First, the Recap:
When you’re Robert Langdon, things just tend to get intellectual, complicated, and intense. Waking up in an Italian hospital with no memory of how, when, or initially why, Langdon (Tom Hanks) soon finds himself teamed up with Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), trying to piece together exactly what events occurred to bring him to the state he’s in. As more time passes, Langdon and Brooks discover a plot to unleash a massive virus, the brain child of disillusioned scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster), capable of wiping out a large percentage of humanity. Racing against relentless W.H.O. officer Christoph Bouchard (Omar Sy), shadowy contractor Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan), assassins, local police, double crosses, and time itself, can Langdon solve the mystery of Inferno before it’s too late?
Worth Seeing: Meh
Despite the popularity of the Dan Brown novel/source material the film is based on, a director of Ron Howard’s caliber, and a cast involving the name Hanks, “Inferno” ultimately fell short for this reviewer. Hanks, Jones, Foster, Sy, and Khan all do a fine job acting here, but I think the real issue simply becomes more of a “been there, done that” scenario that feels awfully “tired” at this juncture. The visuals are engaging, but the overall execution just feels flat, even though there are plenty of entertaining moments involved. Given the series opener’s massive success followed by the second installment’s failure to match or surpass it, and finally this third effort not gaining insider’s estimates for opening weekend gross, it may indicate people may have had enough of Langdon’s adventures through the hidden messages everywhere looking glass.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
