Angels and Demons
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman (screenplay); Dan Brown (novel)
2009
As far as adaptations go, Angels and Demons is slightly better and The Da Vinci Code, partly because the book was better than Da Vinci Code and partly because the film omitted a lot of the heavy religious tones that was present in Robert Langdon’s last adventure. I don’t have a problem with the minute details being cut or changed for the film in the interest of time and entertainment, but I do have a problem with the film’s diminutive characterization of Ewan McGregor’s character, Carmelengo McKenna. In opposition to his character in the book, the film version of the carmelengo lacks depth, and the reasoning for his actions is vague and generalized rendering him a one-dimensional character onscreen. Some things must be sacrifice when adapting a book to film, but the underlying multi-dimensionality of a character and allows us to understand fully his real intentions should not be sacrificed and this works against the film. By the end of it (without giving too much away) you are left with an uncaring feeling as to what the carmelengo does and why he does it, whereas in the book, because the character has so many facets to him, his actions are made extremely clear since we are able to understand him and his past on a deeper level than what’s presented in the film. As a whole, Angels and Demons is pretty entertaining enough, with an excellent, suspenseful score by Hans Zimmer, and is quite enjoyable but only if you try to forget about the book.
