Customer Reviews

Angels & Demons (Two-Disc Theatrical & Extended Edition with Bonus Audiobook CD) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Other reviewers have adequately commented on the motion picture itself. This review pertains to the so-called Two-Disc Extended Edition. While most two-disc editions provide the viewer with hours of additional features on the making the motion picture and the cast and crew, this edition provides the viewer with only three ten-minute featurettes, that easily could have been included on the feature disc, and about 20 "previews" for other motion pictures. At typically a 50% premium in price over the single-disc version, the three featurettes are not worth the price. Buy the single-disc version instead and enjoy the movie.

Very briefly, I would like to begin by addressing some of the criticism concerning this movie.

Some are unhappy because the movie does not closely follow the book. This happens to be true but how many book-based movies do? For the sake of movie-making, Dan Brown's book was not followed to the letter or even closely. However, it may be worth knowing that Dan Brown was the movie's executive producer and he absolutely approved all the major plot changes. If fact, he confesses to actually suggesting some of the major changes. Perhaps those who read the book should treat the movie as work 'related' to the book but not THE book illustrated. It's still Dan Brown's work but this is cinematography that was inspired by his book, to be appreciated and enjoyed as a movie.

I heard statements that the book was somehow anti-Christian or anti-Catholic. I disagree. I will not reveal the plot by providing substantial details but the movie concludes in a way that suggests respect for religious faith and the Catholic church, in fact, comes out looking pretty good.

Angels & Demons besides being a feast to the eyes, it succeeds in arousing the viewer's curiosity in more than one area: contemporary physics, Rome's landmarks, the Vatican. And those who watched the movie and may find themselves in Rome and at the Vatican are more likely than not to actually look for some of the landmarks featured in Angels & Demons. In fairness, Angels & Demons does not come close to The DaVinci Code's Earth-shattering scope, depth of research and sophistication but it's still unmistakenly Dan Brown and those who enjoyed the Code will probably love A&D. Those who hated the Code are likely to hate A&D more. To me, Dan Brown's works are not art and they aren't science but they are great, well researched entertainment that often challenge the reader's/viewer's preconceived opinions and stimulate further research and investigation - and this is a good thing.

When it comes to acting Tom Hanks does not disappoint as Robert Langdon but Ewan McGregor lacks the gravitas we would expect from an acting Pope. All others are up to the job but I didn't see any Oscar-quality performances and didn't expect to.

The special effects - when it comes to the recreation of St. Peter Square and parts of the Vatican - are nothing short of amazing. Like I said, the movie is a feast to the eyes and, for all intents and purposes, what you see is always Rome and the Vatican, even when the cameras were filming some California parking lot.


PACKAGING AND PRESENTATION

Sony is totally throwing the kitchen sink at us with this Blu edition. As the Blu standard bearer and main promoter, they want to show us what Blu can do to make our lives a little more interesting. Everything that you can think of when you think Blu-ray and more 'is in there'.

Everything is good quality, starting with the Blu case which is not the cheap, perforated, almost falling apart kind that some of the lesser editions are using these days.

The decision to include both the theatrical version AND the extended cut on the same disc is responsible for this being a 3-disc set with a second disk carrying the special features and a third dedicated to the digital copies.

Technically speaking, the picture is, of course, a sharp 1080p and the two available sound tracks are both DTS-HD Master Audio in English and French. Surprisingly, the bonus features are shot in high-def as well with 2.0 stereo for the soundtrack.


SPECIAL FEATURES - BLU-RAY

Besides BD-Live, a number of interesting Blu-specific features are available with this release.

The Path of Illumination emulates a trail through Rome, following Robert Langdon's through 5 Roman landmarks. It has high visuals, interviews, footage from each location, even a dictionary where dozens of terms are explained. Anyone passing through Rome could walk the path with the Path of Illumination feature serving as a travel guide.

