Angels & Demons

What’s the Story?

In The Da Vinci Code, Harvard professor Dr. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) nearly brought down the Catholic Church, but in ANGELS & DEMONS, he's asked to help save it. The pope has died, and just as the conclave of cardinals is about to meet to elect a new one, four of them are taken hostage by a group claiming to be the resurrection of the Illuminati -- an ancient secret society historically at odds with the church. The kidnappers announce that they'll publicly murder each of the hostages and then detonate a powerful vial of anti-matter stolen from a top-secret Swiss project run by the beautiful Dr. Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer). Racing against time, the world-renowned symbologist and his new sidekick scientist follow hidden clues to try to stop the killings -- and the possible destruction of the Vatican.

Is It Any Good?

Brown's thrillers are packed with so much exposition that it should come as no surprise that Angels & Demons, like The Da Vinci Code, is overlong and way too talky. It's a bit preposterous to imagine that a priest -- much less a cardinal or the head of the Swiss Guard (Stellan Skarsgard) -- would need a lecture on major milestones in church history. But it's all for the audience's benefit, since few people understand the minutiae about how a pope is elected, what the Illuminati stood for, or even what anti-matter is supposed to achieve.

While director Ron Howard scores some extra points for downplaying the role of the hired assassin and including several high-speed car chases, there's just no saving the film from getting mired in all of Brown's ridiculous, conspiracy-theory details. At least Hanks has a much less conspicuous haircut, and Ewan McGregor, as the late pope's right-hand man, is effective as a priest straddling progressive and conservative paths for the church. But the best part of the thriller isn't the story or the chases -- it's Armin Mueller- Stahl as Cardinal Strauss. He's truly one of the most versatile, international actors of his generation, and he's a pleasure to watch.