Kudos must go to director Howard, along with screenwriters David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman, for taking a step back from the source material and realizing that it would work so much better if it was treated as a silly, dumb blockbuster rather than a straight and serious film. The latter is what ultimately held The Da Vinci Code back, and luckily Howard has learned his lesson. The choice to switch this to take place after Da Vinci instead of before (as the books were) was a wise decision, simply because for the excitement and interest in the "end of the world" story to be maintained throughout, we have to believe the worst could happen. With faults firmly in tow, Angels & Demons is an entertaining and attention-grabbing movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. If only Howard had realized that when he had Da Vinci in mind.
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
"There will undoubtedly be another controversy over Angels & Demons as there was with The Da Vinci Code, most likely over the scenes of violence relating to the Catholic church, even if they aren't the ones being portrayed committing that violence."
From what I've seen, no controversy whatsoever. The RCC is probably much like anyone else: being depicted committing malevolent acts is more offensive than being depicted as the victim of malevolent acts.
In other words, that's an enormous "even if"!
2 - JP
Good review - alleviates a couple of my fears..especially about the hair! :)