CineChat is another Sony attempt to promote more interactivity. It allows those watching the movie to organize themselves into a viewing party and actually have their chats displayed on-screen as the movie is playing.

The movieIQ option is a BD-Live powered option. It logs into and checks some online database and provides up-to-date information about the movie and specific chapters while watching the movie. Pretty cool actually and not over-distracting, especially considering that this is not information 'burned' into the disc and it is updated, at least in theory if not in practice.

The digital copy, if this can go under Blu-ray specific features, is available for the PC, PSP (via PS3), Mac and iPod. Expires on 2/12/2010.


THE OTHER EXTRAS

Not as interactive as the BD-specific ones, they are also shot in hi-def for the Blu version, there are lots of shorts about the 'making of', actors, special effects, as expected. The featurette titled 'Writing Angels & Demons' should be of special interest because it's there where Dan Brown confesses to his specific agreement and cooperation on altering the story. Another interesting extra is on the CERN. Finally, we actually get to see and hear the real-life John Langdon, the person who served as the inspiration for the Robert Langdon character - he specializes in 'ambiagrams', of course.


MY RATING

I found this movie to be entertaining and to carry sufficient 'substance' to merit watching maybe more than once. The quality of the Blu rendition is nothing short of exquisite and the extras, both Blu-specific and the regular ones are worth watching and interacting with.

Angels & Demons is a keeper and, as a work of entertainment, it's a 5-star in my book.

This is one of those movies that was truly better than its predecessor. The good thing is you don't need to see Davinci Code to understand this movie. Its like Ron Howard took it to heart what people were saying regarding the DaVinci code, it was good but needed some more action to keep you interested.

Angels and Demons does this perfectly. Still a great story line, but tons of action, and a great score.

I left the theater after seeing this with a huge smile on my face. In plain words...

It was awesome!

-Jack

I rememeber when I first saw The DaVinchi Code in the theatre. I thought the movie was good but it didn't do the book justice. I thought the book was far better. Then Angels and Demons came out in theatres and was leary about going to seeing it because of the first movie. But I did go to see Angels and Demons and I loved it. The movie had my full and complete attention for the entire two and a half hours. In fact, I loved the movie so much, I walked with a smile on my face and bought another ticket and walked right back and in and saw it again!

This movie has it all. It follows the book but strays when necessary, but not to the point of where it ruins the movie. It is chalk full of action and suspence, a total on the edge of your seat movie. The choice of music complements the movie beautifully. I could go on and on.. but one of the things that really made me catch my breath was the portrayal of the passion and history of catholicism. The cardinals in conclave, climbing the stairs to enter the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, St Peter's tomb, exc.

I highly recommend this movie. No movie since had captivated me in a way such as this one. Enjoy!

This film is very good in some respects, and very poor in others. Firstly the bad: the music is much to intrusive (kind of like Orff's Carmina Burana on steroids). I wouldn't mind so much but it also intrudes over dialog, and there's not enough quiet time to take in the ambience or background noises of Rome or the Vatican. Secondly, some of the physics is nonsensical - antimatter is possibly a viable method of STORING energy, but energy cannot be created from nowhere, so the atomic collider that made it must have had one hell of a power supply! Thirdly, the leading lady (Zurer playing Vetra) seems to be both a medical doctor and an atomic physicist and a biologist (an unusual combination), and also seems to be knowledgeable about the history of science, and yet she is able to contribute very little, other than as a vehicle for listening to Langdon's "miraculously" correct explanations. The power cycling idea was an interesting plot twist, but why so long a black-out on each region? Finally, the pace of the film is often too frenetic - a "by-the-numbers" scheduling dictated by on-the-hour deaths, and the ability to predict precisely when a battery will run out (something that even battery designers would have a hard time doing!).

The good: I liked some of the photography, and the image quality of the Blue-ray disk is superb. I always enjoy watching Tom Hanks, and the film has enough puzzles and detail to support multiple viewings (I doubt anyone would spot all the clues - even after seeing it twice). The eclectic mix of particle physics, history, present-day Vatican protocols, and power politics makes for an interesting entertainment.

