Anchors (Out of Four): 
In 2006, mystery author Dan Brown’s hit novel “The Da Vinci Code” was given treatment on the silver screen and met with mediocre reviews (for what it’s worth, I remember enjoying the movie.) In 2009, we got a much better sequel with “Angels and Demons,” a film that I remember chiefly for starring Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) as an action hero/Catholic priest. Now, ten years after he first sent us gallivanting across Europe, director Ron Howard (“Apollo 13,” “A Beautiful Mind”) brings us back into Brown’s world of intrigue, mystery, and conspiracy with a third adaptation in the story of history professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks).
In “Inferno,” Langdon awakes with no memory in a hospital in Florence, Italy, a fitting beginning for a film franchise that we haven’t seen since Barack Obama’s first year in office. As Langdon slowly learns more about what happened to him and what the stakes of his newest mystery are, we slowly remember more about his history and can slowly reacquaint ourselves with Brown’s universe. This time, the Catholic Church and the secretive Opus Dei don’t return as the chief antagonists. Instead, we get the slightly less interesting story of Malthusian billionaire Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) and his plan to release an apocalyptic virus, the eponymous “Inferno.” World Health Organization agents act as foils in, as always, a race against time before the virus is released.
Our main actors turn in some great performances, as you would expect from a Tom Hanks film. His portrayal of Robert Langdon at times falls into the typical expository role you might expect from a movie based on pop fiction, but otherwise he turns in a convincing performance, particularly when it comes to the actions that define his character: examining symbols, investigating riddles, and discovering secrets. Felicity Jones steals the show as Dr. Sienna Brooks, Langdon’s ER doctor and originally reluctant sidekick, giving me a lot of hope for her upcoming starring role in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
I can’t go too much into the plot without giving up some major spoilers for those who haven’t read the book (including myself), but I will say that there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you excited, almost to the point of plot holes. By the end of the film, the casual viewer might be left shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads, not because of the difficulty of the plot (thrillers like the Bourne movies always make sure that if you take your head away for a second, you’re lost for the rest of the film), but because of how ridiculous the endgame is. A few other details, like Langdon’s flashback and amnesia sequences, also seem a bit gimmicky, and would have surely hindered a lesser actor than Hanks.
The “Da Vinci” movies are by far the only ones in this particular subgenre (think “National Treasure” or “Sahara.”) The major goal of these types of movies is twofold: First, give the viewer some level of suspense and keep them in the dark. Second, let them have fun and bring them along for the adventure. “Inferno” succeeds in both of these aspects most of time, and that’s more than you can say about some other films. I never get the feeling that any of our main characters (particularly Langdon, who we are left to believe may or may not be infected with the Inferno virus) are in any danger whatsoever, and I could sort of predict the general way in which particular action sequences were going to play out, but “Inferno” recognizes this at some points and does its best to throw a left turn into the mix.
As for the second goal, I did have a lot of fun watching this movie. It gives us some fun supporting characters, Brown’s typical European locales (which at this point don’t seem as exotic as they once did) and an exciting rapport between our main characters. Unfortunately, it’s brought down by some stretches in the plot and some nagging sense that at this point, it might be time for Langdon to throw in the towel. That being said, I’ll still be first in line to see “The Lost Symbol” when it comes out in a few more years.
Verdict: Anchor Down. Like a lot of movies that come out in late October, this is one that you’ll likely find on cable during summer break, and if you’re not doing anything on that particular night, it’s worth a watch.