Angels and Demons in Conflict

Ron Howard and his team produced and directed Dan Brown's second bestseller to grace the silver screen.

Watching this movie, one can't help but compare it with the Da Vinci Code, a more compelling book as it involves the Christ. The plot here is more lightweight and as such less engaging.

Sequential production hardly match the first and so it is with Angels and Demons. Story-line plods in most parts and one has to really understand the customs of the Vatican to fully appreciate the procedural going-ons of electing a new Pope.

Except for Tom Hanks and Ewan Macgregor, most of the other actors are not top billing.

Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Professor Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals.

The movie started off quite well with the death of a scientist and the stealing of a vial of anti-matter which is apparently a new energy source.

In Rome, the Vatican mourns the passing of the Pope. The Vatican staff prepares for the Conclave of the College of Cardinals, which will select the next Pope. Until the Conclave selects a new Pope, the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) assumes day-to-day control of the Vatican. Reporters, nuns, priests and other faithful all crowd into St. Peter's Square, waiting for the white smoke from the Conclave.

But the Illuminati, a 400-year old, underground secret society, kidnaps the four most likely candidates (preferratti) before the Conclave goes into seclusion. The Illuminati threatens to kill them at 8, 9, 10 and 11 PM, and then destroy the Vatican in a burst of light at midnight.

Prof Robert Langdon and Dr. Vittoria Vetra attempts to locate the four missing cardinals and solve the Illuminati's threat. They have to brave a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival, going through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth.

There was some confusion at the end with some unanswered questions posed. Why did the Camerlengo go to all the trouble to poison the Pope and kill the four cardinals and yet save the Vatican from the bomb. Ron Howard has one loose end to tie here.