Synopsis: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is back and working to solve a murder and deciphering an ancient code to prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.Much like the first film, The DaVinci Code, this one had a lot of twists and turns and plenty of tourism nirvana of Rome and Vatican City. The biggest difference to me was the pace of this film was a lot quicker than the first. There's more action it seemed as the movie took off running and never really slowed down as it turned into more of a chase movie. In a way, this detracted a little as the character of Robert Langdon is never really fleshed out and given any depth. It does help though to keep your brain from exploding while pondering what just happened.
The movie is just sort of smart and dumb at the same time, if this is possible. It's smart in that it's really a thinking man's action movie, with a lot of plot points on science versus religion and plenty of religious history to boot. It's also kind of dumb in that the majority of it is highly implausible and often (by the end especially) just completely ridiculous.
One thing I really like about this series is that I've never been to Rome and all the prominent touristy landmarks are shown (often recreations) like St. Peter's Square and many of the churches of Basilica and even the catacombs beneath. It's fun to get sort of a history lesson and a visit to Rome (even if some of the history and visit both are fake).
By the end, there's a whole lot of ridiculousness going on but I was entertained, and that's what I really ask of a movie. Catholics might be offended a bit and people who like to pick movies apart might have a field day, but it's a fun, harmless movie with pretty explosions and excellent cinematography.
7/10
