Not really a review of Angels & Demons.
The equivalent to the "I need to get to a library - IMMEDIATELY!" line from The Da Vinci Code wasn't delivered by the miscast-as-ever Tom ("I'm a rom-com specialist, get me out of here!") Hanks this time*. No, Ayelet Zurer took the (dis)honours...
"That cannister contains a highly combustible substance called anti-matter."
It went downhill even further, but not especially speedily, from there. Liberties taken with the 'plot' of the book (a marginally more entertaining read than DVC) merely added to the overall sense that Brown's undigested research-as-exposition is incurably problematic for filmmakers. However much fun the extras have in crowd scenes, there's little to disguise the fact that throwing as many references to the 'God particle' into the mix without someone wittily retorting "That's delusional, Father!" is taking The Crichton Method** too far.
Still, at least by the end it is fair to say that Ewan McGregor (struggling with an Irish accent) is hot in his clerical garb. Crispy, even.
Oh dear. That is a bit of a spoiler. Sorry.
*He wears a pained expression throughout the film. At first I thought it might be 'acting' (you know - an agnostic academic being somewhat conflicted about effectively working 'off the books' for the Catholic church), but I suppose it could be piles...
**If anyone would like a podcast of that particular lecture, send me an e-mail. Or encode the request in demotic script, and inscribe it on a gargoyle's bottom somewhere in Eastern Europe. I'm probably more likely to take it seriously that way.