ANGELS & DEMONS... I saw the film last night, and found it pretty entertaining. I’d compare it to The Da Vinci Code, but all I remember from that film (since I only saw it once, and that was when it came out in 2006) was that Paul Bettany played an albino assassin, and Jesus Christ knocked up Mary Magdalene. Of course, like Angels & Demons, I never read the book to that previous film, so my non-existent expectations made these two flicks fun to watch.
What made Angels & Demons amusing is that over the course of the film, it eventually explained certain trivial plot points that I found odd (I know, I know... DUHHH). One of them was why Tom Hanks’ character, Robert Langdon, didn’t carry any weapons on him when he knew he was involved in a case that involved Catholic cardinals being kidnapped and murdered. But later on in the film, the assassin explains to Langdon—after they finally meet face-to-face—that he had numerous opportunities to kill Langdon...but he didn’t ‘cause Langdon ‘was unarmed’ and the assassin wasn’t instructed to kill the ‘symbologist’ (a derisive nickname a Vatican security officer gave to Hanks’ character earlier in the movie). Still though, Langdon should’ve at least carried some kind of object to defend himself with. Unless he thought that flashlight he constantly welded would suffice against a gun with a silencer on it. Langdon got lucky this time around.
So Obi-Wan Kenobi almost became the Pope, eh? I’m referring to the Camerlengo played by Ewan McGregor. Most of the film’s twists and turns revolved around his character. In one instance you’re rooting for him to save the Catholic Church and defeat the Illuminati, and in another instance, you’re suspicious over his actions. That other plot point I referred to in the previous paragraph that I found odd: How fortunate that the helicopter McGregor used to dispose that (antimatter) bomb with in the movie's climax had a parachute packed onboard it. I can’t think of any choppers in real life that would normally be equipped with chutes. Pardon my ignorance.
While there were several twists involving the Camerlengo, it was still unsurprising that we find out that he was the main villain. The one thing you’ll notice about film thrillers: The character who acts very nice and is very helpful throughout a movie usually ends up being the main suspect. Just look at Al Pacino’s character in last year’s Righteous Kill. But all in all, Angels & Demons was still an interesting film. It carried the not-so-unique message about how religion and science can co-exist in the modern world, but that’s okay. Out of 10 stars, I give the film…an 8.
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