Illuminati

Nach der ersten Stunde wirkt der Film repetitiv. Die Linie mit der Detektivgeschichte ist für die Zuschauer*innen nicht mehr interessant – egal, wie dynamisch sie ist. Der Film hätte mehr Ideen gebraucht. Das beeindruckende Finale hat dem Film aber geholfen. Die Arbeit mit den Schauspieler*innen (und ihren Frisuren) ist hier definitiv besser als in The Da Vinci Code – Sakrileg. Am meisten fasziniert mich bei dieser Saga die Tatsache, dass sie mit einem ernsten Gesicht, einer erstklassigen Filmcrew, soliden Schauspieler*innen und kontroversen Themen nicht mehr als nur ein simpler Blockbuster für das Massenpublikum ist. Und dieses Massenpublikum weiß gar nicht, dass für 50 % des Erlebnisses irgendein Hans Zimmer verantwortlich ist. (13.05.2009)

Brown’s books are undemanding and intellectually shallow, but bloody good page-turners, ideal to relax in summer by the sea. With the films it’s worse because they drag quite a bit, are too talkative and the lack of logic that the books can hide between the lines (or have at least plenty of space to explain in some way) floats to the surface, making it almost impossible to ignore. Angels and Demons suffers from the same problems as The Da Vinci Code, though perhaps it’s more tense. The result, however, is still a not very interesting thriller that might surprise a few people with a couple of rather brutal scenes, but that will bore most due to its chaste asexuality and correctness. 6/10 (29.06.2009)

Howard has the craft down pat like few others. In a way, I admire him for how he managed to turn such a simple script (I preferred to skip the book) into a stylish chase after various symbols, statues, paintings, and crazy conspiracy theories which, despite the constant chatter, isn’t boring whatsoever. Compared to The Da Vinci Code, here we don’t get all that babbling that arouses resentment of the Vatican, which means that while the marketing controversy has been reduced, at least the film has avoided outright stupidity. That doesn’t mean that it’s particularly amazing - Brown is still too cheap a storyteller for that - but as a thriller whose aim is to entertain rather than dumbly lecture, it works surprisingly well. The actors in particular are a treat, and the charisma of Hanks, Skarsgård, and Mueller-Stahl and Zimmer's fantastic choruses alone make me want to watch it again sometime. PS: If I were a woman, I would get wet at the sight of Ewan McGregor in the movie theater. He’s never been this sexy on screen. ;-) 3 ½. (19.05.2009)

Umgekehrt als in dem Buch: Die Filmemacher haben ein ausgezeichnetes Exposé durch eine leblose Besichtigung römischer Denkmäler in Begleitung des hamsternden Passanten Tom Hanks ersetzt, wobei das an den Haaren herbeigezogene Finale von Browns Vorlage wiederum durch einen recht soliden und visuell interessanten Höhepunkt ersetzt wird. Als positiv können wir zweifellos die Leistung Ewan McGregors beschreiben, als negativ wiederum, dass aus der mysteriösen und spannenden Jagd nach den Symbolen regietechnisch sowie schauspielerisch ein tristes Vakuum ohne jeglichen Erfindungsgeist und Emotionen geblieben ist. Langdon hat schlichtweg sowohl in Büchern als auch in Filmen ein großes Problem, zumal er immer noch nicht weiß, ob er eher ein Actionheld oder ein akademischer Schwätzer ist. In Literaturquellen können wir dies noch mit zugedrücktem Auge tolerieren, aber im Film mutet dies sehr bauchig und verschwitzt an. Für die paar abschließenden Minuten runde ich auf. Ich halte es jedoch für einen historischen Fehltritt, hier Tom Hanks zu engagieren. In der nächsten Folge wird der arme Mann nicht einmal durch das Okulum des Pantheons hindurchfallen. Dass er allmorgendlich 50 Bahnen schwimmt, glaubt man ihm einfach nicht. Höchstens mit einem externen Motorantrieb. (04.10.2009)

Howard's kiss-ass apology to the Vatican after The DaVinci Code. In the first half it's still a pretty solid conspiracy routine, in the second half it becomes a gala performance of artlessly silly scenes, whose total zaniness is further enhanced by the fatality of Zimmer's music. Soundtrack rating: 4/5 (20.06.2009)

