Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Friday, May 15, 2009 1:13:09 PM
You know how it is when you're absolutely dreading a particular event, concerned that whoever's in charge will just make a hash out of it? And how grateful you are when it turns out not to be half as bad as you had thought it might be (even though, objectively, it's still not very good)?
"Angels & Demons" is sort of like that.
Those who saw its predecessor, "The DaVinci Code" will know what I mean. Like "Angels & Demons", "The DaVinci Code" was written by Dan Brown. Unlike "Angels & Demons", "The DaVinci Code" was a huge best-seller and (for reasons unknown to me) a blockbuster of a movie (although I think the two may be tied together). It also overtly attacked most of the fundamental beliefs held by Christians everywhere, and in particular the Catholic Church, by suggesting that Jesus not only lived, but married and had children, some of whose progeny still survived. The result was that many were outraged - and as a result, "The DaVinci Code" did big box office.
"Angels & Demons" will generate neither the outrage nor the big box office. Thankfully, it does not bash Christianity, Christian doctrine or the Catholic Church. In fact, parts of it - at least a few parts of it - are actually positive to religion. For example, near the end of the film, one of the cardinals, played well by Armin Mueller-Stahl, tells the hero, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), that he thanks God for sending him to help. Hanks replies that he really doesn't think that God sent him. Stahl pats him gently on the shoulder, as you would a child who just couldn't grasp what you were telling him, and says "Of course he did".
Fundamentally, "Angels & Demons" is a political thriller set against the background of the Catholic Church and its efforts to find a new Pope after the old one dies (or was it murder?). There follows a very human and basic quest for power and position that plays out pretty well - if you can ignore the absolute silliness of the plot and the extreme unlikelihood that anyone - even the most Machiavellian of minds - could conjure this plan and have any real hope that it would come to fruition.
But despite that, you're so grateful that the Church has not been degraded and its belief system not attacked that it isn't until you leave the film, and have time to give it some thought, that you realize what a bunch of hokum you've just watched.
So should you rush out and see it? Eh. The movie is stylish, the action scenes are pretty well done, and the supporting cast, particularly Stahl, Stellan Skarsgård as the commander of the Swiss Guard, and Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, are very good. It's just that pesky plot....