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Angels & Demons

EMAILPRINTColumbia Pictures (Sony)

Angels & Demons reviews
48
6.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 36 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 103 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Crime  |  Drama  |  Mystery  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Dan Brown (novel)
David Koepp
Akiva Goldsman

Directed by: Ron Howard

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 15, 2009
DVD: November 24, 2009

Running Time: 140 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Language(s): Italian | Latin | English

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material

Starring Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Armin Mueller-Stahl

When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival. (Sony Pictures)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This kind of film requires us to be very forgiving, and if we are, it promises to entertain. Angels & Demons succeeds.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Deborah Young

Plucking the same violent, occult strings as "Da Vinci" while avoiding its leadenness, Angels keeps the action coming for the best part of 139 minutes.

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70

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The movie includes some tony philosophizing about the conflict between science and faith, but it's mostly a beat-the-clock chase through Rome (nicely evoked in Salvatore Totino's lush cinematography).

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70

Time Richard Corliss

As transparent as this device is, Angels has elemental satisfactions in its blend of movie genre that could appeal to wide segments of the audience.

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67

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The new movie is an opulent-bordering-on-hysterical mass of chitchat and chase scenes.

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67

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

An OK action film, but only the humorless will find it heretical – or educational.

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63

New York Post Kyle Smith

It's got enough going on to sustain five blockbuster thrillers. That is its blessing and its curse.

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63

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The movie can be enjoyed for the hell-raising hooey it is.

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A far sight nimbler than its plodding predecessor, where the Holy Grail turns out to be a Holy Girl. The sequel is a little like CSI: Vatican City.

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63

Premiere Patrick Parker

There are so many facts presented that many of them feel forced and trivial. We were also a little disappointed with the twist ending.

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60

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Despite the overlong running time, the action moves smoothly and swiftly.

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60

Variety Todd McCarthy

Less turgid and aggravating than its predecessor, this cleverly produced melodrama remains hamstrung by novelist's Dan Brown's laborious connect-the-dots plotting and the filmmakers' prosaic literal-mindedness in the face of ripe historical antagonisms, mystery and intrigue.

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60

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Angels & Demons is still no more than another treat for whacked-out male conspiracy theorists.

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50

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Technically a prequel to "Da Vinci" but could also pass for a two-hour episode of "24," rarely stands still long enough for anyone to deliver a monologue.

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50

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Watching what Howard has done with the book - covering up the lewdness, blunting the snobbery, and spackling the amazing plot holes - is dismaying. This adaptation has the stink of superiority about it.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

At half the length, and with half of Hanks' sneering pretension, this would make a pretty terrific action film.

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50

The New York Times A.O. Scott

This movie, without being particularly good, is nonetheless far less hysterical than "Da Vinci."

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50

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Though complete redemption of Brown's fiction may not be possible, Howard's new film at least represents an upgrade from a mortal to a venal movie sin.

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50

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Perhaps this is what fans want from a movie like this: to sit back as if in a Jacuzzi and get a quick impression of history and Rome and such. If so, Howard, Brown and company likely have another monster hit on their hands.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Amy Binacolli

Preposterous.

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50

Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey

Ultimately everything wilts under the weight of the complicated story lines of its many saints and sinners.

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50

USA Today Claudia Puig

Angels doesn't know when to quit: Just when you think it's over, it continues.

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50

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Unlike Nicolas Cage in "National Treasure," Hanks lacks the game for it. The surface seriousness of these Dan Brown movies obstructs his affability and easy, attentive way with romance.

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50

TV Guide Cammila Albertson

Whatever Howard's reasons for keeping things so stale, it was a bad choice, but lucky for viewers, some stories are just too crazy for even the dullest storytelling to completely ruin the fun.

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50

Film Threat Scott Mendelson

One of the more cheerfully dumb thrillers I've seen in a good long while.

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40

NPR Bob Mondello

Presumably in response to criticism that "The Da Vinci Code" was static and talky, director Ron Howard has made Angels & Demons frantic -- and, well, talky.

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40

Washington Post John Anderson

What the movie is supposed to accomplish -- laying out a fairly complex mystery in a way that creates suspense -- is precisely what it doesn't do.

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40

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Angels & Demons is a serious slog. Still, it's an odd kind of a slog that manages to keep you partially engaged, even at its most esoteric or absurd.

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40

Slate Dana Stevens

In its last 20 minutes, Angels does attain the status of good bad movie, with a transcendently absurd climax that's great fun to rehash later over burgers.

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40

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Might have been classy, entertaining junk -- if only it were entertaining.

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40

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

The only thrill here comes from the adrenaline kick of the chase. Alas, it's an empty, Pavlovian kick at best.

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40

Empire Kim Newman

More entertaining than "The Da Vinci Code," but still tosh.

