Let there be white smoke…

In Angels and Demons it becomes apparent very quickly that all is not well in the state of the Vatican. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is presented with evidence which suggests the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati, the most powerful underground organisation in history. The Catholic Church, whose cardinals have gathered in conclave at the Sistine Chapel to elect the new Pope, faces a deadly threat to its very existence from its most despised enemy: the Illuminati.

Langdon quickly realises that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable time bomb, and so he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, an enigmatic Italian scientist.

Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.

With this movie, director Ron Howard has again been fairly faithful to the source material, Dan Brown’s book of the same name. But everything about this movie is epic in scope. The soundtrack with its sinister bells and simmering strings, the glorious Roman backdrop, but most of all the grandiose subject matter. Science versus religion, man versus God. There are mighty, mighty themes and settings at play here. It would be very easy to go wrong. But unlike the more sprawling DaVinci Code, here Howard does a steady job of keeping the narrative in check and allows the plot to bound forward at an unrelenting pace. In fact he gets into the narrative quite quickly and it rockets along from there.

And, again thankfully, unlike the DaVinci Code, there is no sentimental love story to get bogged down in and for the most part the roles are understated. In fact some of the backstory and narrative are stripped back to make for a leaner, meaner plot and this helps the movie to plough along without ever really letting up.

Sure enough ethical questions are posed about the nature of religious custom and devotion in the face of radical scientific advance, but thankfully Howard doesn’t get bogged down in these and most go unanswered.

Mostly the acting is fine, never quite show-stopping but that’s okay. No-one gets in too deep. Tom Hanks resumes his role as Robert Langdon with a certain confidence, an unremarkable efficiency. Hanks is Hanks. Nothing strange there.

Ayelet Zurer is assured if not exactly memorable as Vittoria Vetra. Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino and Nikolaj Lie Kaas (as the Assassin) all give steady, character performance in supporting roles. However the one major disappointment is Ewan McGregor who is badly cast as an Irish priest in the hugely important role of Papal Camerlengo. He won’t be winning any Oscars for this performance that’s for sure.

McGregor just doesn’t cut the mustard or even quite suit the role, to my mind at least. It would’ve been of greater benefit to cast someone less well known but with greater intensity and acting range for what should be such a distinctive and central character as the story unfolds.

Thankfully, however, he steers clear of trying to act with an Irish accent, although there is one notable exception, and you will agree with me when you see it. It’s so bad it’s laughable.

Plot wise, there is some cheap exposition which is just about forgiveable for a movie of this scale. Some of the narrative devices and plot points are slight but again are necessary and with a little suspension of disbelief you should let them away with it.

There are more twists than you can shake a stick at, as you may well predict, particularly if you’ve read the book.

Yes it’s flawed, yes it’s disposable but in truth it’s actually quite enjoyable.

So all told Angels and Demons is harmless enough. It won’t change your life, it’s not that mindblowing but it makes for good cinema all the same. It’s an epic, suspenseful thriller and it will entertain you for 2 and a half hours.

Go see it for yourself. It’s worth a look.