Angels & Demons

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[Highly rated reviewer]

superb......................

Angels and Demons is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code which is also based on the novel and works of Dan Brown.

The CERN who work on experiments using antimatter through the medium of physics summon Robert Langdon the Harvard symbologist played by Tom Hanks to investigate a murder victim branded with the Illuminati ambigram and also to prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

Robert discovers that the Illuminati (the secret society) plan to kill four Roman Catholic cardinals and destroy St. Peter's Basilica with the stolen antimatter in the form of a bomb during a papal conclave.

This film also stars Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra who is a CERN scientist, Ewan McGregor who plays the Camerlengo Patrick McKenna and Stellan Skarsgård who plays Commander Richter the Head of the Swiss Guard.

Angels and Demons is directed by Ron Howard (formerly Richie from Happy Days).

Well worth watching !

Not like the book

I have just been to see the film and felt that they changed too much or cut alot of it out. I firstly felt that one of the characters in the book Maximillian Kholer SHOULD have been in the film. I felt that the Da Vinci Code was more accurate to the book itself but Angels and Demons was changed too much. I feel slightly let down.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Nothing great

I'm not quite sure what it is, but I felt that there was something missing from this film. As another review mentioned it isn't like the book but admittedly so many films don't run true to the books they are based on but to me this film just felt watchable, it didn't excite me. Acting was good and even though the film is over 2 hrs it didn't seem to drag. For me (even though I have seen it) it would be a 'wait til dvd' one.

Brilliant Watch, Disappointing End!

Like the Da Vinci Code, this instalment of Dan Brown's next saga following the adventures of Robert Langdon, was just as good as the original although the end left me disappointed. I haven't read Dan Brown's books so I am not interested in comparing how truthful the movie was to the book. I have learnt that movies do not always have to be like the book.In reality a movie has it's limitations and in writing a book the limitations are removed. As a movie, it certainly kept the viewer interested from beginning to end. I had hoped that the end would leave the viewer with more questions marks regarding the Illuminati instead, all the loose ends were carefully sorted and answered just in time for the credit roll,which was quite frankly a let down.Brown's ideal to marry the church and science in a peaceful pact in the end was what I call a sloppy, lazy ending. Being an ex-catholic and knowing full well that the Catholic Church have tried for so many years to surpress any opposing thoughts to the Church's doctrine I was hoping this aspect would be explored more fully instead of being conveniently labelled as 'flawed men doing God's work'. Nevertheless still a good watch, I just wish more challenging movies on the subject matter were made.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Angels and Demons (2008)

Any improvements on Da Vinci Code's dull and leaden film version probably lie in Dan Brown's book, which is even more film-friendly with an emphasis on Hollywood-friendly thrills rather than theorising or controversy. Hanks is again completely bland as symbologist Robert Langdon, and the supporting cast aren't much better. The fast pace distracts a lot of attention away from the lacklustre and frankly, ridiculous story and lack of tension or suspense - strangely it is relatively compelling on a minute by minute basis (as much as the book is an easy page turner) and there are a couple of decent set-pieces but on average it is pretty much badly plotted, humourless drivel and as disposable as its airport paperback origins once it is all over.

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If you loved the book, DON'T see the movie!

I don't normally write film reviews. At the end of the day - movies are subjective, like music, and so if you like it - then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks,

However, having just seen Angels and Demons - a film I was so looking forward to, being a huge fan of the book - I couldn't not.

From the very start, I was disappointed. The film dives straight into the plot - side stepping key themes and important parts of the story. Leaving out a Key character - the Director of CERN. Important relationships in the book aren't told on screen, Vittoria and her father for example. Even the one between Langdon and Vittoria isn't played out well. Huge chunks of the book just weren't there - and the artistic take on the Hassassin just didn't work. Dan Brown explains him clearly in the book and the on screen translation didn't happen for me. Even worse - making the Carmelengo Irish just because Ewan McGregor couldn't do an Italian accent just isn't right...

The ending much the same, mis told and so innaccurate that a lot of what made the book so exciting and intelligent were sadly lacking from the film.

That said - the special effects were good - and the acting was top class - its not the actors fault that the script they were working from was missing integrity. The only accurate part of the movies was the phrase at the start saying 'Based on the Novel by Dan Brown'. Had it said 'Loosely, in that I scanned the blurb, instead of reading the book and made a movie - based on the Novel by Dan Brown' that would have been more accurate. Seriously - if you really enjoyed the book - then DON'T watch the movie. You'll feel cheated.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Average Thriller

Sorry but this pretty mediocre. In fact no where near as enjoyable as The DaVinci Code, and that was nothing special.

In this one we have a weak time constrained plot in which the search for clues to prevent the next ritualistic murder involves Tom Hanks looking serious in a library.!!

The arch villain is obvious by the clues always turning away from him/her (I won't give anything away).

Anyway, this is disappointing stuff.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Spectacular

I've just come back from the cinema where I watched the 'Digitally Enhanced' version of Angels And Demons. Wow, is my first reaction - quite literally! I was glued from the word go, probably because my interest of current affairs, and action and adventure entwined. I found it fascinating that the story was centred around not only the Catholic Church, but also the Big Bang experiment which as you may recall (in real life), scientists started the experiment with the Hadron Collider at the end of last year, until things started to go wrong and they had to postpone it. This film again brings to the forefront the age old question of Religion V Science.

Without giving too much away, this is the synopis of the film as shown on the IDBM website. 'When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival'.

The acting was superb. I was especially impressed by Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna.

I enjoyed this film even more than the Da Vinci Code. I thought there was a lot more to it, and it was a lot more realistic. There was also more action and adventure, and a lot more suspense! The twist towards the end was brilliant. I think this film definitely did what it set out to do - get people talking!

great but im disappointed

I honestly thought that this was a good film. I decided to read the book first though and i wish i read it afterwards.

Right from the beginning i knew it was going to be inaccurate. More people knew about the antimatter than there had been in the book. There was also three characters missing from the film. One of them is who the illuminati was supposed to be blamed on. But that was changed.

The ending was different, with someone who dies in the book actualy surviving.

For a big american blockbuster with explosions etc it was good. But i was disappointed by the missing of scenes and characters and the whole thing felt rushed. As if they were on a strict time limit and couldn't be bothered to do it all properly.

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[Highly rated reviewer]

Angels and Demonic story change

If you've read the original book by Dan Brown then you'll see the similarities until the 4th 'preferiti' execution at the Alter of the Science of Water.

If you like special effects, you'll enjoy the last half as it's got some fantastic ones for the finale.

But in general, the plot in essentials til the end is as dictated in the book, but it lacked the raw injustice and energy that the book conveys, it's been usurped by Political Correctness to ensure that certain parties are not compromised or ostracised. For an example of which, look at the 'killer' in the book he is a middle-eastern 'Hassassin' follower of a variation of Islam who is hell-bent on the destruction of the origins of the Christian Church, whilst in the movie it is a confused weak-germanesque villian playing out the stereotypical villian (money goes to bank, he kills, more money in bank, he kills, etc.) YAWN

So in all its a nice film but it lacked the suspense that 'The Da Vinci Code' had.

Thanks but no thanks