“Okay time to stop slacking and write this post so that I can move on to movies I have more of an opinion on, especially as we lead into a possible 4 movie weekend.
As the most of the world did, my reaction to seeing there was another chapter in the Dan Brown/Robert Langdon/Da Vinco Code series, was something like “”huh, another one? Um okay. Why? But okay”” Similar reaction to the film itself too.
I should preface by saying that so far, my favorite in the series has been Angels and Demons. I think Da Vinci code was just too scattered and too much of a stretch, but A&D was more streamlined with a tighter story and more palpable stakes. I’d prolly put Inferno somewhere in between, but closer to Code.
Anyways Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon, and this time he finds himself waking up in an Italian hospital from a mysterious head wound that has taken his memory. Something something something painting of Dante’s Inferno, something something, track down Inferno things. Now there’s one key difference between this and its predecessors. The puzzle aspect wasn’t quite so puzzle-y. It was more of a trail of questions from a literature and/or history test than things to solve. The bigger theme was a moral question. Would you kill much of the world’s population in order to save the human race from its inevitable destruction.
Of course, the film ultimately had its answer to the question that it was leading you to, and I don’t entirely disagree. Still, the moral question is a valid one. Overpopulation of the planet and its negative effects are something that are of concern to me, so it was very interesting to see it addressed in such an extreme manner. Personally, I feel there’s a better solution somewhere, but I couldn’t help but empathize with the villains motives (and not just because that villain was played by Ben Foster whom I adore).
As far as how the movie played out, to me it was more of the same mainstream watered down thriller that we see way too much of. I rather like Dante’s Inferno, so I appreciated that flair, but I could still see every twist and turn. The lady sitting next to me who had multiple servings of wine (I was at the dine in theater) clearly did not anticpate as many steps as I did, as evidenced by her loud gasps and audible reactions. Good to know someone was into it.
Anyways, decent film, but not worth going out of your way for. I’d recommend you spend your time rewatching A&D instead. I’d say read it, but then you wouldn’t get any Ewan McGregor
Inferno – \m/ \m/ \m/”