process of indicting a new leader of the Catholic Church, the opening scenes look and feel sublime and accurate.
While this whole process in the works, an elite of top scientists are working on a project called the antimatter. Unless you're ignorant about science, or are just a geek who thinks this stuff is cool, well it really is anything that monumental, until you actually see what effect it has.
This is another example of how Hollywood likes to further elaborate on history and science and goes so far as to draw up their own conclusions.Tom Hanks makes his return again as Dr. Robert Langdon ready to hammer in another series of coding and decoding. The Cardinal College gathers around to carefully select who will be their new leader. Just like when they selected Pope Benedict XVI, the smoke from the chimney at St. Peter's Square we know how the selection is determined. If the smoke is gray, then another vote is issued, but if it's white, then the Cardinals have selected their new Pope.
But now the scientific community in in utter turmoil. The antimatter has been stolen. And in the religious, four papal candidates have been kidnapped. However, a video featured warns the Vatican that in an hour leading towards midnight, these religious leaders will be murdered and the stolen antimatter will be powerful enough to blow up Rome. The Vatican depends on Langdon because they believe that a 4 century year old adversary called the Illuminati are the ones behind this evil deed. I'm not sure how this whole rivalry started, but since this is an epic battle between science and religion, the outcome is really poignant regardless whether it is accurate or ignorant. So with time drawing near, Langdon is on a desperate quest to save Rome, find the kidnappers hideout and to confiscate the antimatter from them.
Ron Howard has a certain knack for creating pop films. He tries everything to entertain you and to develop likable characters to keep the flow of his films moving. Here the suspension is a mandatory procedure to keep the film going and Howard makes sure of that.
Sure it's violent, but the energy is handled very nuanced and edited to near perfection. Ayelet Zurer is amazing as the physicist who aligns with Langdon on his long journey to find the stolen antimatter. I liked the fact they kept it real and that Langdon did not have any romantic entanglements with the female scientist. Ewan McGregor was also convincing as the Camerlengo who is responsible for the selecting of the new Pope.
Overall a lot in this movie is handled professionally, from the acting, the direction and the scenes. And Tom Hanks has outdone himself as he always had.
Even though so far I have praised this movie, I still have some setbacks that make this film far from being a masterpiece. The score here was absolutely abominable. It was too damn loud and lacked anything from being lively. Also some of the character development was virtually non-existent. The ending was just simply awful. But the facts were quite fun, like watching a live documentary at times. So aside from these flaws it, is still fun to watch.