 Don't buy Two-Disc Extended Edition |
| Review Date: December 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. M. Earman, Santa Clara, CA United States |
| 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. |
Brown knows symbols, Sony knows Blu, Hanks knows Langdon [reviewing the Blu-Ray edition]
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| Review Date: November 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. Dent, Minas Anor, GD |
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. |
Great Movie
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| Review Date: September 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: John Ciriello, |
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 |
Buy the DVD, you won't regret it!!!
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| Review Date: October 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: jaesah sixx, Midwest, USA |
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! |
Much Ado About Nothing
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| Review Date: November 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Edmonson, Canada |
| 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. |
If you read the book... you will hate the movie!
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| Review Date: November 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: L. A. Sohn, Yigo, GU |
This movie was completely awful. I have already got over the fact that Hanks should not be playing Langdon and that a lot was going to be cut but I never expected the movie to be this bad. I loved the book. I could not put the book down. Here are some of the things the movie is missing:
1. There is no Max Kohler in the movie. AT ALL
2. There is no Gunther Glick or his camera woman. Or any scenes that involve what they do
Here are some big differences:
1. In the movie the Olivetti contacts Langdon and flys him to Vatican City in a Vatican aircraft
2. In the movie Olivetti is not head of the Vatican Guards... He is a regular police officer
3. Vittoria had a huge team working on the antimater.
4. Vittoria found her father dead... They do not even really explain that it is her father.. and they do not show he is branded
5. They do not mention the illuminati diamond, nor do you see it.
6. They do not talk about the IVF or The chamerlengo's mother
7. Baggia survives
I could keep going but I think that you get the picture. It is extremely disappointing.
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Blu-ray: Beautiful PQ, immersive AQ but plotwise...I thought the film was good, but not great.
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| Review Date: November 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dennis A. Amith (kndy), California |
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. |
Another book to movie failure.
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| Review Date: November 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: S.L.S, Ontario Canada |
I finished reading the book ( for the second time) 2 days ago.
I just finished seeing the movie.
I did NOT expect the movie to be entirely faithful to the
book because I knew there was too much info. and detail
in the book.
That being send,for me,this book to movie transfer was butchered!!
Why? Outside of the search for the four cardinals and the anti-
matter bomb there is little else that relates to the book.
The two MAJOR problems were the entire lack of motivation behind the
main characters actions and no character development.For example,in the book,the heroine,
Vittoria Vetra wants very much to be a part of the search for
the killer of her FATHER/scientific partner.In the movie she just
seems to tag along with Robert Langdon because she's just there.
In the movie the camerlengo kills and hires an assasin to kill because he feels his father the late pope is too liberal?
That's ridiculous.In the book his deep motivation is that he did
NOT know the pope was his father initially for many years.
He only knew that the man who became pope had looked after
him since he was a child.When the pope told him that he actually
was his biological son,the camerlengo was horrified to find
out that the pope had broken his vow of chastity.He had broken
his promise to God!!!This is what motivated the camerlengo in the book.
In the movie the assasin is just a cool unemotional hired killer.In the book he is a rabid nutcase who enjoys killing.
Because of the lack of strong motivation by the central characters
of the movie, it presents these people as having no depth and being more like cardboard cutouts.
Now for the ending.No I won't reveal it but,it reminded of
movies from the 50's where there is a miraculous event,and
everyone lives happily ever after.
I also feel that the makers of this movie were so wrapped up
in the set design and visual effects that they forgot about
character development.If you want to see a beautifully made
film about the slecting of a new pope, with great shots of Rome etc.,may I suggest The Shoes
of the Fisherman.In this movie they did not forgo character
development in favour of set design !!!
It struck me as strange that Robert Langdon virtually ignored
the stunning looking Ms.Vetra, yet in the the book he was strongly
attracted to her.
Personaly,I was really looking forward to seeing who would be selected to portray Max Kohler,the director of Cern.I think that part would have been any actors dream and if he was any good he
could have "chewed up the scenery."
Can anyone tell me the reason for changing the name of the cardinal who was chosen to be the great elector ( in charge of
conclave)from Mortati to Strauss or why the commander of the Swiss
guard was changed from Olivetti to Richter? Lastly why change the
design of the last branding iron? What's the point???
Lastly, I think ,to get the movie anywhere close to being like the book would have required 2 full discs because the book is incredibly detailed.
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Better than Da Vinci, but that's not hard to pull off
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| Review Date: September 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: JS, California USA |
| Ron Howard turns the original Robert Langdon adventure from Dan Brown into a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Tom Hanks returns as the symbologist responsible for the exposure of the Catholic Church's sacred feminine conspiracy, this time hired by the Church itself to prevent a revenge attempt from an enemy scientific cult. The on-location shooting from the first film is substituted here with unconvincing computerized recreations of places like Vatican City, but its somewhat forgivable considering permission was not granted to film there. The booky pace of The Da Vinci Code is alieved here since Langdon is racing against a real-time threat instead of going up against a warble of historical puzzles. The plot moves faster, contains more action, and the players seem less like caricatures and more like characters. It's an improvement on its predessecor and worth a viewing even for those who didn't enjoy the first one. |
Entertaining, provided that you remember it's fiction
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| Review Date: January 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Irfan A. Alvi, Towson, MD USA |
When I watched this movie, I assumed that it's entirely fiction and that it makes no attempt to comment on the Catholic church or its history. That may not be the actual case, but I think it's the best way to approach the movie.
From that standpoint, I found this movie fairly entertaining. The acting, scenery, and special effects are solid, as one would expect with a big-budget high-profile movie like this. The plot, though implausible in many ways, still manages to passably hang together, and it's plenty suspenseful with some good twists and turns, so I had no problem staying engaged for the full duration of this fairly long movie. And the ending was also pretty good, surprising me in some ways without feeling artificially tacked on or rushed.
As far as broader messages we might apply to real life, I see two of them. First, as the movie emphasizes, it's silly to assume that science and religion must be in conflict; that's the case only if one or both of them dogmatically overstep their bounds (see Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation by John Haught for a good book on this). Second, in a world which is now dangerously replete with nuclear weapons and other WMDs, we really need to think carefully about where our science and technology may lead before we continue developing them; it's immature and irresponsible to pursue them simply because we wish to satisfy our curiosity, revel in our ingenuity, or perpetually raise our standard of living (enough is enough at some point).
Overall, this certainly isn't one of those really great movies which changes you for a long time (or permanently), but it's still decent entertainment, so I can recommend it to people looking for a combination of detective work, action, and suspense, all with a background of religious symbolism. |
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No details are available for this product
Nice,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.