Code Cracking Film is not all it's Cracked up to be!

Rating: 5/10 (25 May 2009)

ANGELS & DEMONS Director: Ron Howard Country: USA Year: 2009 Language: English Runtime: 138 Minutes Rating: PG 13
Everyone has heard the age old adage 'Lightning never strikes twice.' That's almost doubly true when looking at the work of an author, or indeed a film maker, who has created a piece of work that has set the public's imagination on fire. Whereas SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was in turns terrifying and electrifying, the sequels have been mostly damp squibs. And while there's no denying the box office clout of the more recent STAR WARS films few of even the most die-hard fans would dare claim that the films had as huge an impact as the earlier trilogy.
Which brings us neatly to Dan Brown and ANGELS AND DEMONS! Brown's earlier novel THE DA VINCI CODE most definitely set things on fire. It even set itself on fire as right-wing Christians insisted on holding book-burnings! Such draconian measures did little to stem the success of the book and if anything the publicity brought the book even more attention. It was a monumental success and Ron Howard's 2006 film of the same name was equally successful, at least at the box office, earning a colossal three quarters of a billion dollars around the world. It's very difficult to replicate that kind of success.
The team behind that global phenomenon return for the highly anticipated ANGELS & DEMONS, which is once again based on the best selling novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Ron Howard directs and Tom Hanks returns as the hero, Harvard Professor, Robert Langdon. In the earlier film Langdon went head to head against the Catholic church and in so doing revealed a closely guarded secret.
This time out, however, the tables have been turned somewhat and the Vatican desperately need the help of Langdon because he has discovered evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret society, which are known as The Illuminati. They are, according to the film, the most powerful underground organisation in history and are a deadly threat to the existence of their most despised enemy, The Catholic Church.
When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati plot, he travels to Rome where he joins forces with the beautiful and enigmatic Vittoria Vera, an Italian scientist. They embark on a non-stop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on the planet! Together, Langdon and Vetra, follow the four hundred year old Path of Illumination that marks the Vatican's only hope for survival.
ANGELS & DEMONS is guaranteed to be box office gold. If only one in three of the people that saw the earlier film go to see this it will bring in a quarter of a billion dollars and that's not bad! As a movie, however, it doesn't quite live up to expectations. So as code-cracking movie it's a little long and not all it's cracked up to be! Tom Hanks, however, is never less than watchable and the movie meanders along at a relatively enjoyable pace. Not great then but not too bad either.