Movie Review: Angels & Demons

Poster

My Rating: 4Stars

This afternoon I saw the movie Angels & Demons at Grand Ocean Theater, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Another one of the movies from my Must See Movies list.

This is a movie from the Dr. Langdon franchise, the first being the 2006 movie, The Da Vinci Code. There were very little references to the previous movie accept for the use of the same lead character, Dr. Robert Langdon, played by the Oscar winning Tom Hanks, and several references to Langdon’s activities against the Catholic church. As a result no requirements to watch the first movie for viewers to be able to enjoy this one. Like the first movie, this was also directed by the award winning director, Ron Howard. These factors may be the reasons behind why the movie was sold out at almost every cinemas in Hong Kong on Thursday (release day in Hong Kong), Friday and Saturday.

I had not read the book prior to going into this movie. For those who knows me I am not the book reading type, nor am I the type who reads the book version prior to watching a movie. Having said that, I’m not sure how accurate the screenplay was compared to the book. Ones who had read the book may be disappointed from the accuracy of the portrayal.

Much of the suspense in the movie was created by the mysterious circumstances of the story and the hidden messages throughout the plot. So for movie goers who read the book it may not be as entertaining as it may be for someone who enjoys mysteries.

There were quite a few misleading twists in the plot and were well performed by Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård. To say any more will make this a spoiler. People who read the book will already know what they are.

I really like movies directed by Howard and the way he tells the story using his cinematography. He has come a long way since his Richard ‘Richie’ Cunningham character from the 70’s TV series, Happy Days.

If you like mysteries, Tom Hanks and Ron Howard, this is definitely a movie you need to watch. If you are a book buff who reads the book prior to watching the movie, you may be disappointed if you don’t just plan on being entertained by the movie.

Rating Legend:
5Stars Not to be missed
4Stars Wait for the DVD
3Stars Buy from iTunes Store
2Stars Rent it on iTunes
1Stars Waste your time elsewhere

One Reply to “Movie Review: Angels & Demons”

  1. I give it your 1-star. Waste of my time. The villain was obvious from the moment of introduction and the lengths to plant the red herring were ludicrous.I didn't think anything could be worse than Wolverine. Summer 2009 is off to a bad start.

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