Characters:

Leonardo Vetra—a physicist at CERN and a priest who is killed by the supposed
Illuminati

Robert Langdon—a forty-year-old Harvard symbologist

Maximilian Kohler—a discrete particle physicist serving as director of CERN

The Hassassin—a highly trained killer who infiltrates the Vatican to kidnap key bishops

Janus—the Illuminati’s spy in the Vatican (eventually revealed to be the camerlengo)

Vittoria Vetra—Leonardo Vetra’s adopted daughter and an insightful physicist

Sylvie Baudeloque—Kohler’s secretary at CERN

Commander Olivetti—the commander of the Swiss Guard

Captain Elias Rocher—the Swiss Guard’s second-in-command, nicknamed “orso”

(bear)

Lieutenant Chartrand—the youngest member of the Swiss Guard

Carlo Ventresca—also called the “camerlengo,” the pope’s chamberlain

Cardinal Mortati—Great Elector of the Conclave, he counts the ballots for the new pope

Cardinal Lamasse—a French cardinal and one of the most likely candidates for the
papacy

Cardinal Guidera—a Spanish cardinal and one of the most likely candidates for the
papacy

Cardinal Ebner—a German cardinal and one of the most likely candidates for the
papacy

Cardinal Baggia—an Italian cardinal and one of the most likely candidates for the
papacy

Docent at the Pantheon—a friendly guide who helps Langdon find Raphael’s tomb

Gunther Glick—former tabloid reporter, now BBC reporter

Chinita Macri—Glick’s videographer

The pope—a holy man now dead by his own son’s hand

Maria—a former nun chastely loved by the pope, and Carlo Ventresca’s mother

Bob Brownell—a physicist friend of Langdon’s in Cambridge

Rebecca Strauss—an art critic for the New York Times and a former girlfriend of
Langdon’s

Dr. Joseph Venek—Vatican scholar from De Paul whom Glick enlists as an expert

Plot

Under the watchful eyes of Father Silvano Bentivoglio and Dr. Vittoria Vetra, the
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) initiates the Large Hadron
Collider and captures three vials of antimatter. Immediately afterward, someone kills
Father Silvano, using his retina to infiltrate the containment chamber, and steals one
vial.

The roman Catholic Church mourns for the death of Pope Pius XVI in Rome.
Vatican City prepares for the College of Cardinals' papal conclave, which will select the
next Pope. Reporters, nuns, priests, and other faithful members of the Church crowd
into Saint Peter's Square, waiting for the white smoke from the conclave, signalling a
successful vote. But the Illuminati, a 400-year old, underground secret society, kidnap
the four most likely candidates before the conclave enters seclusion. The Illuminati
threaten to kill one every hour, beginning at 8:00 pm, and then destroy the Vatican in a
burst of light at midnight. A stolen security camera shows the missing antimatter vial,
which will catastrophically explode when the vial's battery dies and the magnetic
containment field fails. The Vatican summons symbologist Robert Langdon from
Harvard University and Vittoria Vetra from CERN to help them solve the Illuminati's
threat, save the four preferiti, and replace the vial's batteries. The thrilling part is when
Langdon didn’t know where that 4 altars located?

 Langdon demands access to the Vatican Secret Archives (something he has

requested for 10 years) to see the original copy of Galileo Galilei's banned book, which
may contain the locations of the four "altars of science." Using the clues from this book,
Langdon, Vetra, Inspector General Ernesto Olivetti, and Lieutenant Valenti of the
Vatican Gendarmerie Corps race to the first church, only to find the first cardinal,
Cardinal Ebner. They found his body, dead, suffocated with dirt, eaten by rats and
branded with the word "Earth." They verify the second altar's location when they saw
the death of the second cardinal, Cardinal Lamassa. His body engraved with the word
“Air”. Langdon and the Vatican officers locate the third church and try to save the third
cardinal, Cardinal Gudiera, from burning to death. They can’t help the cardinal from the
flames because of the assassin that appears and kills everyone except Langdon. His
body branded with the word "Fire." Langdon escape at a small passage, found under
the table and try to went to the last altar which is the “Water.” After escaping, Langdon
convinces two Carabinieri officers to race with him to the last church of the "Water"
altar, but the assassin murders the officers and drops the fourth cardinal, Cardinal
Baggia, into the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

However, Langdon saves the cardinal, who tells him the location of the
Illuminati's lair: The Castel Sant'Angelo. When Langdon and Vetra arrive, they are
confronted by the assassin, who spares their lives only to chase that enemy. But the
assassin wanted to escape, maybe because to save his life, using a car left for him by
his contractor, but supposedly, he was killed because of an explosion upon ignition.

