Inferno

Ron Howard's Inferno is a movie that loves to play with its audience, and for a while, I had fun playing along with it.  But as the mysteries, double crosses, secrets and random flashbacks continued to pile up relentlessly, I got restless.  And when the movie finally got around to giving me answers, I had a hard time mustering much excitement.  This is the kind of movie that wants to keep us in the dark as long as possible, because it knows it's setting us up for a disappointment.

This is the third "Robert Langdon Mystery" film, following 2006's The Da Vinci Code and 2009's Angels & Demons.  I was not a fan of either of those movies, and while this one still isn't very good, I must admit that it's probably the best of the three.  It feels a bit livelier and moves a bit faster.  It's also well-acted, and has some lovely exotic locations.  But just like the earlier entries, the mystery at the center of the film is a lot of build up to very little.  These movies always feature Robert Langdon (once again played by Tom Hanks) racing against the clock to solve some kind of crime or murder that is connected to ancient societies or pieces of art.  They also always have its hero being able to solve centuries-old riddles and puzzles in a matter of seconds just by glancing at them.  Just like before, there are a lot of narrow escapes for our hero, as well as a lot of dialogue dealing with the end of the world.  One thing this movie does add is a ludicrous climax that has not only been drastically changed from the original novel by Dan Brown, but also seems like it would be right at home in a James Bond thriller.

I will say this for the movie, it has one heck of an opening half.  Inferno opens with Robert waking up in a hospital room in Florence with a head wound, and no memory of how he got it, as well as few memories of what happened to him during the last 48 hours.  There is a physician in the room with him, Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), who informs him that his amnesia is likely temporary and was caused by his head being grazed by a bullet.  Robert has no time to rest, however, as a female assassin posing as a police officer enters the hospital and starts gunning for him.  He is forced to flee with Sienna, and as they try to stay ahead of various terrorists and law enforcement officials, Robert must try to put the pieces of his recent forgotten past together.

The mystery concerns a painting of Dante's Inferno, which has been altered to include elements not found in the original work.  There seems to be a lot of people after it for one reason or another, and nobody can be trusted.  What it all boils down to is an insane billionaire named Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), who believed that the human population was growing out of control, and needed to be thinned out with the aid of a deadly virus that would wipe out half the world.  Bertrand recently has killed himself, but his ideals live on with his followers, and apparently there is a bomb hidden somewhere that could unleash his deadly virus, and that altered painting in Robert's possession is the key to tracking it down.  Robert must now follow the clues to the bomb before someone sets it off, but he is constantly left wondering who he can trust.

The first half of Inferno is fragmented and disjointed, trying to recreate Langdon's current state of mind as he struggles to remember anything about the past couple days, and how he wound up where he is.  And while the filmmakers do rely a bit too heavily on out of place flashbacks and visions, this is the part of the film that intrigued me the most, as I found myself genuinely wanting to know what was going to happen next.  As the mystery deepens, and Robert finds himself seeking out the clues (which usually lead to more clues rather than answers), I still found myself engaged, as the film manages to throw in some strong action sequences to keep things interesting during this half.  It's only during the last 40 minutes or so that the movie starts to feel a bit dragged out.  This is where we start to get the answers, and not only are they disappointing, but it all ends in a climax that is as silly as it is anticlimactic.

Through it all, the cast does what it can.  This is obviously not Hanks' finest acting performance, but he does hold his own throughout the film.  Sure, he's mostly required to spout off exposition dialogue as he uncovers each answer, but the fact that he remains likable while doing it is a testament to his talent.  As his main sidekick, Felicity Jones is basically required to run behind him for a majority of the film, unfortunately.  When she does get some character development eventually, it never gets to be as developed as it could have been.  Although, this may also play in part to the breathless pacing of the film itself.  None of the actors outside of Hanks get to make a big impression, and Hanks only stands out because he's in nearly every scene.  You can tell that everyone is giving their all, but the screenplay by David Koepp is too busy racing to the finish line in order to let the characters and the actors play them breathe.

I must credit Inferno for at least holding my attention for most of the film, even if the payoff wasn't quite worth the wait.  This is one of those movies where once you know the truth about what's going on, you realize you were better off not knowing, and kind of wish you could go back to the way you were before the answers came to light.  Not only was the movie working better, but I was having more fun with it.

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