Angels & Demons

I’m not completely happy with the four stars I’m giving, but I had a much better feeling from Angels that from the Code (maybe also because I didn’t bother to read the former). In this movie, Tom again has a whistle-stop tour of attractive locations to the booming chorals of Hans Zimmer (who even adds some good old synthesizer) but at a higher speed than before. We still get a lot of talking about all that what, why and how (I usually like this in books, but in movies too much talking does harm) in order to reveal a simple plot spiced up with the heaviest caliber sci-fi (antimatter in a box?!). But as soon as you adapt to the world that is offered to you here, it starts to be pretty entertaining. The actors are all a class above last time, Ayelet Zurer is foxier than Audrey Tautou and also we see the outstanding Ewan McGregor. And the ending is really powerful and as I said, Zimmer’s synths and chorals are simply a lethal combination. (04/09/2009)

Surprisingly better and more compact than the first part. Ron Howard finally understood that a cute Audrey Tautou and dodgy action scenes won't improve the story better and started relying on other things. For example, an agile script that piles one puzzle on top of another with fairly entertaining and dynamic sequences, and a fantastic (again) Hans Zimmer, who delivers uncompromising bite to the entire piece. He might have composed the same thing for the eighteenth time, but it still sounds beautiful. It sounds unbelievable, even in those few miniature action passages, Howard surprisingly toughened up. It's still a wimpy, predictable, and conflict-free Hollywood shitshow, but at least this was bearable. (05/10/2009)

After the first hour, Angels & Demons becomes repetitive and the audience loses interest in the detective storyline, no matter how dynamic it may be. More ideas wouldn’t be unwelcome. The impressive climax, however, salvages a lot. And the work with the actors (and their hairstyles) is definitely better than in The Da Vinci Code. What fascinates me the most about this “saga” is that for all its straight-facedness, first-class filmmaking team, solid actors and controversial topics, it is unable to be anything but a simple-minded blockbuster for the masses. The masses that are unaware that 50% of their experience is provided by a guy named Hans Zimmer. (14/05/2009)

It's just like the books - Angels and Demons is better than The Da Vinci Code. Thanks to Howard, who made the whole film a frantic race against time, thanks to Zimmer, whose music was almost visible given how distinctive it was, thanks to the interesting Vatican plot, thanks to the likeable Hanks... Yeah, four stars is adequate. (23/05/2009)

Robert is searching for life, discreetly flirts, and makes enemies wherever he can. Again. But this time, he struggles with a few things regarding The Code. Most notably, he loudly screams a few clichés of the genre. The main characters play for life-saving minutes, but nevertheless, around every corner, there is an explanation for random symbolic curiosities. And most importantly, the syndrome of the second part arrives in its strongest form. Once again, a damaged body, an attractive and randomly found partner, and once again, a punchline that slightly undermines the impact of previous twists. However, I still have to give it a better score of 70%, whether it's because with another actor, Langdon would become just a pawn, which Hanks brilliantly prevents, or because Ewan McGregor celebrates a phenomenal comeback. But mainly because I would not have guessed those two hours to be even halfway through, as everything swiftly zooms by, the plot never pauses for a moment, and the box of the archaeological-adventure film is filled to the maximum. (21/05/2009)