Wow. so many problems exsit with this poor excuse for a film and entertainment. I read the book in two days and enjoyed it. A fast fun read and even though I was a little disappointed in the ending in general, I was entertained.

The Movie is another matter. First of all this is not a film for Ron Howard; he is simply too inclined to gloss over important elements like screenplay and dialog. Four times we are asked to participate in a big chase scene triggered by some sudden symbology-based revelation from Tom Hank's character and then we race all over the narrow streets of Italy to find the cardinal of the moment dead or being killed. Another example of ridiculousness is when 4 cardinals all start brainstorming about how to bend the rules to make the priest the new pope. Really silly and unbelievable.

Just how does the priest who suddenly learns of the God Particle, so quickly craft such an intricate plan incorporating the illuminati to the extent that he has to know their history and symbology so well to figure out where and how to kill each cardinal? One would think he would have to hope that someone would be smart enough to hire a symbology expert to help them figure everything out in time so that he can save everyone at midnight and force all to then conclude that he should be the new pope? even if I assume that he has had relgious history beaten into to him daily since the day he was adopted- when did he have time to also learn how to fly a helicopter and remain current with his skills to allow him to fly the anti-matter away? Since he had so little time to come up with his big complicated plan, how did he have time to find and recruit one guy to do the mutilation and killing and also ensure that this accomplice gets car bombed in the end?

I'm willing to set aside a few errors in the interest of entertainment but this was way too much of a stretch.

My advice? Pass!

Not that the first film was a classic or anything, but it was still mildly interesting. This film begins well, but then devolves into a ridiculous pseudo-mystery and becomes tedious as it goes on.

This is Ron Howard and Tom Hanks in need of a hefty paycheck, and nothing more. Hanks' Langdon is a bore, devoid of any detectable human emotion.

This franchise needs to end.

Ron Howard's new film is set mainly in Rome. However, the movie starts off at CERN, which is the largest particle accelerator in the world located in the suburbs of Geneva on the Franco-Swiss boarder. Anti-matter is stolen from facility which will supposedly blow up once the batteries of its container die out. In real life, over ten years, the facility has only made enough anti-matter to light a light bulb for about three minutes. So as long as we remain ignorant of this little detail we're in for a bit of a heart pumping ride, sort of. This film looks great, but it becomes a bit tiresome as the cops, and Tom Hank's character (Robert Langdon), are always just a little late in the pursuit of the killer. And unfortunately, the danger doesn't seem so much for them, as for the Cardinals, who we are never made to empathize with anyhow. This may be the real flaw of the movie. If there was more inherent danger to Robert, or those close to him, then this film might actually be suspenseful. When the killer does meet Robert head on, in a basement, the killer simply says that his business is not with Robert, as long as Robert doesn't pursue him. That's a sure way to deflate any suspense from a movie! If it wasn't for the great scenery and wonderful direction it doesn't seem like there would actually be too much here to rave about. The movie feels contrived, and silly, with its treasure chest like chase around Rome after an anonymous killer.

Dan Brown's controversial novel "The Da Vinci Code" was a best seller and the film adaptation of the film was box office gold as the film grossed over $758 million worldwide. Needless to say, controversy helped catapult this film and the novel and it was no surprise when it was announced that Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind", "Frost/Nixon", "Cinderella Man", "Apollo 13') would return as director and Tom Hanks ("Forrest Gump", "Castaway", "Big", "Sleepless in Seattle", "Saving Private Ryan") as the main character Robert Langdon in an adaptation of Dan Brown's 2000 mystery-thriller novel "Angels & Demons".

