Foremost let me enlighten you about certain facts that occur in the movie that is adapted from the novel "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown

The Illuminati - a secret group having scientists outlawed by the Vatican church for opposing religious beliefs using science, they go into hiding seeking revenge for the execution of its members by the holy church.

CERN - a research laboratory with the elite of scientists credited with many discoveries and technologies

Antimatter - Its the opposite of matter which is very volatile and when it comes in contact with matter(i.e; almost anything) is highly destructive and powerful.

PLOT : " The Vatican city seeks the help of symbologist Robert Langdon and scientist Vittoria Vetra when threatened by the Illuminati who have placed a powerful antimatter explosive,stolen from CERN, inside the Vatican and have planned to kill four important cardinals kidnapped by them on the same day in their very own churches , now its upto Robert Langdon to decipher the clues by studying the Illuminati and uncovers the sinister plot behind all this. "

Curiosity got the better out of me after reading the book to see this movie as the novel made me so involved that i couldn't stop imagining how this book will be translated on-screen. Dan Brown after his best selling novels of The Da Vinci Code & Angels & Demons involving Robert Langdon has made this fictional character well known in today's literary world.

Ron Howard ,the director of the movie took the privilege of changing some of the actual content of the book to trim the movie's script making it a fast paced thriller which has never a sluggish moment on screen , Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon has enacted his role perfectly serving justice to the expectations of the movie.Tom hanks is Tom Hanks,it seems like he is Prof Langdon after all,no one can do it better than him.

I was clearly taken back with the beauty of the places in the movie,WOW this movies is certainly going to boost up the tourist attractions to Rome.The Fountain of the four rivers is clearly a stand out attraction for me ,the locations in Rome which is the backdrop of the movie were picturised really well.The sets were gorgeous to look at - replica or not the locations were impressive.



The plot, like the novel, has enough twists and turns to keep the audience engrossed and some of the set pieces, especially the "fire" scene are very unsettling to watch. There was a good mix of suspense and action to break up all the talking and trips to the Vatican Archives (which was not anything like I pictured them to be when I read the book!)

Ewan McGregor gets a great role in this movie, he was always the character that intrigued me most in the novel and McGregor does him justice. I won't spoil about him, but you understand after the halfway mark why such a famous actor was cast in the seemingly unimportant role.He was the pick of the actors delivering a stunning performance in the movie.

The key to Angels and Demons superiority is in the pacing.Here the movie is set over a night, and it works all the better for it. The plot zips along, and all the talky dialogue is usually done while driving or running to the next location to prevent a murder. The murders themselves are shot superbly, although the Air murder is nowhere near as gory as depicted in the novel,I liked the execution of the twist for the most part.

One of my main assumptions about modern entertainment, is that the book is always better then the film. Indeed, the case is no different here but the point I want to stress is that the film leaves a lot of stuff out and even alters certain events or details. However, in retrospect I can see that this suits the fast paced narrative and by no means does it spoil the film.

This movie is, in my opinion, one of those movies which you can love or you can really dislike. Probably the audience who read the book can be quite disappointed by the absence of elements of the storyline etc. I myself am one of the readers of Angels and Demons and I was quite surprised by this movie. I liked the acting and to me it accomplished its primary goal which is entertainment.

We also get a closer look into the inner workings of the Vatican and the fabled history of the Illuminati.The movie throws light upon what actually happens and how a POPE is selected from the conclave ceremony which happens behind closed doors.

The humour content is also enjoyable and coupled with the action scenes makes the movie an edge of the seat thriller gluing the audience's attention at all times. The thing that worked in both book and script was "ticking time bomb" fact. It both keeps the pace faster and puts a sense of purpose to whole movie.

From historical and beautiful Rome locations and replica of Vatican scenery to simpler explanations about Illumunati and their history with Catholic church the whole background was almost with novel.For those who have not read the book, read it! And later, you will be enticed to research more about Vatican lore, the Papacy, and the Illuminati, as I was, to distinguish what is fact from the fiction.

• Director : Ron Howard
  

• Cast : Tom Hanks , Ewan McGregor , Ayelet Zurer , Stellan Skarsgard

• Rating : "PG"

P.S : Dan Brown has stated that he has ideas for about 12 future books featuring Robert Langdon.Well lets expect all these books to be as riveting like this one.