Angels and Demons was released May this year, I watched the Da Vinci Code and therefore felt it a responsibility to watch Angels and Demons. I thoroughly enjoyed the last movie and even though I personally view sequels to be less exciting than the first films, I went to see this on one of the first showings as I’m a sucker for any mystery thrillers and this was definately one which I had anticipated for some time.

I took a girlfriend with me to see it and she had not previously seen the Da Vinci Code, nor was she entirely sure of the storyline behind Angels and Demons. I did think beforehand that this would put her at a disadvantage but she did insist that she was prepared for a bit of confusion and hard work to get through the film!

How it started

The film is based on a novel, also called Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown. Dan Brown wrote a series of novels but in the book versions, Angels and Demons was published before The Da Vinci Code however the film was obviously released after. The director of the film decided to make the film a sequel and not a prequel, although this meant that certain parts of the film were slightly changed, the film does incorporate nearly each aspect of Dan Brown’s book closely.

Where is the film set?

The film was shot mainly in Italy and some of the scenes were also shot in a studio in California. The imagery in the film is excellent in my opinion and there is a wide range of different scenes and locations which the film runs through. This makes the whole film more interesting, I personally cannot stand films which only have a range of about 3 different scenes.
i think the fact that the plot was based in Italy and the fact the film was actually set there gave the film a dimension which made it far more realistic and enjoyable than if it was set in a studio the whole way through.

I have seen films before in which it is obvious that the backgrounds are created and this film went all out to prevent this.
Some of the scenes incorporate at lot of religious imagery which I think is beautiful and simply adds to the mystery of each scene.

Although I do not usually note the special effects in films, I have seen this a few times and can say that I find the effects to be applaudable.
The scenery and the effects really enhance the film’s action status, everything is very quick moving a intense and some of the action scenes are simply amazing.

I was kept excited the whole way through the film and I beleiueve that this is largely due to the story being backed by some excellent scenery, effects and of course music.

What’s it all about?

The film tells the story of a secret society called the Illuminati who kidnap the likely people to assume the position of the pope when he dies at the beginning of the film.

I will not ruin the film, and I honestly cannot explain to you the complications of the story and each character, but I will say that the story to this film is excellent, although I think that all the appraisal should go to Dan Brown as the film is obviously based on his work of literature genius.

There are many religious aspects to the film and therefore from the first minute it is important to pay close attention to each character otherwise the storyline can easily be lost (as my cinema buddy discovered). This often becomes a disadvantage in the film, it can be easy to lose track and it is hard to regain the story once you have.

The Illuminati are a very secret and mysterious group who are causing deaths and destruction all over Rome and so the Vatican call upon Tom Hanks, or as he is known Robert Langdon. Robert Langdon is a professor in symbols from Harvard and he is called upon to solve a series of clues and symbols to help stop the threat of the Illuminati which is being publicly enforced on all of Rome and the Vatican in particular.

This, as many of you may remember is along very similar lines to the first film. However i can assure you that although the stories run particularly parallel to each other, the similarities in plot are very minimal and Angels and Demons offers a fresh storyline from the start. Along with fresh twists and characters.

As in the first film though, Angels and Demons raised a fair amount of controversy and dispute amongst Catholic Church officials.

The film indicates that there is an underground and secret part of the catholic following in Rome and also relates the church to murder and kidnap, and this has disgusted many catholic followers. Whether this is silly, I do not know, but I do know that both films have caused a real big stink amongst many religious parties.

There is also the question in many people’s mind to whether an Illuminati actually exists or existed and such a myth is what worried the church in particular.

I have to agree that some of the symbolism and the theories in the film do make a strange amount of sense. And some of the imagery is so strong that it raised many questions in my head.

My friend and I found ourselves discussing the film for hours afterwards and asking ourselves lots of ‘what ifs?’

This is clearly a sign of good directing, the writers and directors in the film have made it so mysterious yet very easy to look into and come up with a range of valuable conclusions.

I love a film which gets the mind going, and mine really was working the whole way through this film.

The main disadvantage with the storyline being so strongly based on religion is that if like me you are not from a religious or religiously educated background, it is hard to understand on the first watch, some of the characters, their statuses and also what certain revelations within the story mean. It was only after watching the Da Vinci code that I learnt many terms which helped me through Angels and Demons. Without these, i think much of the film will have been lost on me.

