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Angels & Demons is the film sequel to The Da Vinci Code, and is luckily twice as exciting while being slightly less preposterous than its predecessor. That isn't saying much, of course, but it allows for Angels & Demons to at least be some decent fun. Director Ron Howard has clearly taken the criticism of the first film to heart and crafted a sequel that feels urgent. Tom Hanks, reprising his role as Robert Langdon, even looks like he is having more fun this time around. Joining the cast are Ayelet Zurer as the physicist Vittoria, Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo, and Stellan Skarsgard as Richter. Nothing extraordinary comes from the bunch, but the performances are all fine nonetheless. The film is a National Treasure-style romp through Rome to find churches, follow statues, and save cardinals from being executed. And as if that wasn’t enough, an anti-matter bomb threat is even thrown into the mix. Time is shown periodically onscreen to keep things moving and establishes some suspense. It gets talky at many points, but the science vs. religion discussions are variably compelling, history lessons informative, and the cinematography in the film is enough to keep things interesting (especially shots of Rome). Even when nothing much is happening, Hans Zimmer's score maintains much of the tension.
Elements of the novel may have been preposterous, but the film feel even more preposterous despite some of the changes made to avoid this. Scenes and reveals near the end are absolutely cringe-worthy, and it is difficult to take the film seriously after them. It may just be that Dan Brown’s novels are not the most suitable for film adaptation. While much better than The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons is just too ridiculous to be anything more than an entertaining, but disposable, film.
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