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40

New York Magazine David Edelstein

A shapely, stylish, white-knuckle horror-thriller that hits its marks with blood and thunder. It stinks to heaven, too, but it isn't lame. The streets of Rome haven't run this red since the Inquisition.

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38

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Of course, the problem with Angels & Demons is that to get to the final 40 minutes, it's necessary to endure the first 90, and that would be defined as cruel and unusual punishment.

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38

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Astonishingly, Angels & Demons IS the same sort of lumbering mediocrity.

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30

The New Yorker David Denby

Brown and now Ron Howard have added an incendiary element to trash--open hostility toward the Catholic Church.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 103 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jeff R gave it a4:
Too log, too much catholic nonsense.

Scott D gave it a9:
I enjoyed this film a lot, despite the length and extension of the action (I enjoyed this actually). I found the film very interesting, there was a fair share of action, but I liked the film more on the way it tells the story, and how interesting it was for me.

Chris C gave it a7:
Surprisingly good, much better than the DaVinci code movie IMO. Flowed pretty well.

Luis G gave it an8:
Coming in with little notion of what the previous film was despite wide exposure ... angels and demons plays out as a international easter hunt full of clues and chases. Hanks is far more pausible . Ewan pitch perfect. Enough winks to remain grounded.

Travis C gave it a2:
This movie is garbage from start to finish. Like Dan Brown's novels, it's packed with childish riddles and absurd plot turns that insult the intelligence of the viewer/reader. Broad daylight turns to black night instantaneously and with no explanation. Tom Hanks' character manages to drive across the entire city of Rome in 5 or 6 minutes multiple times. The entire timeline of events is utterly impossible and totally unbelievable. I'm all for suspension of belief, but this is a joke. Everything Dan Brown touches turns to crap.

R. L gave it a10:
This movie is not like the book, and it doesnt pretend to be. No this film is meant to give you a whole new adventure and perspective of Langdon's first adventure. Angels & Demons was an awesome book it was earth shattering in the way it told Langdon's powerful rise from a world renowned symbologist to literary hero. The source material for this film is not as popular as the one for the DaVinci Code, and that's is the main reason this film wasn't as well received by fans as the first, but this adventure is all the more better and has much of the things that the first film had to leave out as to tell the story. Like twice the suspense, twice the action and twice the fun. All In Angles & Demons delivers what the should have, a fun and action packed adventure. Tom Hanks gives another amazing performance as the hard working and extremely intelligent symbologist that never seems to get a real day off, this film shows us an older and more reverent Robert Langdon, it shows us that Langdon has gone trough much change since his first adventure in Paris and London. We get to see Langdon become a full fledged hero instead of just some teacher trying to clear his name of murder. Now we have Langdon do what he does best, solving a 500 year old riddle and stopping an ancient secret society from destroying the Vatican. This film is very well made and features very mildly lighted scenes that are mostly basked in darkness which enhances the effect that the movies needs, The DaVinci Code just used regular lighting and that's all good but when you want to get a real effect out of the scenes or even the audience dark is the best method of choice. This film is not fast paced as the trailer makes come out to be, it's a very mild paced film with some very fast and sweeping moments that you have to come back a second time just to see those parts again. But if you give this film a chance I know it will please you, I know there's no changing the minds some of the die hard fans but for those that have read the novel and are willing to give the film adaption a shot I can promise you, form being a fan of the novel myself that this film will not disappoint, it'll give you what you came for and a little more. Angels & Demons is near- perfect and will have to go down as one of the best films of 2009 and is perfect summer entrainment for all people. All it delivers.

Erik M. gave it a1:
Many movies use extravagant explosions, interesting newly invented scientific phenomena, and purely internal logic (anything remotely attached to Star Trek, James Bond or MacGyver springs to the forefront of the mind), but it's generally defended by keeping the events confined in an alternate universe significantly different from our own, and consequentially requiering the creators to suspend disbelief. Not so in this case. On the contrary; ordeals are taken to ensure the viewer understands the movie happens in our reality with the same governing laws. Then someone decides to use anti-matter as an energy source and capable of igniting the sky and keep it burning for a long time. As an engineer I find it insulting to watch such nonsense passed as possible or even believable. On a different note, I've never seen any movie claimed as a thriller or anything like it where I've been able to predict almost every turn of events as much as half an hour before they are shown. The only real surprise here was the "bad guy's" motive. I'd expect it to be like in The last Templar," but no such luck. He was just mad/stupid. I won't go into details about the numerous huge glitches, but the one that put me of most was how day turned to night (permanently) as a main character entered a vehicle. The one redeeming feature, keeping me from giving a 0 was how well the picture transmitted it's message: If an organization is lead by imbeciles, one should not advocate to much openness, lest someone discovers it. I submit that if I were alone attending this production, I would (for the first time in my life) have left before the conclution of the plot.

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