Inferno **
There is never a terrible Tom Hanks film, only one less satisfying than the other. Inferno is one such Hanks title. It is arguable just how much more mileage director Ron Howard can get out of the Dan Brown ‘Robert Langdon’ saga about symbolism, religion and cult, but you can’t blame him for trying with Inferno. Afterall, these books are made for big screen translation.
The sequel to The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Inferno starts with Harvard University professor Robert Langdon (Hanks) waking up in a hospital room in Florence, Italy, with no memory of what has transpired over the last few days. He is being plagued with visions of a Hell-like Earth. Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) tells him he has been suffering from amnesia after a bullet to the head. After an attempt on his life on the ward, Langdon and Brooks go on the run to find answers when they discover a ‘Faraday pointer’ with an image of Dante’s Inferno in Langdon’s personal belongings.
Hanks does not have to do much for his fee here, short of portraying his trademark ‘bemused face’ and getting a little exercise. David Koepp‘s script is very by the book, almost a little too so, merely illustrating the Brown text like an visual aid. Even the twist fails to raise excitement levels, and by the time we get to the climax – to save the world (again) – there is little appetite. We are just glad to see Hanks – or Langdon – safe and sound.
The trouble with translating any book from a series is there are always ones less compelling, but like all series, they need to be done to complete the filmic archive. Inferno has some great puzzles and culture to learn about – take Dante, for example. However, like numerous action thrillers of recent times, it just feels like watching a less enthralling ‘travel blog’, even with Hanks at the helm.
We all like a good mystery and chase, it’s just there is little imagination injected into Inferno, and a distinct lack of fear of the unknown that the other Brown books pedal so well. The spread of a virus should strike the fear of God into all – we just don’t get that sense of scale or impending doom in this. That’s probably because we’re being distracted by sightseeing and culture. Not a bad thing though.
2/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
