| Arts & Entertainment

If you want a scenic, thrilling adventure film ... and can stomach the cheap shots at Catholicism, “Angels and Demons” is worth a view.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), professor of symbology at Harvard University was swimming his customary laps in the University pool, when he emerges from the pool face to face with a bleary-eyed stranger Claudio Vincenzi (David Pasquesi) carrying what he immediately recognizes as a Vatican briefcase.

Now why would the Vatican want to run after Langdon, who, according to the film “The Da Vinci Code” uncovered the greatest hoax of all time; the fact that Jesus Christ had a child with Mary Magdalene? Because they are desperate, and even though they have repeatedly denied him access to the Vatican Archives, this time the Vatican security is seeking his expertise in an emergency, which is above their capacity.

This improbable opening scene immediately weakens the credibility of the plot of the film. In the novel, Langdon is summoned by scientists to CERN a huge laboratory complex in Geneva, to solve a murder of a priest-scientist, with the word “Illuminati” branded on his chest. Landon has written a book about this secret society of artists and scientists formed by Galileo in response to persecution by the Church.

It seems that the ancient Illuminati have re-emerged for revenge, stealing anti-matter, a highly combustible secret discovery. Landon finds himself swept along with CERN physicist Vittoria Veetra (Ayelet Zuhrer) to Rome; to solve the Illuminati plot. It seems that, after the Pope’s death, the Illuminati are poised to strike at a leaderless Church to deal Rome a mortal blow.

In the headquarters of the Swiss Guard, the Vatican Security Police, Langdon meets scientist Vittoria Veetra partner of the slain CERN scientist who is there to diffuse the ticking time bomb of undetectable, highly explosive anti-matter, before it is detonated at midnight. Langdon and Veetra’s missions merge as they discover that the Illuminati are behind both the threat to murder four cardinals in four different Churches in Rome, and the threat to release the power of the antimatter to incinerate the entire Vatican in an explosion of light.

The strange opening scene; Vatican comes to non-believing scientist for assistance, serves two ends; sparing the audience the painstakingly slow scenes in CERN, and lionizing Professor Langdon as a forgiving soul who overlooks the anti-knowledge bent of the Vatican by impetuously agreeing to save the Church. The cardinals are not portrayed as enemies; they are merely simple decrepit old men who cling to traditions for their own sake.

The head of the Swiss Guard Commander Richter (Stellan Skarsgard) is a bull of a man with an instant distrust of Langdon and Veetra. Nowhere is there a profound display of religious belief, until we meet the young Irish Camerlengo Fr. Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor), who was raised by the deceased pope, and bears the responsibility of holding the reigns of power until a new pontiff is elected. His calmness under pressure makes him a natural leader, despite his youth, but his authority is challenged by Cardinal Strauss (Armin Mueller-Stahl) Head of the College of Cardinals, and the Commander Richter. Fr Patrick overrides their objections and allows Langdon and Veetra access to the Vatican Archives to research Galileo’s files.

Langdon’s current book involves the Church’s persecution of Galileo, and his founding of the Illuminati. It is in his pamphlet that clues to the first of four churches where the cardinals will be murdered within an hour are to be found. Galileo spread this pamphlet throughout Europe to invite scientists and artists to his secret meeting place within Rome itself. Will the team of intellectual unbelievers be able to lead the Catholic law enforcement team to the murder sites in time to save the Preferitti, or the four cardinals most favored to be elected pope?

Stunning visuals of Roman art and architecture are mixed seamlessly with remarkable computer generated scenes inside the Vatican (no commercial films are permitted in the interior of Rome’s churches) The score by Hans Zimmer ranges from traditional Gregorian chant to stirring modern choral crescendos, which add eternal significance to the film’s National Treasure style action. Director Ron Howard was right about one thing; this film portrays the Catholic Churches of Rome and the ancient splendor of the ceremony of the conclave with power and majesty, all built upon the bones of St Peter himself. Yet it is an empty grandeur, resting its foot on the neck of true knowledge, and without belief in Jesus Christ. In fact, Christ’s name is conspicuously absent in the film.

Ron Howard’s direction and the beauty of Roman churches may take the edge off Dan Brown’s cheap shots at the Church; however, some of them manage to puncture what could be a seamlessly spellbinding film with the adolescent vulgarity of spitballs in church. How is it essential to the plot for ...