Inferno Review — Not a Circle of Hell, But…

by Lisa Johnson Mandell

Apparently, all the other movie studios were intimidated by the prospect of opening the same weekend as Inferno, a Tom Hanks movie based on a blockbuster Dan Brown novel, directed by Ron Howard. Not one other major film studio chose to open a movie wide on Friday — not even a horror flick, which is traditionally cheap to make and destined to do well on Halloween weekend. It seems Sony’s competitors shouldn’t have worried. Although Inferno is hot overseas, U.S. critics have given it a cool reception, and movie goers will likely feel the same way. It seems to be just a little too little, too late.

It’s been ten years since Brown, Hanks and Howard collaborated on The Da Vinci Code. Seven years since Angels & Demons. At this point, lead character Robert Langdon feels a bit of a didactic old coot–and it doesn’t help that at the very beginning he’s suffering from a head injury he doesn’t remember receiving. His visions of Dante’s circles of hell pop up in the strangest places, and seem bland and out of place. Rather than racing through events, it feels like he’s shambling over red herrings. Fans of the book (myself among them) were hoping for so much more.

The story follows a manic billionaire’s efforts to save the earth by culling the population. He’s come up with a ridiculously convoluted plot to release a modern day plague on the world that will kill 90 percent of its inhabitants. Only professor Robert Langdon, with his miraculous knowledge of symbolism, has the power to foil the dastardly plan.

The film is one long chase scene, starting somewhere in the middle and veering forwards and backwards, but it’s edited so poorly that the characters’ motivation and progress are either too obvious or too obscure. Inferno is not entirely without redeeming qualities, however. Those who love Italy will enjoy watching the scenes shot in Florence, and even the gratuitous trip to Venice. And the Hagia Sofia is always intriguing.

Rated PG-13

2 Hours 1 Minute

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

INFERNO Review — More Luke Warm Than Blazing