The Film / The Book
I went to see the film of
Angels & Demons in mid-May 2009, shortly after it's
release. I read the book shortly after reading the DaVinci Code and with a memory
like a sieve, had forgotten most of it. I prefer it that way - I like to see a
film with little idea of what happens as it keeps your mind open. Anyway, the
reviews have been mixed to be fair but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a great
yarn, and while Ron Howard (director) isn't my favourite director, I thought he
did an excellent job. Helped by a great storyline of course, and perhaps like most
films these days,
Angels & Demons was a little long at 2hrs 20mins. But it
was filmed at a good pace, with litle in the way of "
oh get on with it" scenes.
I'm not going to spoil the plot here, but does the film measure up to the book?
Actually, I'd say "yes", partially because as I say I read the book a couple of
years ago so the finer details were long gone in my memory, and also because
even if, as some say, it doesn't quiet follow the same pattern as the book, it's
still a very clever story with some twists thrown in for good measure.
Now I'm not one of these people that cares about historical accuracy in a fictional
book, nor am I one of these people that gets wound up over writing style. As long
as it flows well, keeps the action going and has me wanting more, I'm a happy bunny.
And this is exactly what
Angels & Demons does. So
Dan
Brown might not be the next
Booker prize winner, but frankly I don't care. I like a good yarn and just like the
DaVinci Code, this is certainly that.
If you loved the
DaVinci Code, you'll enjoy
Angels & Demons, and that's what novels
are all about. Providing an enjoyable escape for a few hours. If in doubt about whether
to watch the film or read the book, then my advice would be to read the book, then wait
a year or so and get the DVD. But I would also probably read it before you read Dan's next
book,
The Lost Symbol as my guess is that it
will follow on from the previous novels featuring Robert Langdon's character.
Angels & Demons the book @ Amazon, reduced from £7.99 to £3.20 »