Angels & Demons

When four cardinals vanish on the night the College of Cardinals gathers to choose a new pope, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to Rome to help unravel a tangled trail of clues. Clues point toward the centuries old secret society called the Illuminati, and Langdon teams up with scientist Vittoria Vetra to follow symbols, historical sites, and a ticking deadline. The film moves through churches, archives, and high tech labs as Langdon tries to map connections between ancient rivalries and a contemporary threat, racing to stop a catastrophe while the Vatican grapples with panic and secrecy.

Directed by Ron Howard and released in 2009, the film adapts Dan Brown's novel, with screenplays credited to Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp, and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon among an international cast.

Critical reaction was mixed, the audience score and reviews noting strong production design and brisk pacing while many critics found the plotting muddled and the logic strained. The movie's main themes include the tension between science and faith, secrecy in institutions, and the use of symbols to shape belief, all presented in the format of a procedural thriller with a race against time.

The movie amplified public interest in Dan Brown's work and in the Illuminati mythos, and certain sequences, like the film's use of Vatican interiors and the CERN location, stuck in popular memory. It prompted discussions about religious representation in mainstream cinema and led many viewers to revisit or seek out the novel that inspired it.

Financially the film built on the novel's large readership and the star power of Tom Hanks, performing solidly at the box office worldwide. Its commercial success helped ensure the continuation of the Langdon film adaptations and reinforced Hollywood's appetite for adaptations of bestselling thrillers.