While critics around the world savaged The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard’s turgid adaptation of Dan Brown’s runaway airport bestseller, it still went on to make over and above US$700 million at the box office. It was long, boring and without any discernible style, which could just as easily have been a description of Tom Hanks ill-advised haircut. It was a lazy adaptation of a fairly poorly written yet popular novel and marketed itself as such, with Hanks on board for added star power. The figures, however, speak for themselves and one must be grateful, therefore, that for this sequel, in fact based on the prequel novel, Howard, Hanks and Hanks’ hairdresser have all taken on board the barrage of criticisms heaped upon TDVC. Angels & Demons is shorter, faster paced, more violent and exciting than its predecessor, yet just as preposterous in its Papal-baiting subject matter.

Harvard Professor and famed symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to The Vatican City after four high ranking cardinals are kidnapped, apparently by the Illuminati, a secret society originating from the 17th Century who championed science in the face of the Catholic Church. The Vatican is at a point of crisis, the Pope has just died and the Papal conclave has yet to elect a successor. The kidnapped cardinals were the preferred candidates and the Illuminati plans to kill them in ritualistic executions, culminating in the destruction of the Vatican using a stolen canister of antimatter. Langdon is charged with the task of deciphering the symbolic and literary clues left by the Illuminati in the hope of preventing the murders and explosion before the night is out.

It is simple enough to say that Angels & Demons is a better film than The Da Vinci Code. This time around there is a more straightforward plot and the puzzles Professor Langdon and Vittoria, his latest female European ingénue, this time the bio-physicist who created the antimatter, are asked to solve serve a more narratively satisfying purpose than in the previous film. Fans of philosophy, art history, architecture and symbology will still find plenty to enjoy as, at its base level, the film can be seen as little more than a whistle stop tour of the Vatican and churches of Rome, with the occasional priest immolation. Angels & Demons has a far higher body count than its predecessor, will numerous stabbings, shootings, brandings and even eye-gouging serving to further enhance the overall mood of brutality, barbarism and benediction.

Like in The Da Vinci Code, the film seems to be wagging its finger at the Catholic Church and its irresponsible manipulation of the scriptures and its followers for more material and earthly gain. This time around, the debate is Science vs. Religion and examining how anyone can adhere to a belief system of one without first denouncing the other. But fear not, the film is less interested in upsetting Catholics than it is, fortunately, in entertaining its audience.

One specific criticism of TDVC was that much of the "action" took place in gloomy, under-lit locations. As if to stick two fingers up in response to this, a plot device introduced in A&D calls for the lights in various parts of Rome to be systematically turned off, often just as Langdon & Co. arrive at the scene. The film is far more conscious of its audience this time out, and the polarised opinions they carry with them. The film is played, therefore, fairly tongue in cheek, with plenty of gags played out as much for the viewers' benefit than to enhance
the story.

Tom Hanks is clearly enjoying himself, is looking fitter and more stylish and has wisely trimmed back his mullet. The supporting cast is made up of able and suitably sinister characters, including Stellan Skarsgard and Armin Mueller-Stahl who do their best to look shifty and impede Hanks’ mission for vague, faith-related reasons.

Ayelet Zurer, apparently the Israeli Julia Roberts, whom audiences might recognise from Munich and Vantage Point, is handed the entirely thankless role of Vittoria, a vacancy that is fast becoming ‘Bond girl with a PhD’ if Langdon's adventures are to continue. Ewan McGregor also makes a memorable appearance as the Camerlengo, the Papal chamberlain who becomes caretaker-Pope while the conclave is convened.

All told, Angels & Demons is an enjoyable whistle-stop thrill ride through Rome’s artistic and architectural highlights and everything that The Da Vinci Code should have been. Howard has wisely stripped out the more preposterous elements of Brown’s source novel, without straying far enough to upset fans of the book. The film takes us behind the closed doors of the Vatican, detailing the ritualistic and ceremonial secrets that have made the Catholic Church the fascinating and intimidating institution it is today. It also remembers to include a sense of urgency and a degree of danger in its fantastical, yet engaging plot. And is all the better because of it. James Marsh