MOVIE OF THE WEEK (10/28/16): INFERNO
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| "Girl, w e really need to sign up for a 5K or something as much we seem to spend time jogging together!" Professor and symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and the doctor he hopes will help him cure his amnesia, Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), run through St. Mark's Basilica in a scene from Ron Howard's adaptation of the Dan Brown novel INFERNO. Credit: Jonathan Prime © 2016 CTMG, Inc. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Ana Ularu
WRITER(S): David Koepp (screenplay); Dan Brown (novel on which the film is based)
DIRECTOR(S): Ron Howard
DIRECTOR(S): Ron Howard
WEB SITE: https://www.facebook.com/InfernoTheMovie/
HERE'S THE STORY: The latest movie based on Dan Brown's Robert Langdon character, Inferno finds Tom Hanks once again taking on the role of the noted symbologist, who finds himself waking up in a hospital with a nasty head wound and amnesia. Doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) is trying to help him remember what happened to him, which is still hazy save for waking up with memories of a needles in his neck and a mysterious tube in his pocket. It is upon further exploration of the latter, Langdon discovers that he has been given an illustration of Dante's vision of hell, coded with symbols that foretell of some sort of prophecy.
Since the audience has the benefit of knowing a few things Langdon doesn't, it comes to be that the tube was once the property of Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), a billionaire that is wary of the earth's overpopulation. And his thoughts on overpopulation aren't just hyperbole; he definitely has a plan to do something about it, which is why Bouchard (Omar Sy), an investigator with the World Health Organization (WHO) desperate to find Langdon – as is Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen), a fellow WHO worker with a past connection to the man in question.
But once Vayentha (Ana Ularu), a professionally trained assassin, comes after Langdon and Sienna, it becomes apparent that whatever that illustration of Dante's vision hell means is quite valuable ... Especially if it has anything to do with saving the world from mankind's possible extinction.
HERE'S THE STORY: The latest movie based on Dan Brown's Robert Langdon character, Inferno finds Tom Hanks once again taking on the role of the noted symbologist, who finds himself waking up in a hospital with a nasty head wound and amnesia. Doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) is trying to help him remember what happened to him, which is still hazy save for waking up with memories of a needles in his neck and a mysterious tube in his pocket. It is upon further exploration of the latter, Langdon discovers that he has been given an illustration of Dante's vision of hell, coded with symbols that foretell of some sort of prophecy.
Since the audience has the benefit of knowing a few things Langdon doesn't, it comes to be that the tube was once the property of Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), a billionaire that is wary of the earth's overpopulation. And his thoughts on overpopulation aren't just hyperbole; he definitely has a plan to do something about it, which is why Bouchard (Omar Sy), an investigator with the World Health Organization (WHO) desperate to find Langdon – as is Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen), a fellow WHO worker with a past connection to the man in question.
But once Vayentha (Ana Ularu), a professionally trained assassin, comes after Langdon and Sienna, it becomes apparent that whatever that illustration of Dante's vision hell means is quite valuable ... Especially if it has anything to do with saving the world from mankind's possible extinction.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Tom Hanks fans; people who love Dan Brown's books; people who enjoy films with twists
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who love Dan Brown's books but haven't been crazy about the film adaptations; those who find the story and its pacing a bit plodding at times
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that doesn't really do anything special while at the same time delivering a steady (but not spectacular) tale with enough going on to keep you interesting, Inferno is one of those "it isn't a bad movie, it isn't a great movie, it's just a movie" movies.
And that's what makes Inferno a decent watch but nothing more.
Hanks Langdon character is just a guy – no, he doesn't spout 80s one-liners Jack Reacher style nor is he a bit of a put upon guy that rises to the challenge in say a reluctant hero or even Scott Pilgrim fashion. Instead, he's really just a regular guy who's smart enough to figure out symbols and where a bad guy might strike. He's not tough, he's not witty, he's not even that confident. He's just there as the story unfolds around him and reacting to it; while we enjoy regular heroes in the real world like Hanks' most recent biopic role in Sully, in a movie, the guy is just kinda ... well ... dull.
What keeps Inferno watchable is the general intrigue nature of the story, which has enough interesting players around Langdon to keep things moving. While things eventually break down to a very standard "overly good vs. misguided bad" tale, the twists and turns you experience along the way are enough to keep things intriguing; there's no dramatic revelation as much as there are beats that the film hits to keep it moving from start to finish.
Other than that, there's not much to say about Inferno as in the case of Robert Langdon, the writing is on the wall – and it translates into an ok cinematic experience but nothing dynamic enough to place itself among the institutions where its story unfolds.
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that doesn't really do anything special while at the same time delivering a steady (but not spectacular) tale with enough going on to keep you interesting, Inferno is one of those "it isn't a bad movie, it isn't a great movie, it's just a movie" movies.
And that's what makes Inferno a decent watch but nothing more.
Hanks Langdon character is just a guy – no, he doesn't spout 80s one-liners Jack Reacher style nor is he a bit of a put upon guy that rises to the challenge in say a reluctant hero or even Scott Pilgrim fashion. Instead, he's really just a regular guy who's smart enough to figure out symbols and where a bad guy might strike. He's not tough, he's not witty, he's not even that confident. He's just there as the story unfolds around him and reacting to it; while we enjoy regular heroes in the real world like Hanks' most recent biopic role in Sully, in a movie, the guy is just kinda ... well ... dull.
What keeps Inferno watchable is the general intrigue nature of the story, which has enough interesting players around Langdon to keep things moving. While things eventually break down to a very standard "overly good vs. misguided bad" tale, the twists and turns you experience along the way are enough to keep things intriguing; there's no dramatic revelation as much as there are beats that the film hits to keep it moving from start to finish.
Other than that, there's not much to say about Inferno as in the case of Robert Langdon, the writing is on the wall – and it translates into an ok cinematic experience but nothing dynamic enough to place itself among the institutions where its story unfolds.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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