Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (18 February 2010)

Contains Spoilers!
I was excited to see this film - having only recently finished the book. But I knew, after watching the first two minutes, that I was not going to like it.
The beginning sees Vittoria in a lab, obviously at CERN, with a few other scientists who, we find out a few minutes later, have created anti-matter, a heavily unstable specimen. Then, Vittoria walks into a lab to find her partner dead... thus, taking out the personal relationship between them (they were father and daughter).
Then, we find Langdon swimming laps in a pool at 5am. A Vatican representative shows him a paper with the Illuminati ambigram (which, in the movie, was not branded onto Leonardo Vetra's -- his name change in the movie escapes me -- body.) Then, the quick chase to save the prefiriti (the favorites to become Pope) before the assassin kills them and brands them with the four ambigrams of the Illuminati.
The movie takes away from the true meaning of the book, changes two important character names and practically gives away who the mastermind behind the Illuminati scheme is near the beginning. Vittoria Vetra, a very strong-willed and intelligent character, might as well have been written out of the script for all the usefulness she provided.
I know most movie adaptations do not stick completely to the book, but this movie disgraces it. If I hadn't read "Angels and Demons", I would have been completely confused by the movie. It moved too fast and seemed too focused on the thrill of the chase, rather than the argument of science vs. religion. There was no real pause and stop for the character to play catch up with all the information they kept throwing out.
Tom Hanks' portrayal of Langdon was too sure and confident, almost cocky. In actuality, Langdon is just a professor with a love for art history and symbology. Yet, in the movie, he has no doubts, he is never unsure of himself, and walks, talks, and acts like rather like he'd be a better fit as an authority figure.
Ewan McGregor doesn't give the camerlengo enough justice. The camerlengo was supposed to be a character of stability while the world was supposedly falling apart around him. Instead, he is portrayed like a man with a secret gleam in his eye, which gave the impression that it was truly his orchestration. His portrayal should have been of a man of faith trying to maintain a sense of calm before the storm until the end when we actually do find out it was, indeed, him.
Overall, it was very, very disappointing. Not a movie I would recommend to anyone, especially those who enjoyed reading the book.