Angels & Demons... No better than the DaVinci Code

Rating: 6/10 (6 June 2009)

As assumed Angels & Demons was a very mediocre film. Director Ron Howard and Actor Tom Hanks should be ashamed of their efforts when they made this movie because both are much more talented that what they did here for 138 minutes. The plot was about the only interesting part of this movie. However, the interesting story was ruined by Hanks' inability to encompass a believable character(Robert Langdon). Granted he did have some complex dialogue but nothing he said sounded like he actually knew what he was talking about. If the main character is supposed to be a well respected professor and the integrity of the movie depends on the authenticity of the character then Hanks' should have put in a little more time trying to comprehend his lines instead of just flatly reciting them throughout the entire movie. Once again, like the DaVinci Code there were several cheesy and "convenient" epiphanies that could have been executed in a more clever manner. Otherwise, the remainder of the supporting cast: Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgård, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Armin Mueller-Stahl all performed very well. The lead female Ayelet Zurer was not bad but anyone could have played next to Hanks in this movie and looked just fine. The best part of Angels & Demons was probably the last riveting 30 minutes, which basically salvaged its grade from a 4/10 to a 6/10/.