A review of the film adaptation of the popular novel, Angel & Demons by Dan Brown.
Angels & Demons follows on the huge success of The Da Vinci Code. While events in the film claim it's a sequel, the book is actually a prequel, to be followed by The Lost Symbol this September. & like all novel-adaptations, except for TLOTR, the book is better than the movie.
Angels & Demons starts off slowly, and then picks up pace with the usual mystery solving and action sequences à la Da Vinci Code (or National Treasure). As with all Dan Brown stories, the plot is simple at first sight, but in fact is convoluted - the Vatican is under attack from a secret society, the Illuminati. The Illuminati have stolen a canister of antimatter (powered by a battery, hence a time bomb) & have hidden it in Vatican. & the only way to find it is through the Path of Illumination.
Tom Hanks is excellent in his role as know-it-all Robert Langdon, with Ayelet Zurer as his female sidekick. But it's Ewan McGregor who's undistinguishable as the Camerlengo (he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars I-III).
Scientific inaccuracies!
This one quite annoyed me because it was so early in the film. Retinal scanners don't work with dead eyes – the dead vessels decay too quickly upon death!
Antimatter is like a blue light-emitting particle-gas. That's impossible because no one actually knows how antimatter will look like - if it's not matter, how can you see it! (On a second thought, maybe the film-makers were right - the antimatter is interacting with infinitely small particles, causing emission of light.)
Finally, there's the explosion - it should have caused intense emission of light which would have blinded everyone.
The film misses a few key elements from the book, but still manages to sustain the intrigue. Not as exciting as the Da Vinci Code, but definitely a great movie. If there is to be an extended version, it'll probably be perfect! :P
Rating - 7/10
X-men Origins: Wolverine
Wolverine is my favourite X-men character, & thus my expectations were high for this film. & it certainly doesn't disappoint - it's a great action flick, but the plot has a few shortcomings. The scenes do not seem contiguous - I suppose it's because the film was re-shot in January.
Otherwise some of the action scenes are pretty unbelievable - walking away calmly from an explosion in the background is so Bollywoodish! & the last fighting scene was quite ridiculous - controlling a mutant via commands! & what happened to Victor?
Overall, it's a good popcorn movie, but it could have been better!
Rating - 7/10
The Pink Panther 2
What would you expect from a sequel of a film like the Pink Panther? Yeah, it's the same jokes all over again. While some are utterly ridiculous, the others are outright lame!
The faux-French is quite irritating & it seems Aishwarya Rai was uncomfortable in her role (or probably it's just me, being accustomed to see her in Bollywood movies). The bottom line is that the good laughs outnumber the bad laughs, so it's watchable. :)
Rating - 6/10
Gran Torino
One of the best movies I've seen this year so far. While I don't really like slow movies, Gran Torino is an exception. Despite his age of 79, Clint Eastwood is sublime in his role as a xenophobic war veteran & ideal American, abandoned by his children.
But more importantly it's the wonderful story of his transformation, owing to his Hmong neighbours, from an irritated old man to a local hero who ultimately sacrifices himself. :D
Rating - 8.5/10
Fanboys
Are you a Star Wars fanboy? Then Fanboys is an absolute must for you! The best comedy I’ve seen this year! & there’s a guy nicknamed Windows in it… :P
Rating – 8/10