The film would feature a screenplay by David Koepp ("Hack", "War of the Worlds", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Ghost Town") and Akiva Goldsman ("I Am Legend", "I Robot", "Cinderella Man"). Music for the film is by Hans Zimmer ("Frost/Nixon", "The Dark Knight", "Kung Fu Panda", "Pirates of the Carribean" films) and cinematography by Salvatore Totino ("Cinderella Man", "Changing Lanes", "Frost/Nixon"). The film The film opened in May 2009 and like "That Da Vinci Code", received a lot of controversy and did well in the box office as "Angels & Demons" made over $485 million.

Now "Angels & Demons" receives its entry to High Definition with a two-disc Blu-ray release which includes the theatrical and extended edition version of the film plus a third disc which contains a digital copy of the movie.


VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Angels & Demons" is featured in 1080p High Definition (with an aspect ratio of 2:40:1). The film looks absolutely stunning on Blu-ray. Salvatore Totino and Ron Howard make a great filmmaking couple as the Director has trusted Totino to capture the setting in Rome and its people with clarity, amazing detail of the various architecture and the surrounds outside the Vatican. And of course, the skin pores and detail on the characters face. It's all captured quite well and to add to that, a nice fine layer of grain. Overall, picture quality is fantastic.

And as for audio quality, the film is presented in English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Unlike "The Da Vinci Code", "Angels & Demons" is a film that features a lot of action scenes (which either is going to make you feel its going a bit too farfetched or will make you feel that it's wonderful). From the gunshots from the assassin, the helicopter overhead, the cars racing and of course the anti-matter scenes, there is a good use of audio because of those action sequences. But what about the ambiance of a crowded area of the Vatican. Yes, you can hear the crowds with clarity and you can hear the people in the Vatican chit chatting, it's a wonderful use of the soundscape. But the main thing that you will notice right off the bat is Hans Zimmer's music. The music plays a big part of the "Angels & Demons" in creating that feel of action, sadness or the key dramatic moments. Overall, this is another lossless soundtrack that really utilizes audio completely well. It's not a full-on action-based film but it's a film that does sound remarkably well.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Angel & Demons" has a second Blu-ray disc primarily for the special features. The special features are all in High Definition, in English (Stereo) and also has English subtitles. Included are:
# Cinechat - On Disc 1, the ability to chat with friends via BD Live while watching the film.
# movieIQ - Pull up facts about the talent, the film and more while watching the film via BD Live.
# Rome Was Not Built in a Day - (17:29) Interview with cast and crew of how to bring Dan Brown's book to life. About the production design, the visual effects, editing and music of the film.
# Writing Angels & Demons - (10:07) Director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer talks about the adaptation of Dan Brown's books to film and working with the character for "Angels & Demons".
# Characters in Search of the True Story - (17:10) Director Ron Howard talks about the importance of the characters in the film. Cast talk about their characters and Ron Howard and author Dan Brown talks about the talent bringing the character to life.
# Cern: Pushing the Frontiers of Knowledge - (14:49) Director Ron Howard talking about working with the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory and featuring the Director of Research and staff of CERN (the top laboratory for particle physics) talking about the lab and what they do at the lab and their mission. Director Ron Howard talks about how CERN is trying to recreate the "Big Bang" and the cast talk about the involvement of science in the film.
# Handling Props - (11:34) Director Ron Howard talks about the art department and the many set pieces used in the film. Interview with the prop master and she explains her and her staff's duties during the film.
# Angels & Demons: The Full Story - (9:46) Director Ron Howard, Dan Brown and Tom Hanks talk about filming in Rome and the logistics of filming in the area. Also, the building and recreating the sets in Los Angeles and more.
# This is Ambigram - (4:44) Dan Brown talks about Ambigrams and how difficult it is to create. John Langon talks about his book "Wordplay" and the concept of ambigram and incorporating it for "Angels & Demons".
# The Path of Illumination - Follow Robert Langdon's journey through Rome and unlock hidden secrets of the Illuminati. Select from five marked locations on a map. And you can unearth in-depth historical facts, film clips and behind-the-scenes footage. Choose from the Piazza Del Popolo, St. Peter's Square, Santa Maria Della Vittoria, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. For example, if you click on Piazza Del Popolo, you get "Church" and "Obelisk". Choose church and you will see footage of the church and commentary by Ron Howard explaining the history of that location or structures. Also, read information and detail of other subjects as well.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Angels & Demons" is one of those films that you either love or hate, as the same situation with "The Da Vinci Code".

