Taglines: They have come for their revenge.
Angels and Demons movie storyline. The team behind the global phenomenon “The Da Vinci Code” returns for the highly anticipated Angels and Demons, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley. The screenplay is by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman.
When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist.
Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.
Angels and Demons is an American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard and based on Dan Brown’s novel by the same name. As a film it is the sequel to the 2006 film, The Da Vinci Code, also directed by Ron Howard. The novel was published first and The Da Vinci Code followed it. Filming of Angels and Demons took place in Rome, Italy, and the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Tom Hanks returns to play the lead role — Robert Langdon — as do producer Brian Grazer, composer Hans Zimmer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.
Overseas, Angels & Demons maintained the #1 position for the second weekend as well even with the release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which opened at #2. The film opened with $46 million at the domestic box office. The Da Vinci Code had opened domestically to $77.1 million, but the sequel’s opening met Columbia’s $40–50 million prediction, since the film’s source material was not as popular as its predecessor’s.
Within more than a month, the film grossed $478,869,160 worldwide, making it the largest-grossing film of 2009 until it was surpassed by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Of this $478 million, just over 27% of it is from domestic venues, giving the film high worldwide totals, with over $30 million in the UK, $21 million in Spain, $13 million in Brazil, $13 million in Russia, $34 million in Japan, and $47 million in Germany. Angels & Demons was the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2009, with box-office figures of $485,930,810 worldwide.
Catholic Church Response
CBS News interviewed a priest working in Santa Susanna, who stated the Church did not want their churches to be associated with scenes of murder. A tour guide also stated most priests do not object to tourists who visit out of interest after reading the book, a trend which will continue after people see the film. “I think they are aware that it’s… a work of fiction and that it’s bringing people into their churches.” Grazer deemed it odd that although The Da Vinci Code was a more controversial novel, they had more freedom shooting its film adaptation in London and France. Italian authorities hoped the filmmakers corrected the location errors in the novel, to limit the amount of explaining they will have to do for confused tourists.
William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, has not called for a boycott, but has requested that Catholics inform others about anti-Catholic sentiments in the story. “My goal… is to give the public a big FYI: Enjoy the movie, but know that it is a fable. It is based on malicious myths, intentionally advanced by Ron Howard.” A Sony executive responded that they were disappointed Donohue had not created attention for the film closer to its release date. Howard criticized Donohue for prejudging the film, responding that it could not be called anti-Catholic since Langdon protects the Church, and because of its depiction of priests who support science.
The official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has called the film “harmless entertainment”, giving it a positive review and acknowledging that “the theme is always the same: a sect versus the Church, [but] this time, the Church is on the side of the good guys.” Beforehand, it had stated it would not approve the film, while La Stampa reported the Vatican would boycott it. However, it also quoted Archbishop Velasio De Paolis as saying a boycott would probably just have the “boomerang effect” of drawing more attention to Angels & Demons and making it more popular.
In a FAQ titled Angels & Demons: from the Book to the Movie, Massimo Introvigne, Director of CESNUR (Center for the Study of New Religions) points out crucial factual errors in Dan Brown’s original novel and the film version. Introvigne also criticizes the Illuminati mythology that is treated as historical fact.
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Angels and Demons (2009)
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Thure Lindhardt, David Pasquesi, Cosimo Fusco
Screenplay by: Akiva Goldsman
Production Design by: Allan Cameron
Cinematography by: Salvatore Totino
Film Editing by: Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
Costume Design by: Daniel Orlandi
Set Decoration by: Robert Gould, Richard Roberts
Art Direction by: Alex Cameron, Keith P. Cunningham, Luke Freeborn, Marc Homes, Giles Masters, Dawn Swiderski
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: May 15th, 2009
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