Back again... was sick last week, so didn't have the energy to write anything here. But during that time I was able to find some time to watch the Angels and Demons movie. I liked the Da Vinci Code book (same main character, and written by Dan Brown), and the movie was ok. So it was interesting to see how Angels and Demons would be converted to a movie.
The Angels and Demons book was a great read. I don't know how accurate the historical stuff that the book mentions is... but it made for a good storyline, and its good to get some background information about various pieces of art. Normally I'm not a fan of these type of things... but various pieces of art sparked some interest in me, so I looked them up to get a better idea of them.
Anyway as for the storyline... the main character is Robert Langdon. He is professor of religious iconography and symbiology, and he teaches at a university. He is contacted by CERN, which is a real organisation based in Switzerland that researches particle physics. A researcher at CERN was murdered and branded with the Illuminati symbol. The Illuminati are an ancient cult, comprising of 'enlightened' beings. They are an anti-Christian secret society... and judging by the branding of the researcher (who was a devout Catholic), are plotting something to bring down the Vatican. They had stolen 'anti-matter', which threatens to cause a massive explosion on the scale of an atomic bomb, which could wipe out Vatican city, and possibly all of Rome. I researched anti-matter after reading the book, and apparently anti-matter can not explode on that scale, especially with such a small specimen. However... it does make for a good storyline, but having said that... I wasn't so sure on the validity of the historical references that the book makes.
The movie for me... was actually quite disappointing. It leaves out important characters, and even the actual storyline deviates greatly to the book. An example is the character known as the 'Hassassin'. As you might guess... hes an assassin (gasp), and he is meant to be of middle eastern origin. He is also very sadistic, and his thirst for killing is only equalled by his lust for women... and he tends to like combining his interests. Anyway, he's one of the most important characters in the book... yet he is completely different in the movie, and has absolutely no character development whatsoever. Another thing which is more for me personally... is that the female lead playing Vittoria Vetra wasn't as good looking as I had imagined... she's too old. The actress is 40 years old... and Vittoria is meant to be in her 20's.
I'd give the book a 8/10 rating, and the movie I'd give 4/10. The movie's rating is mainly bad because I read the book first. If I had watched the movie by itself, then it would be closer to a 7. Personally I'd recommend reading the book first. If you don't watch the movie... you're not really missing out that much, but the book is definitely well worth the read.
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