Inferno

As in the previous movies based on Dan Brown's books, it seems like smart stuff is happening here, but it's really all lifeless and empty, despite the scenic locales. INFERNO starts promisingly. Screenwriter David Koepp, who co-wrote Angels & Demons with Akiva Goldsman but has solo credit here, relies less on explaining every little thing in the kind of stagnant, inert scenes that plagued The Da Vinci Code and Angels. But before long, it's apparent that director Ron Howard and the rest of his cast and crew can do nothing to disguise their apathy and boredom.

Hanks is likable as always, and character actor Irrfan Khan manages some starch in his scenes. But characters rarely connect on an emotional level, and they all simply seem to be working to get through their dialogue. By the time the movie stumbles toward its suspenseless conclusion, Howard and cinematographer Salvatore Totino have devolved into a shaky-cam mess, peppered with dozens of little flashbacks that are all stirred into confusing mush. We can only hope that Howard made Inferno with the promise that, next time, he can make a film he cares about.