In comparison to the first film, I thought it was stretched out a bit much, the story is themed with religious overtones and tries to capture a story out of bishops dying from misbelieves from perspectives. It seems to try and blend scientific technology with religion and meeting somewhere in the middle. The conclusion was rather interesting, but was somewhat predictable. There is no doubt that Ron Howard is a talented director, I enjoy his films and Tom Hanks whom he has worked with a few times before. He does a fine job stepping into the character Robert Langdon once again. This film is of course the sequel to The Da Vinci Code (2006). David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman both wrote the screenplay. It was based upon the novel by Dan Brown.
After having seen both films, I thought the first one was better and slightly more entertaining overall. I know there is a lot of story to chew through with a type of film like this however, most of your theatre going audience likes things condensed and the shorter version will fare better overall. I’m not sure if it was the studio or the final say of the creative team responsible, but this would have been a far better film with a shorter runtime.
There are some interesting uses of statues in this and many religious backdrops which include churches, cobblestone and parts of Italy specifically Rome.
The story follows Robert Langdon who is called on despite his relationship with the church to help with the crisis going on within Vatican City. It has its own form of government outside of the country itself and how things are dealt with. The character Robert Langdon is a specialist specifically dealing with symbols (A symbologist).
You will also see Ewan McGregor in this as Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra, Stellan Skarsgård as Commander Richter, Pierfrancesco Favino as Inspector Olivetti, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as the Assassin, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Cardinal Strauss, Thure Lindhardt as Chartrand, David Pasquesi as Claudio Vincenzi, Cosimo Fusco as Father Simeon, Victor Alfieri as Lieutenant Valenti, Franklin Amobi as Cardinal Lamasse, Curt Lowens as Cardinal Ebner, Bob Yerkes as Cardinal Guidera, and Marc Fiorini as Cardinal Baggia.
I believe my wife enjoyed this film more than I did; this has some creative puzzle-like clues to solve as the story progresses. I think for those people that like such things this film will appeal far more to them. It has a sense of mystery about it which does translate well. The actors did a nice job and I liked the use of lighting in this film. It surely captured the mood and feel. If you enjoyed films like National Treasure (2004) starring Nicholas Cage, then this will probably appeal to you as well.
