DVDs & Films Forum - RE: 40 minutes through Angels & Demons: Does it get any better? - Page 2

No, I hated it because it's not very good. I knew nothing about the plot of the book and film is a completely different medium anyway.

I quite enjoyed it. Should I get me coat?

Don't read a lot these days, so haven't read anything by him, but I thought DVC was quite good, and I thought this was better. Not a Ewan McGregor fan, but I love Tom Hanks, and well, it's written by "my son" (same name) which is a bit of a daft hook, but it works!

I only watched it 'cause a few people told me it was loads better than The Da Vinci Code, which bored me to tears. I shall disregard their recommendations in future.

Well in that respect at least they were right, as it is. I'm with Mark and Sue on this one as I really enjoyed it as anyone who read my review would have seen and I've read all the books bar the latest one. They are throwaway pulp fiction with a simple set formula and writing style that works as a page turner, but to be honest if it hadn't been for all the hype of TDVC this really wouldn't be an issue and that's not really Dan Brown's fault as his wasn't the first book to theorise in that manner about JC - although he obviously has reaped the benefits.

I don't really understand the negativity in general around Brown and his stuff as I kind of feel the same way about Harry Potter and POTC (and many, many other films) but don't feel the need to vent my sense of 'meh' about those.

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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer



synth.myreviewer.com

I read DaVinci Code about the same time the DVD came out. Both are entertaining hokum, but the novel is so badly thought out I've never picked up another Dan Brown since. I picked up Angels and Demons on Blu-ray on a whim as I hadn't bought a new release in about six months. I enjoyed it. The ending is telegraphed from almost the beginning of the story, but at least Richie Cunningham's direction misdirects you by setting up a few alternate villians in the shape of Richter, the head of the Swiss Guard (who is a monumental dick to boot), and even kindly Cardinal Strauss.

A&D is full of the most appalling bad science about antimatter, which telegraphs the nebula explosion at the end. I can't help think they might have been better off not having the explosion and making out that the explosion would be much bigger - "How big a detonation?" "Well, you might - just might - be fine if you're sitting on the far side of Jupiter, but I wouldn't bet my shirt on it.". The sciency character - the girl named after the actress who played the cavegirl in When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth - knows a little bit too much about other areas of science, including medicine, than I suspect a real scientist would.

The bottom line is A&D is sheer bollocks, but IMHO it's entertaining bollocks. What more would you want?

J Mark Oates
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I don't need one of those Brain Training games.
Mine can already roll over and play dead.
sprockethole.myreviewer.com

I bought the DaVinci Code during the whole mania about the film when everyone went DaVinci mad as it was cheap and it was something to read, ...I didnt read it for almost a year but when I did I enjoyed it, its very formulaic, a bit silly in places but an enjoyable read. I didnt see the film until it was on Ch5 a couple of months ago and though the film was poor

It wasnt until I read DaVinci that I found out A&D came before it so I ended up reading them in the wrong order, and after reading A&D I though of the two that was a better book than DaVinci, even though if you strip away the subject matter and location they are pretty much the same story. Ive not seen the film but if its anything like the DaVinci code Im not in a hurry to see it (even if I am curious to see how the falling from a helicopter into a puddle scene looks...can it be as stupid on film as it was in the book?)

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"If I had time....and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it........"
- George Lucas



My Collection

Quote:
My sister in law is an RE teacher and said so many bad things about Da Vinci that I wouldn't go near it.

I didnt read it thinking it was 100% factual ..I read it like any other fiction book Ive read that mentions real places and events. Im not a religious person so couldnt care less about factual accuracy, as far as Im concerned there was as much truth in the DaVinci code as there was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, its all fiction/entertainment not a factual document of events

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"If I had time....and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it........"
- George Lucas



My Collection

I can't understand anybody taking such patent bollocks as Angels & Demons or The DaVinci Code so seriously. I think it's safe to assume that if Dan Brown says something is a fact, the opposite is true. He's not that great a storyteller, but he can weave a yarn with sufficient conviction he can suck(er) you in. Michael Crichton was the same - take a barmy scientific concept and tell it with sufficient conviction that the audience gets dragged along with you. I'd love to be able to write like that.

I haven't read the book of Angels & Demons, so I can't comment on the falling into a puddle bit, but in the movie it is a key piece of wrong-footing that suddenly makes you wonder if your initial suspicions about the Cunnilinguo - sorry Camerlengo - were right.

J Mark Oates
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I don't need one of those Brain Training games.
Mine can already roll over and play dead.
sprockethole.myreviewer.com

This item was edited on Sunday, 4th October 2009, 00:53

WOW!, terrific film, non stop action, good story. What with Whiteout & this, 2 entertaining films on the trot. It's a long time since we've been this entertained.

This item was edited on Saturday, 23rd January 2010, 08:14