Angels & Demons

-by Ann Marie

"Angels & Demons" is the second installment of Ron Howard's films and Dan Brown's books. Like "The Da Vinci Code," the film follows Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) as he solves the clues to a murder and helps prevent terrorism against the Vatican. Langdon works with Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) and physicist, Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) to help solve the murders taking place every hour. However, the film reveals a twist, which helps Langdon evolve.

Tom Hanks is re casted in the role of Robert Langdon, but this time is joined by many new faces. One new face is Ewan McGregor, he has been in films such as "Moulin Rouge," "Black Hawk Down" and "Big Fish." Now he has joined the screen with Hanks to help tell the story of Brown's second book "Angels & Demons," playing Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, who has many hidden secrets about himself. Another new face is Ayelet Zurer, she has played a role in "Vantage Point," but is well known actress in Israel. She also joins the screen with Hanks as she plays Vittoria Vetra, a physicist who is trying to stop the destruction of the Vatican from a top secret science experiment she has been working on.

Unlike "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels & Demons" plays with the use of depth of field. In many shots throughout the film, the viewer sees for example, Hanks character in focus as the agent is discussing the situation in the Vatican. Another scene was when the car was backing up, it stayed in focus and then blurred out. This brought an artistic style to the piece. Howard also used more handheld and fast camera movements to bring a first person feel to the viewer.

Compared to "The Da Vinci Code," Howard kept similar style characteristics in "Angels & Demons." The film kept a set pattern of in between figuring out the clues, Langdon would explain the historical events that took place, to help link everything together. Howard also kept true to the adaptation of the book.

As stated before, Ron Howard has directed "The Da Vinci Code," but has also done other films, such as "Cinderella Man," "A Beautiful Mind," Apollo 13," "Frost/Nixon" and "Backdraft." He is widely known director, but also acts, writes and produces. Howard is a man of many hats and is in the process of working on nine films.

This film is recommended for anyone who has read any of Brown's books or is a fan of Ron Howard or Tom Hanks.