Inferno

"The greatest sins in human history were committed in the name of love."

Filmology Rating: 1.5 out of 4

Symbol and history expert Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is back at it once again saving the world from impending doom. After he wakes up injured in a hospital with no memory of the previous 48 hours, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), the nurse who is a history buff and fan of Langdon’s work, to help try and uncover what happened. Memories and clues unfold and together they race the clock to try and stop a deadly virus that could kill more than half the world’s population.

Inferno had a spark but never caught fire. This being the third adaptation of author Dan Brown's bestselling novels, failed to reach either of the previous two levels. While neither of the previous two films (The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) are great from a critical standpoint, they were at least enjoyable to watch. Inferno had far too many issues when it came to the technical aspects that it heavily weighed down any fun factors that the film might have had to offer.

In the previous film Angels and Demons, there was a lot to like; we had an intriguing story, good acting, and the charisma and charm of Tom Hanks. Granted it had several issues but they were easy enough to overlook because of how entertaining the movie was. Inferno lacks these features. Not even Tom Hanks is enough to save this film because he himself was not that good. I don't really find fault in Hanks because the writing and directing was flat out terrible for this film. Frantic at times for no real reason other than to move the story along, forced emotional guidance, terrible direction and editing, and a story were you almost have to be a historian to follow along. You know a film is in some deep trouble when even Tom Hanks can’t save it and at least make it salvageable.

Now if I did have to come up with some good qualities about Inferno….. give me a minute here, let me think…… Oh the soundtrack was decent. I remember thinking that it was alright and maybe worth a listen to sometime in the future. Now nothing against sound design and production but if that is the best quality of a movie, then you know you are in some serious trouble. On top of the soundtrack, the acting was decent, the special effects were ok but really didn't do anything for the film in the long run, and the mystery and suspense was grasping for life at best. I was really looking forward to Inferno but after seeing it, man I am disappointed. When I mentioned earlier that Inferno had a spark, it did! It did have a promising plot, you brought it in a talented cast, director Ron Howard has made some excellent work over the last few decades, and so much more. I am just baffled that it never reached greatness or even mediocreness (I’m making up words here folks because why the heck not) for that matter. Inferno is a hard pass.

Rating: Let It Burn

-Nick