Released: October 2016
Director: Ron Howard
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 121 Minutes
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Distributor: Columbia Pictures/Sony
Cast:
Tom Hanks: Robert Langdon
Felicity Jones: Sienna Brooks
Omar Sy: Christoph Bouchard
Irrfan Khan: Harry Sims
Sidse Babett Knudsen: Elizabeth Sinskey
Ben Foster: Bertrand Zobrist
In 2003, there was a little book published by then-unknown auther Dan Brown called The Da Vinci Code. The book followed symbologist Robert Langdon as he tried to reveal the mystery of whether or not Mary Magdalene was a companion to Jesus Christ. As a result, the book received a great deal of controversy. The leaders of the Catholic Church in the Vatican City were quick to condemn the book and its author for “blasphemous” ideas. That’s kind of what drew me to the book: The controversy. While the book takes an alternative path as far as actual history goes, the question of whether or not that Jesus had a wife was and still is a legitimate question. While Catholics around the world were quick to condemn the book, it nonetheless had a huge following. So much so, that a film based on the book was released in 2006, starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. The film, like the book, was targeted because of its ideas, but still ended up doing quite well at the box office. As a result, Ron Howard, the director of The Da Vinci Code, was commissioned to make a follow-up film called Angels & Demons. Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons was actually a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, as far as the books were concerned. The film adaptation of Angels & Demons, also starring Tom Hanks, was released back in 2009. Last year, a third adaptation of Dan Brown’s novels was released in October, called Inferno.
Inferno begins as Robert Langdon is waking up from what appears to be an attack that left him with a temporary form of amnesia. Taking care of him is Doctor Sienna Brooks. Shortly after he wakes up, they are attacked by a mysterious assassin. Escaping the building, Robert is having bizarre visions of Hell. After ending up in Sienna’s apartment, Robert discovers a tube that contains an object that shows a painting of Dante’s version of Hell. It seems that Robert is being targeted because he can find the location of a particular bio-engineered super-virus that could wipe out half of the planet’s population. It turns out that an eccentric billionaire, Bertrand Zobrist had major concerns about the overpopulation of the planet and was in the process of deploying this weapon when he was discovered by the World Health Organization. The story is interesting enough and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. I like the fact that they shed light on overpopulation which is a very real problem. Zobrist clearly cares about the future of this planet, but his plan to annihilate half of mankind is pretty silly. I will fully admit to really enjoying The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, but some of the stories are pretty far-fetched, even if they do present some really interesting ideas.
What draws me to movies like Inferno are the characters and locations. Some of these locations are simply spectacular, because they are often filmed on location. Not many directors and film-makers get the opportunity to film at locations like Vatican City or certain parts of Italy or Istanbul. There is a level of detail here that’s very much appreciated. The fact that this movie was shot on some of these locations makes it feel a little bit more authentic. Some CGI is going to be used to enhance certain visuals and effects, which is pretty much standard these days. One of the coolest things that I saw in this movie were Robert’s hallucinations. These were varying depictions of Hell, which were described in Dante’s Inferno, which is the first third of The Divine Comedy. I really appreciate the fact that they used Dante’s poem as a basis for the mystery presented in this film. I have read Dante’s Inferno, and it is some very terrifying stuff. He describes each level of Hell with incredible detail. We get to see Ron Howard’s interpretation of the poem in some of Robert’s visions. It’s quite spectacular, actually.
Performance-wise, nearly everything here is by-the-numbers. The real stand-out in the film is Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is clearly one of the best actors of his generation and he excels in nearly every role he plays, whether it’s comedic or dramatic. He’s really quite good here, as well. Felicity Jones does a decent enough job as someone who is essentially Robert Langdon’s intellectual equal. Sidse Babett Knudsen plays Elizabeth Sinskey. The character apparently had a romantic relationship with Langdon years before when things went south. I didn’t read the book that Inferno is based on, so I couldn’t tell you if that was in the book or not, but it seemed kind of shoe-horned into the whole thing and didn’t seem necessary. Some characters just don’t seem to belong here. Ben Foster’s Bertrand Zobrist dies early on in the movie, but has a huge part to play through videos and flashbacks. It seems unfortunate that most of the characters in this film take a back seat to the action.
This is an action movie, make no mistake about it. It’s paced like one. The previous films took the time to delve into what’s going on and the history of things that were involved in those stories, but here, everything seems rushed. There are plenty of coincidences that just seem…unnatural. People often complained about the previous films about doing that, but those movies were still really good in my opinion. Here, there’s more chases and guns and less exposition. It feels like Inferno is trying to turn Robert Langdon into some kind of Bourne-style superhero, which the character really isn’t. The thing that really helps Langdon is his memory. He remembers everything. That’s kind of a switch-up for this movie, but it isn’t done particularly well. Even Hans Zimmer’s music is by-the-numbers and I find Zimmer to be a very reliable film composer. He did the Chaveliers de Sangreal for The Da Vinci Code, which is a fantastic piece of music, but aside from the end credits, there’s nothing here that’s memorable, and unfortunately that’s my ultimate conclusion for Inferno. Did I like it? Yeah, I did. Is it a great movie? No. Is it even a moderately decent movie? Meh..? Aside from the haunting visuals of Robert’s hallucinations, this movie a very basic thriller. It doesn’t change up the formula and it doesn’t really take risks. It’s worth looking at at least once. But is it going to hold up after repeated viewings? I don’t think so. Of the three films that we got based on Dan Brown’s books, Inferno is easily the worst of the bunch.
My Final Score: 6/10. It’s average at best.