Howard Finally Captures Brown’s Vision In “Angels & Demons”

No matter what opinion you hold of Dan Brown and how much of his stories he’s stolen, it’s hard to deny that the man can weave a tale. With “The Da Vinci Code,” however, that storytelling didn’t transfer to the silver screen, despite the presence of director Ron Howard. In Howard’s next stab at directing a Brown novel, “Angels & Demons,” he fares much better, creating a compelling movie that sucks you in with tremendous pacing.

“Angels & Demons” was actually published before “The Da Vinci Code” and takes place before it chronologically, although “Angels & Demons” is still being billed as the sequel. And if “The Da Vinci Code” offended the Roman Catholic Church with some of its themes and assertions, then the “Angels & Demons” took it straight across the line and went ahead and took a dump on the church itself. “Angels & Demons” features murdered Popes, murdering priests and rigged elections, while painting the Vatican as the equivalent of the CTU headquarters on “24.”

Tom Hanks is back as professor Robert Langdon, and he seems to be much more secure and comfortable in the role this time around. Partially, the heightened sense of believability surrounding him in this one could be aided by the fact that there is no highly forced, nonexistent sexual tension with the female lead. Ayelet Zurer plays Vittoria Vetra, but her part is minimal and Howard made a wise decision in pushing her into the background and allowing the story to dominate the movie. The casting surprises are Ewan McGregor as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna and Stellan Skarsgard as Commander Richter; two relatively heavy-hitters in the movie biz who are relegated to lower billing, but make the most of their opportunities.


It had been a few years since I read “Angels & Demons,” but reliving it through the flick quickly jogged my memory, and Howard did a much better job of envisioning the book as a film, in my opinion. I believe a big part of that is that the plotlines of “Angels & Demons” lend themselves better to the screen, with a series of events happening in sequence and linked a bit better. Eliminating the straight hottie in the female lead role also assisted in relying on the history, culture and tradition of Rome, the Vatican and the Roman Catholic church to elevate the movie.

After the severe average-ness of “The Da Vinci Code,” I wasn’t willing to risk a trip to the theater to see this one, but it fit in nicely as a NetFlix addition, and it’s well worth the time to see both Howard and Hanks performing at levels closer to what we usually expect of them.