It's National Treasure in the Vatican. Or is National Treasure, Angels and Demons taking place in Washington DC? Either way...

For those who were all whipped up over the blasphemy of The Da Vinci Code, you have little to complain about with this production. With this prequel, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is brought into the Vatican to investigate to thwart a possible terrorist attack involving the Illuminati.

Like The Da Vinci Code, director Ron Howard, who normally is a very strong film maker (watch the completely under-rated Cinderella Man to see his best work) but he is hindered by his source material. This is a strained film that can't quite make itself work in an organic fashion. I never lost the feeling I was watching a movie, that I was being manipulated and pushed from scene to scene.

Unlike The Da Vinci Code, this production is watchable and not unbearably boring. The conspiracy at the heart of the narrative at least makes some sense in the context of the story and even the absurd conclusion works if one doesn't think about it.

Hanks has little to do and pretty much replicates his previous performance. He is a master actor, one of the great communicators known in Western Civilization, but here he is left ignoring his talents and simply playing out typical Hollywood scenes of peril. It is like watching a young Michael Jordan playing a game of horse.

If this is the kind of film that sparks your interest, you may like it. For the Catholic readers, there is still plenty here that will annoy you, but most likely it won't offend (at least not deeply). This isn't an attack on your faith, it just uses your religion for a while and then goes away.

In the end, I can't recommend this film because I am sensitive to the continued attack on the Catholic faith. I am not a Catholic, but I am a Christian. Any production that reduces one of us reduces all of us. Even if we set aside the casual use of the Catholic faith for cheap thrills, the dismissive use of the Illuminati still gives me pause. I know a counselor who has personally deprogrammed former members of the real Illuminati and this film underplays the organizations real life dangers. The way this film portrays the evil organization is no different than if they showed Nazis as being really committed socialists. This is serious stuff Howard is messing with and his lack of care with this element is troubling to say the least.




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Labels: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ewan McGregor, film, movie review, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Hanks