Angels & Demons (2009)

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers (WGA):

David Koepp (screenplay) and
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The holiest event of our time. Perfect for their return.

Plot:

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

Plot Keywords:

Illuminati | Vatican | Pope | Conclave | Vatican City

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Robert Langdon
Ewan McGregor	...	Camerlengo Patrick McKenna
Ayelet Zurer	...	Vittoria Vetra
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Commander Richter
Pierfrancesco Favino	...	Inspector Olivetti
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Assassin
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Cardinal Strauss
Thure Lindhardt	...	Chartrand
David Pasquesi	...	Claudio Vincenzi
Cosimo Fusco	...	Father Simeon
Victor Alfieri	...	Lieutenant Valenti
Franklin Amobi	...	Cardinal Lamasse
Curt Lowens	...	Cardinal Ebner
Bob Yerkes	...	Cardinal Guidera
Marc Fiorini	...	Cardinal Baggia (as Marco Fiorini)

Also Known As:

Obelisk (USA) (fake working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material.

Runtime:

138 min | 146 min (extended edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Latin | French | Swiss German | German | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44269) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-13 | UK:12A (cut) | Hong Kong:IIB | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Czech Republic:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:16 | Germany:12 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Iceland:14 | Mexico:B15 | Japan:G | France:U | Taiwan:PG-12 | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-15 (Extended cut) | Singapore:NC-16 (extended version) | Australia:M | Netherlands:16 (extended edition) | UK:12 (video rating) (cut) | Ireland:12 (video rating) | UK:15 (blu-ray)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

The 'God particle' referred to in the movie is the Higgs-Boson particle, theorized in 1963-64. The LHC in Geneva is indeed seeking out the nature of this particle, which is claimed to give mass to all matter in the Universe.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Langdon states that, after the death of the Pope and before his successor is chosen, the Camerlengo becomes Head of the Catholic Church. While the Camerlengo does in fact become acting head of state of Vatican City, leadership of the Church is taken up by the College of Cardinals.

Quotes:

Robert Langdon: [after suggesting a policeman not to bring him back to Vatican, but to let him save the last cardinal; the policeman turns to his colleague to confer] By all means, let's talk it over!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Angels & Demons: Decoded (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Introitus

A Nutshell Review: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks returns as Dan Brown's symbologist Robert Langdon in his first adventure Angels & Demons, which Hollywood decided to make after The Da Vinci Code, given the latter's more controversial subject striking a raw nerve on the faith itself. The Catholic Church was up in arms over the first film, but seemingly nonchalant about this one. And it's not hard to see why, considering Ron Howard had opted to do a flat-out action piece that serves as a great tourism video of Rome and Vatican City, and would probably boost visitor numbers given the many beautiful on-location scenes, save for St Peter's Square and Basilica which was a scaled model used.

So I guess with the bulk of the budget going toward the sets, the ensemble cast had to be correspondingly scaled down. Ayelet Zurer tried to step into the female void left by Audrey Tautou, but given Tautou's character then having a lot more stake in the film, Zurer's scientist Vittoria had a lot less to do other than just waiting in the wings to change some batteries on a canister filled with anti-matter. In the book she's the fodder of course for Langdon to converse his vast knowledge of the Vatican, the Illuminati and the great feud between the two, but here she's neither love interest, nor his intellectual equal.

Ewan McGregor on the other hand, chews up each scene he's in as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, who is temporarily taking care of the Papal office while the other prominent cardinals are in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new Pope. And he plays Patrick with that glint in the eye, with nuances enough to let you know there's more than meets the eye. There's no surprises here for readers of the novel, but McGregor's performance here is one of the highlights of the film as Hanks plays well, Tom Hanks.

The book itself is rich with arguably accurate content as always, and had a lot more plot points on science versus religion, and a wealth of information that Dan Brown researched and linked together in an engaging fictional piece of work. While reading the book some years ago, I thought that should a film be made of it, it's easy to lapse and dwell more on the set action pieces. Sadly, that's what this Ron Howard film did, with a pace that doesn't allow a temporary breather. Unlike the first film where you had the characters sit down for some "discussion time" over a cup of tea, this one moved things along so quickly, it's like reading the book all over again, page after page being skipped just to get to the thick of the action.

Catholic reviewers have called Angels & Demons harmless, because I guess it didn't dwell on its many controversies, unlike The Da Vinci Code which struck a raw nerve at the centre of the faith. And if anything, this film served as a great tourism promotional video with a nice showcase of the many prominent touristy landmarks that would entice many around the world to go pay a visit. Naturally certain areas like the catacombs beneath St Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican archives remain out of bounds, but the walk along the Path of Illumination, now that's almost free.

Nothing new for those who have read the book other than to see it come alive, but for those who haven't, this film may just compel you to pick up Dan Brown's novel just to read a bit more about the significance about the landmarks, and characters such as Galileo, Michelangelo and Bernini who are intricately linked to the plot, but much left unsaid. Satisfying pop-corn entertainment leaving you with nothing spectacular.