Travis Simpkins: Galileo Galilei

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Angels & Demons (2009): Tom Hanks, Robert Langdon and the Illuminati

Directed by Ron Howard, with a screenplay co-written by Akiva Goldsman, Angels & Demons (2009) was based on the acclaimed novel by Dan Brown… but takes drastic liberties with some elements of storyline set down in the book. The basic tenets of the plot remain intact: Harvard University Professor and Symbologist Robert Langdon is called by the Vatican to lend his expertise in the investigation of the abduction of four Preferiti during Conclave after the death of the Pope. A centuries-old secret society called the Illuminati, seeking retribution in the war of Science and Religion, plans to brand and murder the Cardinals and implode Vatican City by detonating a volatile canister of Antimatter stolen from the CERN laboratories. Robert Langdon must seek out information in the works of Galileo and Bernini in the Vatican Secret Archives, follow a secret path of art markers through the street-maze of Rome and find the antimatter before it is too late. Much of the characterization that worked so well in the book is lost… whole individuals are missing, other interrelations between sets are muddled… particularly in regard to Vittoria, Langdon and the Hassassin. Otherwise, the film offers a great deal of visual splendor and Baroque artwork displayed against the intriguing paradox of modern Rome and Vatican City. From St. Peter's Square to the Pantheon, the story is fast-paced and exciting. Tom Hanks is great as Robert Langdon. Ayelet Zurer is lovely as Vittoria Vetra. Ewan McGregor does a fine job as the Camerlengo. The rest of the cast is good as well, including Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

St. Peter's Square- Vatican City: Angels & Demons

Antimatter: Angels & Demons

The Pope's funeral: Angels & Demons

Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks: Angels & Demons

Conclave: Angels & Demons

Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and the Vatican Secret Archives: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks in the Vatican Secret Archives: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Galileo's work: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer : Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks: Angels & Demons

: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

The Hassassin: Angels & Demons

: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks: Angels & Demons

The Vatican Bank Archives: Angels & Demons

Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

Stellan Skarsgard and Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

Ewan McGregor: Angels & Demons

Ayelet Zurer: Angels & Demons

"Angels & Demons"- movie trailer

Thursday, March 19, 2015

"Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown

"Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown

Simon & Schuster, 2000

Review by Travis Simpkins

The reemergence of the secret brotherhood of Illuminati, an Antimatter weapon of mass destruction, the Vatican during Conclave, four abducted and murdered Cardinals and a desperate quest through the riddle-filled churches and ancient streets of Rome… uncovering clues left behind centuries before by great thinkers and artists, like Galileo and Bernini. In Angels & Demons, novelist Dan Brown is in top form, introducing the world to the intriguing character Robert Langdon, Symbologist and Harvard University Professor. Controversy aside, the book is masterfully-written… and a splendid precursor to Brown's best-selling follow-up, The Da Vinci Code.

The story is rapid-fire and brilliant, taking place in a 24-hour span. Robert Langdon is summoned to the CERN laboratories in Switzerland, where a priest/scientist has been murdered, a mysterious Illuminati brand seared into his chest, and a catastrophically volatile canister of Antimatter stolen. The Illuminati, long thought extinct, have reemerged to exact devastating revenge on the Catholic Church… opening the deciding battle of Science and Religion, utilizing technology and the bloody hands of a ruthless Hassassin. With access to the Vatican Secret Archives, Robert Langdon discovers a hidden verse in the work of Galileo Galilei… a persecuted member of the Illuminati. The four kidnapped Cardinals will be executed and branded on the altars of Science, indicated by the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Then, at midnight, Vatican City will be imploded with the Antimatter bomb. Following the "Path of Illumination," Langdon and the murdered scientist's daughter, Vittoria Vetra, find 4 marker points in the Baroque sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini in churches across Rome. Their efforts uncover deadly secrets and modes of infiltration leading directly to the Papal offices… and cataclysmic danger in the catacombs beneath Vatican City.

From CERN to St. Peter's Square, from the Pantheon to the Chigi Chapel, from the Sistine Chapel to Castel San Angelo, the story stays intriguing and art-filled. Robert Langdon, as proven in the other books in Brown's series, is profoundly interesting and shrewd. Vittoria Vetra is characteristic of Brown's strong-willed and intelligent females. The Camerlengo is one of the most intriguing characters in the book, however, offering great dialogue, true emotion and a riveting plot twist. Angels & Demons has been criticized by both the Church and Scientists for containing inaccuracies on both sides of the equation. However, as a work of fiction, some latitude for artistic license must be allowed for Dan Brown to carry the story along in an entertaining and enjoyable fashion… which he does, with clever and mysterious brilliance.