Date Watched: 1/10/10
Viewing: 1st (although I did read the book)
I had pretty mediocre expectations for this movie as I did not foresee it making a smooth transition from book to the big screen. I decided to give it a chance due to my love of Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) and Tom Hanks (Money Pit-coming soon!). Both men have done much better work and I think just wanted to make a couple extra million dollars. The basic idea is that there is an epidemic in the Vatican city while the cardinals are electing a new pope and Robert Langdon (Hanks) is brought in to help solve the mystery due to his knowledge of Symbols (and apparently everything there is to know about history).
The movie itself wasn't in of and of itself a failure. It did however have some downsides. As I somewhat predicted, there was way too much detail from the book (both plot and descriptions) to try to force it into a movie. Thus, the entire movie feels rushed and uncomfortable. The scenery is beautiful and I enjoyed all the architecture. The movie is an interesting discussion of science and religion. The dialogue is actually sometimes thought provoking and the theme itself holds. I also really enjoyed the little history facts, however I don't know how much of it is true or just speculation. I absolutely hate Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon (one of the worst castings of all time in my opinion), with his sleazy greased-back hair, but he does OK. I loved the casting of the cardinals, who all seemed very authentic and gave good performances. Ewan McGregor's character was changed a great deal from the book and it was a little hit or miss at times. Mostly, I feel like it was forced and too long to hold my attention.
Overall, a much better book than movie. A pretty basic box-office movie which would probably entertain most, especially if they had made the plot flow better and shortened the movie a bit.
I would recommend it if: you don't read books, like box office movies, are interested in Italian history, or want to see Tom Hanks briefly in a speedo.
Rating: 3 stars
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