Another disadvantage of the story being so in depth is that if like my friend who accompanied me to the cinema, you have not seen the first one it is hard to get relaxed into the story. She said that because she didn’t know what to expect, she only got into the film halfway through and by this point she kept asking me ‘which one is he?’ ‘didn’t he just die’ etc etc. (annoying)

Characters

Apart from Tom Hanks playing a professorI have named a couple of other characters in this film –

• Ewan McGregor – Patrick Mckenna a camerlengo

• Ayelet Zurer – Vittoria Vetra, a scientist whose studies have been stolen by the Illuminati.

• Stellan Skarsgard – Maximillion Richter the head of the Swiss Guard.

• David Pasquesi –Claudio Vincenzi

I had to look a lot of the characters names up online as they are mainly Italian and therefore are hard to learn, despite the fact I’ve seen the film a few times now. I think that because off this complication it is harder to relate and remember each character, and when talking about the film after seeing it, I found myself referring to people by hair colour and part rather than just name.

I was impressed with the performance of each character, the parts played are extremely convincing and Tom Hanks although is a star, is not the only star of this film. Even the smaller parts were played by really convincing actors and it was easy to imagine that each character had been really researched before being screened.

I found the film very complex, and I was glad that the story was supported by such excellent actors, I did find that many times throughout the film I was coming to my own conclusions, it was like being spoon fed a story and I find this part of the thriller Genre very exciting.

The main disadvantage with the acting in this film, was Tom Hanks, I don’t feel that his character was written in the best way, his acting was spot on to what I assume the director was trying to achieve however, I do not feel convinced that the emotional aspect of his character was captured to its fullest. I think that Robert Langdon would be more exciting if he was portrayed as more of an intelligent hero and less of the one-sided professor who just seems to get the job done.

Although the film is a very serious and intense picture, it could have been improved by putting a more emotional side to each character. Tom Hanks would have benefitted if his character was slightly lighter, maybe even slightly humorous. I don’t think that this would have compromised the story line in the slightest, if anything it would only intensify it further.

As an audience member I respond to, and understand human emotion a lot easier than in depth yet shallow acted storylines and therefore I think that if the characters were structured slightly different I may have been able to relate to each one a slight bit more and empathise with Tom Hanks’ character.

I think that all audiences are able to enjoy a film and story if they have a personal connection with at least one of the characters and unfortunately I think that this was missing in Angels and Demons.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to this film is excellent; each song is placed perfectly with the scene it is best suited for.

There are a lot of violins playing in the film and I am understood that one of the composers who did the Da Vinci Code developed one of the songs and used it in Angels and Demons also.

Hans Zimmer, the composer, is responsible for the majority of the soundtrack songs, and although the soundtrack is not as good as the one he constructed for the Da vinci Code, each scene is aided by the intense music playing in the background.

I would say that the soundtrack for this film is perfect for the film title, the music is sometimes very harmonious but each piece of music is undertoned with a darker and heavier sound and I think that this creates the perfect imagery of Angels and Demons.

The choral chanting and violins also perfectly matches the films religious intents and therefore I give the soundtrack a 90% thumbs up.

Who’s it for?

The film is rated a 12A which means that it is suitable for anyone over the age of 12. Although there is not heavy swearing, nudity or particularly graphic scenes of violence, I cannot see than anyone under 18 would enjoy nor understand this film, and therefore I am going to recommend and rerate it to an 18 and I would recommend it to all ages over this. Male and female.

Verdict?

I have thoroughly enjoyed this film each time I have seen it, I like it more for the fact that everytime i see it, i learn more of the film. The film is so in depth that whilst concentrating on one aspect, you are missing another, and each time you see the film more and more becomes clear.

I think this is invaluable, as it is nice to be able to watch a film more than once. Therefore I would definitely recommend that if you are interested, to buy it and not rent it. And watch it with someone who can keep quiet!
I do warn however, this film is not for light viewing and will be lost if you are not prepared to let yourself go into the film and take it seriously.

I would also recommend that if you are planning on watching this, then you watch the Da Vinci Code first.

All in all this film is excellent and can only be improved slightly and I recommend it to anyone who is interested and thinks that this is the type of film for them

xx