The one thing more certain than a new Dan Brown book getting a critical mauling is a film adaptation of one getting lambasted by critics. I’m sure Inferno will feature heavily in the next Razzies but in a year that contains such absolutely dire movies like Dirty Grandpa, Point Break, and Hardcore Henry is that fair? I would argue not.
For most of the film this is a serviceable chase thriller. Not exactly Hitchcock but superior to something like The Tourist from 2010. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Robert Langdon, and he again needs to solve a series of clues in order to win the day. This time he is trying to foil the unhinged Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) who has a plan to solve the over-population crisis by using a new virus to wipe-out half the people on Earth. Assisting him is a doctor, Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) whilst various authority figures – police, World Health Organisation workers, the American consulate – pursue Langdon. But who can he trust?
True, there is a lot of exposition. Ron Howard, returning to the director’s chair again, doesn’t really solve how the clue solving can be seen rather than discussed, but you have to accept that going in. Also, you have to go with the fact that Zobrist gives Langdon the chance to stop him rather than just releasing the virus without any warning – as you do when a Bond villain tells James his plans and then sets up an elaborate way of killing him – just giving him enough time and opportunity to escape!
However, Hanks is personable as always, and I liked both Irrfan Khan and Sidse Babett Knudsen in supporting roles, though Knudsen’s romantic sub-plot felt tacked-on because any hint of something between Hanks and Jones would have been too icky. There are a couple of particularly good set pieces on a train, and especially in Florence, but the climatic sequence was a little confusing with a major villain dispatched without me noticing!
That about sums it up really – whenever I come up with a positive, there always seem to be a but…better than Angels & Demons but not as good as The Da Vinci Code and that wasn’t exactly a classic.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10