Inferno (2016)

I haven't really enjoyed the Robert Langdon series as directed by Ron Howard. The Da Vinci Code was a rather pedestrian thriller which suffered under the weight of its overblown plot. It's follow up, the rather tragically awkward Angels and Demons, was just plain bad. I wasn't expecting much from the third film in the series, Inferno.

Director Ron Howard seems to be attempting to make The Langdon Identity. More of an action movie than the previous films, Inferno apes Bond or Bourne more directly. The first two films tried to lead more on the mystery solving aspects with dashes of international super spy. This newest entry focuses more on the spy tropes.

And as pedestrian international action films go, Inferno isn't all that bad. It's more competent than Angels and Demons but falls into the same grandiosity problems The Da Vinci Code fell into. Basically that the story itself is just a little too silly for all the hype.

I was disappointed that the twists at the end didn't go the way they did in the book. I found the book's climax a bit more satisfying, cryptic, and cynical. The film goes for a more straight up save the world plot which again makes it feel sillier than I would have liked it to be. However I did like the addition of the romance. The film gives Langdon an age appropriate, peer based love interest instead of tying him to the young ingenue and that felt better than most Hollywood fare who pares the older man with a woman half his age.

So Inferno isn't a mess like its predecessor but its pretty much in line with a series that is average at best. If you are a fan, you'll likely be happy with it. As a more casual viewer, there is better stuff out there which will be more entertaining. 

Inferno
Starring: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Irrgan Khan
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: David Koepp