Angels & Demons (2009)

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Now I have never read any of Dan Brown's novels, they are all mainly too long. The Da Vinci Code was mainly a complete bore so I lost interest in both it's sequels when they came out. However I happened to see this film a few days ago and realized that it really wasn't that bad. When the Illuminati kidnap four cardinals that are possibilities to succeed the old Pope after he passed away. The church summons Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to find out how and why the Illuminati have returned and to hopefully find the cardinals. Now, I don't think this is a great film by any stretch but it is a very enjoyable and exciting thriller. It is one of these disposable thrillers that you watch on a boring day. The film has some very well directed sequences and the editing as well as the score were both excellent. The content was shallow and if you look for a film that's more in depth, you will be disappointed. However for those who look for a fun thriller that's exciting and features a straight forward story with a few twists and turns, look no further.

The only thing I like about this movie is it serves as the perfect example of what's wrong with contemporary Hollywood movie-making. The story is so completely ridiculous and implausible and yet is played with such deadly earnestness that I didn't know whether to laugh or throw up. From beginning to end the audience is treated with such disdain and contempt that it's obvious Ron Howard and crew assume American moviegoers are the stupidest people on the planet (which, unfortunately is probably true given this film's rating on IMDb). SPOILER: a dead eyeball will not clear a retina scanner! And the fact that all these inane goings-on so obviously cost millions and millions of dollars to create just highlights the vacuity and pointlessness of the whole adventure. Sadly depressing.

Much like the Dan Brown novel that this movie was based on, there is a relatively simple formula to be followed for enjoyment: Suspend belief, enjoy thoroughly!Viewing this film is akin to watching a television show like, say, "24". You don't sit back and nitpick every plot point...you just go with the flow and (more often than not) get caught up in the emotional drama. If you are able to do that, this movie will be very enjoyable for you.As I look back on the plot, I just watched the film less then a week ago and I'm still a bit shady as to what exactly was going on...something about ancient Illuminati symbols, the Catholic Church, the election of a new Pope, and underground experiments with the highly explosive "dark matter" compound. Much like in "The DaVinci Code", everything flies by in such a hurry that it is a bit difficult to digest. However, due to a great screenplay and competent acting, you will likely find yourself sucked into the whole experience.I cannot speak for the movie's accuracy with relevance to the original novel, as it was so long ago that I read it, but perhaps a bit of a departure wouldn't have been a bad thing, as don't most entertainment connoisseurs always say that the book is better than the movie anyway?!Thus, much like the page-turning appeal of the Dan Brown novel of the same name (where you just HAVE to read "one more chapter" before turning out the lights), this film does the exact same thing in cinematic fashion. When looked back upon, the pieces may not fit together or even seem downright ludicrous, but it was one heck of a ride!

great movie one of my favorite actors victor alfieri is on angels and demons,, sadly the IMDb took the message boards off and now i have to write a review,, not fair, IMDb should put the message boards back on,, and i have no idea what IMDb meant with if you write a spoiler without warning reads your name will be added to the blacklist,, sorry but im angry and have no respect for what IMDb done to our messages boards,, bring the message boards back,,