Robert is searching for life, discreetly flirts, and makes enemies wherever he can. Again. But this time, he struggles with a few things regarding The Code. Most notably, he loudly screams a few clichés of the genre. The main characters play for life-saving minutes, but nevertheless, around every corner, there is an explanation for random symbolic curiosities. And most importantly, the syndrome of the second part arrives in its strongest form. Once again, a damaged body, an attractive and randomly found partner, and once again, a punchline that slightly undermines the impact of previous twists. However, I still have to give it a better score of 70%, whether it's because with another actor, Langdon would become just a pawn, which Hanks brilliantly prevents, or because Ewan McGregor celebrates a phenomenal comeback. But mainly because I would not have guessed those two hours to be even halfway through, as everything swiftly zooms by, the plot never pauses for a moment, and the box of the archaeological-adventure film is filled to the maximum. (20.05.2009)

Too bad I can't give it 2.5 stars ... I know, 5 is rounded up, but this movie, I just can't even see the 3 stars, because I was bored for two hours and the remaining 28 minutes kept me entertained with the soundtrack and some acting here and there. I'll put it simply – this movie bored me. I slowly feel sorry for Ewan that he was in it, but that's how people have to make a living :-D (23.05.2009)

I’m not completely happy with the four stars I’m giving, but I had a much better feeling from Angels that from the Code (maybe also because I didn’t bother to read the former). In this movie, Tom again has a whistle-stop tour of attractive locations to the booming chorals of Hans Zimmer (who even adds some good old synthesizer) but at a higher speed than before. We still get a lot of talking about all that what, why and how (I usually like this in books, but in movies too much talking does harm) in order to reveal a simple plot spiced up with the heaviest caliber sci-fi (antimatter in a box?!). But as soon as you adapt to the world that is offered to you here, it starts to be pretty entertaining. The actors are all a class above last time, Ayelet Zurer is foxier than Audrey Tautou and also we see the outstanding Ewan McGregor. And the ending is really powerful and as I said, Zimmer’s synths and chorals are simply a lethal combination. (03.09.2009)

Surprisingly better and more compact than the first part. Ron Howard finally understood that a cute Audrey Tautou and dodgy action scenes won't improve the story better and started relying on other things. For example, an agile script that piles one puzzle on top of another with fairly entertaining and dynamic sequences, and a fantastic (again) Hans Zimmer, who delivers uncompromising bite to the entire piece. He might have composed the same thing for the eighteenth time, but it still sounds beautiful. It sounds unbelievable, even in those few miniature action passages, Howard surprisingly toughened up. It's still a wimpy, predictable, and conflict-free Hollywood shitshow, but at least this was bearable. (04.10.2009)

Es ist genau wie bei den Buchvorlagen – Illuminati ist besser als der Da Vinci Code. Dank Howard, der den ganzen Film als einen Wettlauf mit der Zeit drehte, dank Zimmer, dessen Soundtrack so eindrucksvoll ist, dass man ihn fast sehen kann, dank des interessanten Vatikan-Plots, einem sympathischen Hanks … Aber was soll's, vier Sterne sind adäquat. (22.05.2009)

[extended] Of course it's pretty stupid in places, Langdon sure knows everything about my mother too, the ending is hella over the top, Hanks acts (like he's) on vacation, and it's practically a week long. I'll take all that, but the formal aspects – cinematography, music, set design – were so pleasing to the eye/ear that those four are it for me. Sure, the final thirty-two deus ex machina get on the nerves, the grand choruses aren't original either, and the priestly cloaks are eye-pleasing in their own right when in motion. But what to say, when you rise above the unnecessary controversy and polish up the script a bit, you're left with a beautiful looking cinematic adventure. (21.10.2010)

Dan Brown has thrilled me with his book "The Da Vinci Code" because it was new, intricate, and well thought out. The movie didn't impress me. The book "Angels & Demons" has exactly the same concept as "The Da Vinci Code", just a little older. Brown became famous thanks to the controversy surrounding "The Da Vinci Code", which pushes "Angels & Demons" to second place. From a cinematic perspective, it doesn't really matter because both movies are equally dramatic, overly adventurous, and pseudo-great. For me, neither of them is something I would need to repeat multiple times. (23.12.2013)