Inferno

Starring: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster, Ana Ularu, Ida Darvish
Directed by: Ron Howard
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes up in an Italian hospital with short-term amnesia and partners with a doctor (Felicity Jones) to uncover the conspiracy he finds himself involved in.

Review:

Tim: I was really excited that they decided to make a third Robert Langdon movie. I really like Dan Brown's book series and these are fun vehicles for Tom Hanks. That being said, I was a little bummed they skipped the third book to adapt the fourth one instead. Part of the reason for that is that "Inferno" was my least favorite of the four Langdon books. I mean, it's okay- it has all the elements we've come to enjoy about the series, but it just felt forced and less convincing than the other three books. Unfortunately, my fears came true- while this is still a good movie, it's easily the worst of the three Langdon movies. That, coupled with the atrocious North American box office probably means this is the last film we'll see. That's a real shame.

Ron Howard is such a good director and this is the third time he's revisited this franchise. He knows how to deliver the story. On the one hand, Howard's direction ensured this was a solid movie. On the other, it does feel like he's a bit on autopilot here. There's no real energy or urgency to the film. It feels like Howard and the crew showed up to just deliver "another" movie, instead of really trying to make this incredible. That feeling pervades this entire film- it's good, but it's never good enough. It doesn't compare to Angels & Demons and is a far cry from The Da Vinci Code.

I really like these kinds of action adventure movies and I wish Hollywood would make more of them. Like the other two in this franchise, these are more intellectual movies- the biggest action takes place in Langdon's head as he tries to solve a series of cryptography-related ciphers and codes. That doesn't always translate into the most thrilling sequences on screen, but it brings intellect into the action/adventure genre and that's never a bad thing. Like the other movies, it's fun to see Langdon searching for clues and evading the bad guys. I did think it was a nice change of pace to have Langdon suffer from amnesia in this one. That plot point has been done hundreds of times, but it was beluevable in the context of this film. It made this film feel different, which is a good thing.

Tom Hanks is good as Langdon. It doesn't feel like his considerable talent was really required for this role, but he shows up, does his job, and it works. I've always had fun with him in this role and it was great seeing him slip into Langdon once again. Felicity Jones was a great addition to the cast. She's continually impressed me and she one again gives a convincing performance here. The role itself is a little weak, which holds her back- but I still enjoyed her performance. I loved Ben Foster's performance, but he just has too little screen time. The same can be said for Irrfan Khan, but at least Khan gets to interact with Hanks (I really wish Hanks and Foster would have had a scene together). The cast as a whole is fairly good.

This story was the least convincing of the three films. While I truly appreciated centering it around the overpopulation of the world (which the book and this movie highlight is a serious, why-aren't-we-more-scared-of-this issue. It felt timely and important and worth considering. The idea of a plague is a fairly good one, too- you don't see a ton of those movies anymore. And yet, when you add up the elements, the story just felt a bit too unbelievable, especially when you try to convince us why a symbologist would be needed to save the day. The whole Dante and Dante's Inferno aspect felt forced, which detracts from the movie. I was also pretty surprised to see the massive departure the film takes from the book's conclusion. While I didn't love the conclusion to the book, it was at least memorable. The conclusion to this film feels generic and expected.

Inferno is still a fun film and it's enjoyable to go along on another adventure with Robert Langdon. Unfortunately, this is the least effective film in the trilogy and now represents a clear drop in quality with each sequel. That, paired with the abysmal box office (at least domestically, international grosses were pretty good) probably means we've seen the last of Robert Langdon. That's a real shame, because "The Lost Symbol" could have been a really fun movie. While I was slightly disappointed with this film, I was still glad we got to see Hanks complete the trilogy here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Sahara