Premise: On the eve of the election of a new pope, symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned by the Vatican to investigate the reappearance of the Illuminati, along with the kidnapping of some cardinals and the theft of some antimatter [suspend your disbelief] that could blow Vatican City to kingdom come.
1. I was entertained. Angels & Demons is the Catholic Church version of TV's 24 (of which I am a devoted fan). First, the whole thing is structured in the form of a 5-part ticking clock, in which the four cardinals will be killed each hour on the hour, leading up to the antimatter "bomb" potentially going off at midnight. Langdon and his sidekick race from location to location trying to solve multiple mysteries and dodging dangerous obstacles, and each hour could be an episode unto itself. Second, the predicaments Langdon gets himself in are positively Bauerian: He gets locked in the Vatican's airless archives, jumps into a fountain to rescue a sinking priest, and climbs through grates in churches to avoid gunfire. Pretty daring stuff for a spy, much less for a middle-aged professor.
2. I am not entirely sure the plot holds up -- without giving anything away, I would suggest the viewer consider what the "bad guy" is intending to do, and all the things that could be happening during the movie to conflict with, negate, or otherwise alter his plan. It seems to me that he either must have quite a few contingency plans, or he very masterly made things work out as planned. Maybe the book is clearer, but I'll never know.
3. Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, who plays Langdon's physicist sidekick, quietly makes this a breakout role for American film (she was also in Munich, but who knew?). Though she doesn't do anything extraordinary, she exudes a graceful manner that could give her a niche in American dramas. (Something Audrey Tatou, of The DaVinci Code, was not able to make happen, unfortunately).
4. For those uninterested in the plot, the film still serves a useful purpose: as a tour through the main hotspots in Rome and Vatican city. Langdon & Friends stream through the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel, Castle Sant'Angelo, and other historically significant and picturesque locales. Furthermore, the dialogue in Angels & Demons will probably give you just as good a primer on these spots as Rick Steves would.
5. Three cheers for Chicago's own David Pasquesi, who has a pretty big role as one of the Vatican's chief security operatives. Dave, as many of you know, does a popular two-man improv comedy show with his partner, T.J. Jagodowski, at the Improv Olympic in Chicago, which I have seen multiple times and is really awesome. Nice Italian accent, Dave!
Recommendation: If you liked DaVinci Code you'll like this better. If you didn't like DaVinci Code, but like 24, you might still like this. If you hate both Dan Brown and 24, don't see this movie.
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