By Jeff Bayer
Full Review at The Scorecard Review

Angels & Demons
Opening: May 15, 2009
Synopsis:
When Harvard religious expert and symbologist Richard Langdon discovers the resurgence of an ancient brotherhood known as the Illuminati, he flies to Rome to warn the Vatican, the Illuminati's most hated enemy. Joining forces with beautiful Italian scientist Vittoria Vetra, Langdon follows a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols in the hope of preventing the Illuminati's deadly plot against the Roman Catholic Church from coming to fruition.

Transcript:
It's kind of weird, for a big summer blockbuster, I don't feel like anyone is talking about Angels & Demons. I just keep thinking Howard and Hanks have to make a better film, right?

Based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown, Harvard religious symbologist Robert Langdon, this time with better hair, once again finds himself up against forces that will stop at nothing to try and destroy the Catholic church after the recent death of the Pope . And it could just be the church's old rival, the Illuminati, behind it all.

This book actually came out before "The Da Vinci Code" but this movie comes after that movie. Confused. Don't worry, that's just the start. I love when our lead characters are the smartest guys in the room, but I felt like I needed a couple of classes to keep up with Langdon here. And I don't know about you, but I like my movie mysteries best when I feel like I have a chance to solve the puzzle along with them. Here, we're just watching Hanks run around at statues pointing at certain directions, but it feels a lot more complicated.

Plus, we're really not connected to the potential Pope's who are being murdered one by one.
It needed more moments of Hanks being trapped in the air-tight Vatican archives or saying a man from drowning, and less time speed talking about Catholic history. Though Hanks does nail the line "Faith is a gift I have yet to receive."

The best part of this film? It's getting to see all the nooks and crannies of Vatican City that we're not allowed into, including the Vatican archives.

Look, I'm on the fence with this one. Angels & Demons is definitely better then The Da Vinci Code, but that's not saying a lot. You won't hate it if you see it in the theater, but if you have a nice flat screen at home, wait for DVD.

Final Score 6/10
Full Review at The Scorecard Review