Inferno lacks fire
The Catholic church’s favorite symbologist is back — only this time he is about as confused as everyone else trying to figure out how Jesus could have had a kid with Mary Magdalene. In Inferno, the third movie adapted from Dan Brown’s popular book series, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes up in Florence, Italy, with no recollection of the previous night’s events.
His doctor, Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), informs him that he is suffering from amnesia due to head trauma caused by a gun wound. Langdon has hardly any time to process the fact that he is in Italy and not Massachusetts before a very determined assassin comes to his hospital room, just missing her target as Langdon and Brooks escape to her apartment. The journey has just begun, though, and things get messy when Langdon checks his coat pocket and finds a biotube containing a mini projector that shows a painting of Dante’s Inferno, tampered by billionaire extremist Bertrant Zobrist, who committed suicide just days earlier.
A quick YouTube search reveals that Zobrist extensively talked about the problem of overpopulation and a need to wipe out most of the human population. It makes sense to him, at least. A few cliche plot twists later, traveling from Florence to Venice to Istanbul, Inferno arrives at the train station of decent-but-not-great. While the story feels stale, Howard’s direction gives it a certain life that makes it worth watching. His decision to use an abundance of shaky camera work coupled with fast editing makes the two-hour movie run as quickly as Felicity Jones unrealistically does in heels. Her character was hit the hardest in terms of cliches and as a surprising disappointment, the normally delightful Jones fell flat in her performance as the child prodigy-turned-doctor. In past standout roles (such as Like Crazy or Theory of Everything) her face does more acting than anyone else in the room, but in Inferno, her face is like Dante’s: stone.
In all fairness, she was acting opposite one of the greatest actors to ever live — Mr. Hanks. However, from the moment he wakes up, alone and confused in a hospital room, Langdon is falling behind. One of the biggest appeals of Dan Brown’s books-turned-movies is that the audience is on a quest with the brilliant Langdon, guiding the audience every step of the way with each clue he solves. In Inferno, Langdon is being dragged against his will by greedy people who want Zorbrist’s bioweapon, which just happens to be in Langdon’s possession. Signature moments where Langdon gets to show off his puzzle-solving prowess are much too few and far between.
As a result of dumbed-down riddles, Langdon spends most of his time brooding over the one that got away: World Health Organization leader, Elizabeth (Sidse Babett Knudsen). At 47 years to Hank’s 60, Knudsen seems an appropriate match (by Hollywood’s standards) and offers some backstory into the mysterious serial bachelorhood of Langdon’s life. However, there is one silver lining to Langdon’s demotion to regretful old man: Irrfan Khan, The Life of Pi actor who deserves much more than just supporting roles.
He delivers a wildly entertaining performance, ostensibly stealing the show as Harry Sims, head of a private security business who is deadly both in wit and murderous capabilities. Ron Howard was right to give him as much screen time as possible, for he was the life of an otherwise cookie-cutter action film. In a film series that no one has lauded as worthwhile, Howard certainly had a large task ahead of him. Nevertheless, he wastes no time in getting into the action of Inferno, hoping that the chases and near-death encounters will distract the audience from the weak script, and he almost succeeds. Almost.