I found the film to be quite entertaining and the cinematography and music to really enhance the film because the biggest problem that I found was the overuse of CG. I know the goal was to show how religion and science can work together but I tend to have a disdain towards films that try to be real but overuse CG in ways that are a bit farfetched.

Also, there was a problem with character development. In "The Da Vinci Code", there were characters that you actually cared about. With "Angels & Demons", I could hardly care for the Dr. Vetra because she's hardly around Robert for most of the film. That's what I enjoyed about the last film, the characters of Audrey Tautou's Agent Sophie Neveu and Dr. Robert Langdon developed well over the course of the film, while in "Angels & Demons"...somehow the symbiologist ends up becoming an action-hero, escaping major predicaments, one after the other and it was one thing to see it happen but seeing him do it over and over again, was a bit too farfetched for my taste. I wanted to see more of that intelligence and knowledge in symbiology and history to play a big part of the film.

But the saving grace for this film was my appreciation of "Angels & Demons" cinematography and music. Similar to how Jacques Tati made the city come alive in a film like "Playtime", Rome was captured as is. No matter how many people were loitering near the set, director Ron Howard wanted to capture the city and its beauty and they succeeded.

This is definitely a beautiful film and the Blu-ray release definitely brings out the film's detail and clarity. I was quite impressed with the picture quality, although the CG was just a bit too out-of-place it seemed. But the overall locations of where the film was shot and the creating of the sets to make the film come alive and make a set in Los Angeles look like Rome, a job well done by the production department.

And the lossless soundtrack is solid as well. Special features wise, "The Da Vinci Code" was packed with bonus features but "Angels & Demons" had about seven major features and no commentary track by Ron Howard either. But I did enjoy the use of "The Path of the Illumination" featuring the various areas around Rome.

Overall, "Angels & Demons" is an entertaining film, it's an ambitious and beautiful looking film that looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray. But the film does have its shortcomings and some scenes are a bit farfetched, but yet in the end, I found the overall content and presentation of "Angels & Demons" on Blu-ray to be quite fascinating and entertaining and feel it is definitely worth checking out.

I was shocked by the incredibly stupid and convoluted plot of Angels & Demons - even worse than the The Da Vinci Code. While I understand Dan Brown's stories are works of fiction, this just goes too far into the realm of unbelievability. It seems ass if one man was able to launch an entire conspiracy against the papal leadership, kill dozens of cops, and kidnap four cardinals with minimal help. Professor Robert Langdon, the protagonist, is able to draw connections between vague clues and never seems to get shot (even when the bad guy sees him, he refuses to shoot Langdon). Meanwhile, the whole bomb plot revolves around an antimatter device developed by Vatican scientists - technology far out of the reach of modern science, much less a few Vatican scientists. Even at the end, I couldn't figure out what was going on. There were so many loose ends that I was convinced the movie was made by a bunch of amateurs rather than a highly paid Hollywood scriptwriting team.

As with The Da Vinci Code, the acting in Angels & Demons was pretty decent, particularly the supporting cast. Ewan McGregor stole quite a bit of the movie as a senior papal official. However, Tom Hanks as Professor Langdon was pretty forgettable as he was almost like a robot - always right, always the smartest guy in the room. Dr. Vitra was also almost a non-entity in the film rather than a co-star.

I would warn anybody who is somewhat sensitive that Angels & Demons seems to delight in portraying gruesome deaths. In addition to your garden variety shootings, the film contains rats eating a dead man and several other set ablaze.