Oh, Langdon. Oh, Ron Howard. Oh, Tom Hanks. Why did this movie have to suck so badly. And I was so excited.

Ok – let me first go on the record by saying that I thought the Angels and Demons book destroyed The Da Vinci Code. It was quickly paced, had much more action, and was more disturbing than Jesus having a bloodline. The Angels book also had better characters that were way more fleshed out and realistic, including Langdon’s Bond Girl equivalent, Vittoria Vetra.

Now that I got that out of the way, here is what sucked royally:

The movie was way too rushed. I understand that film is a different medium and a few grains of salt need to be accounted for the difference, but seriously! The film failed to convey its characters appropriately. Vittoria, a once strong and level-headed woman, now came off as a flat shell of a character, simply there for eye candy and a sexy accent. The plot is supposed to unfold in approximately 5-6 hours, but within minutes, hours have gone by and all the tension that the book had taken time to build was simply thrown out of the window for a longer car chase, a few more gun shots, and other equally non-important acts of summer popcorn action. Story and character should always be at the forefront. This movie dropped the ball on that.

And why did Howard have to change the basics? Vittoria’s father was the one who is killed in the beginning of the book, not her partner! By changing this one detail, Vittoria’s entire character and purpose is flawed, and we don’t get to see how she unravels and deals with the day’s events. Very disappointing.

I woudn’t advise you to ignore the movie completely if you were a fan of the book, but I would advise you to avoid the theater, and add this one to the Netflix queue.

And P.S. – Ewan McGregor was pretty good!

Moving on…why the shit is everyone hating on Terminator: Salvation!? Fuckin’ thing, rocked!

Ok, first off – no matter who Bale decides to berate and when, you can’t change the fact that the man delivers. Russell Crowe is a douche too, but if they keep delivering awesome movies that entertain the shit out of me, then more power to ’em! And Terminator definitely entertained the shit out of me.

Loved the look of the film. Very post-apocalyptic and futuristic, without being too much. McG’s work was pretty solid too! I loved the first-person shot of Bale flying the copter, and us feeling like we’re right there with him. I loved the chase scene between Kyle and Marcus and the big, big, BIIIG terminator chasing them. The story was there. The action was there. A mid-movie twist? Check.

I’m not sure if I’d call the movie perfect, per se, but compared to T3, this was a goldmine. (Note: T2 still remains my favorite in the series, but Salvation comes in at a close, close 2nd.)

If you haven’t seen the movie, I recommend it. Two solid thumbs aimed upward.

If you have seen the movie, check this out and read all about the other ending that almost happened!