Film: 'Angels and Demons' a convoluted bore

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The latest Dan Brown adaptation is heavier on demons than angels.
"Angels & Demons," the follow-up to "The Da Vinci Code," is astounding in its ability to transform an exciting read into a convoluted bore.
Directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, the movie fails by focusing on the story's routine action side rather than the fascinating historical trivia intertwined with saliva-inducing conspiracy theories. It plays out like a scavenger hunt, with Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Hanks) rushing to one historic Roman building after another, scrunching his brow, solving a symbol-related puzzle with ease, then rushing off to the next place.
The setting is Rome and Vatican City after the death of a pope. The College of Cardinals has entered a conclave, in which cardinals are locked inside a building until they've elected a successor, but the four cardinals who are the strongest candidates to lead the Catholic Church are missing.
Vatican police fly Langdon in to take a look at cryptic notes from a criminal who claims to be with the Illuminati, a secret society that the church thought it destroyed hundreds of years ago. The unseen bad guy says a cardinal will be killed every hour, and the Vatican will be destroyed afterward. Not seeking ransom, the terrorists mean only to tear down the church and announce the grand return of the Illuminati, who are said to believe that science must conquer religion to save humanity.
Even though Brown wrote "Angels & Demons" before "The Da Vinci Code," Howard made "Angels & Demons" a sequel and includes references to the earlier film, making the new adventure Langdon's opportunity to help the church out after undermining it before.
Alliterative research scientist Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) tags along with Langdon as he sleuths, out of guilt that the terrorist stole the weapon of mass destruction from her lab. It's a vial of antimatter capable of wiping out miles of buildings and killing millions.
Langdon and Vetra get a hand from Carmalengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor), who was the adopted son and confidant of the departed pope and who acts as the leader until the conclave elects a new pope.
While studying a rare Galileo book in the Vatican archives, Langdon deduces that the Illuminati are hiding the missing cardinals at points that signify the organization's revered symbols of earth, air, fire and water. As Langdon, Vetra and their police escorts encounter each location, they find that the cardinals have been killed in sadistic ways that incorporate each element (drowning for water, burning for fire, and you don't even want to know what they do for earth -- yech!).
The most interesting aspect of the book was its exploration of the ongoing struggle between science and religion -- unreligious scientists believe moral authorities stifle their work, and thus the progression of our species, while the conservative religious side counters that unchecked research without moral controls can lead to destruction. Howard only touches on the quandary, sticking with chases, fights and grotesque murder scenes.
Hanks is normally a solid actor, but he's a pretentious bore as Langdon. That's partly due to the way the character is written, but it's frustrating to see Hanks, who is usually a relatable Everyman, as a distant, narcissistic academic who never shows a soft, vulnerable side. At least he's lost the ridiculous mullet from "The Da Vinci Code."
There's too little humor to keep the gears greased, unless you count unintended guffaws. The few attempts at lightening the mood are stiff and dry.
As the movie slogs on, there's a distinct feeling that Howard is treating the church with kid gloves to avoid angering the Vatican, as he did with "The Da Vinci Code." One reason Brown's book was so fascinating was that he examined the murderous past of the Catholic Church and brought to light little-known details about Vatican rituals, particularly the way it elects new leaders.
The movie glosses over the election process, the hierarchy and the history of papal elections. As a result, there's been no Catholic outrage, and a Vatican newspaper even called the film "harmless."
Which sounds to me like a nice way to say "boring."

2 stars out of 4
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material.
Family call: Too slow for most kids.
Running time: 138 minutes.

(Pvillarreal(at)azstarnet.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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