Langdon and Vetra rush back to the Vatican where they find Commander Richter
hovering over McKenna with a gun, the Vatican symbol branded into McKenna's chest.
Richter and Archbishop Simeon are shot by the Guards. As Richter dies in front of
Langdon, he opens his hand to reveal a key which Langdon takes. The stolen
antimatter vial is found in St. Peter's Tomb below the church, but the battery life is too
low to risk re-connecting it to a battery. McKenna, a former military pilot, seizes the vial
and uses an awaiting helicopter to fly above the Vatican. At a high altitude, he
parachutes out as the antimatter bomb explodes overhead. McKenna is hailed a hero
and savior, and the cardinals move to elect him pope. Langdon and Vetra use Richter's
key to watch a security video showing McKenna speaking to Richter before the attack.
The video reveals it is McKenna, not the Illuminati, who masterminded the scheme.
McKenna reveals he murdered the previous pope because he felt the pope had
betrayed the church by trying to bridge the gap between science and religion. After
McKenna had killed the pope, he intended to have himself elected to the papacy whilst
rallying the most conservative Cardinals to his side. The recording is shown to the Papal
conclave, and it dawns on McKenna that he has been exposed. He flees to a remote
recess in the building where he is able to commit suicide by setting himself on fire.

Strauss, the newly elected Pope, thanks Langdon for his assistance and gives
Langdon Galileo's "Diagramma Veritatis" for his research as a gift from himself and
Pope Luke, requesting only it be returned to the Vatican by Langdon's testament, and
any future references he may make about the Catholic Church in his future publications
be done gently, to which Langdon replies, "I'll try." As the film ends, the new Pope Luke
shares a grateful nod with Langdon and Vetra, and walks out onto the balcony to greet
the crowd waiting for him in the Square.

Reviews
A Taut and Tightly-Wound Thriller...
ANGELS AND DEMONS is a very satisfying movie. It is very suspenseful and
interesting, and has some great action scenes as well. Acting is great too; Tom Hanks
and Ewan McGregor satisfy, as always. However, no one under the age of 13 should be
admitted into this film under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. While kids aged 14 and up
should be fine with the material, it is very violent and several scenes could be very
disturbing for kids and teens alike (I even found some scenes very intense). Countless
people are shot, one is exploded, and four prominent plot characters are killed in
graphic, intense ways (one is suffocated by soil shoved down his throat and the camera
unflinchingly shows rats knawing on his body. The second's lungs are punctured and he
suffocates, though we don't see anything but him gasping for air. The third and fourth
are both burned alive, and while no gore is visible, the camera, once again, doesn't flich
as it shows them writhing in pain and agony). There is one intense scene where a man
is barely prevented from drowning, and another where two men are almost killed in an
isolated room deprived of oxygen. Five people are branded with hot irons (one branding
is onscreen the others are not). Blood is displayed in all of these deaths and injuries.
However, there is no sex and very, very mild language 

NOT AS VIOLENT AS EVERYONE SAYS

The reason I rated this 15 + is because young teens probably'll find this movie
boring and dull because of the history. But as I wrote in the title, it's NOT as violent as
everyone says. I was kind of scared to watch this because I looked at IMDB's parent
guide which said the violence was 10/10 which is sick? The violence wasn't graphic, not
even just a bit. There was violence, yes, but definitely not graphic. There was some
shootings but you never got to see the wounds, a man committed suicide by lighting
himself on fire but you just get to see his face through the fire flames (it's not damaged
yet). A man slits another ones throat but you only hear a sound and then the man
covers his wound. I don't find the violence disturbing and a 12 year old probably
would've handled it fine, but I rated this 15 because of the storyline. It's about Illuminati
and very historical. Not everyone will appreciate this since it's a special movie. I'm not
sure people under 14 will get the plot. Maybe older wouldn't appreciate it either, I don't
know. I have to admit I were kind of confused at some point. They talk a lot, it's slow
moving and so predictable. It's not very exciting and boring for everyone who aren't into
historical and religious stuff. I've seen Da Vinci Code and this isn't better, I prefer Da
Vinci Code. Overall it's not the best movie but not the worst. Kind of fun at some times
but can be very boring. No kissing or sexual scenes.

Well Done, But A Horrible Script

Good suspense and loved seeing what the vatican city artists and the amazing
work they did so long ago. I don't think it has an anti-catholic theme, the church has had
a colorful past & its interesting. The bad guy is ruthless with no concern for human
life and was very uncomfortable to watch. I thought it would bore my 14 year old son but
he loved it, was exciting for him but I would not recommend for any younger viewers.

Personal Findings

The Angels and Demons directed by Ron Howard, is an adaptation from the
prequel book of Dan Brown, “Da Vinci Code”. First, i haven't read the Da Vinci Code,
but when I have watched the movie. I enjoy it a lot. Now even though the movie and
book had their differences... still, it only focuses on the same plot. 

Based on my research, In the novel, the papal conclave attracts relatively little
public attention. In the wake of the huge international interest in the 2005
election of Pope Benedict XVI, this was judged to be out of date. There are many
differences between the novel and the film. The character of CERN Director Maximillian
Kohler does not appear in the film. The Italian Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is changed
to the Irish Patrick McKenna, portrayed by Ewan McGregor. The Boeing X-33 that takes
Langdon from the United States to Geneva and then to Rome is absent in the film. In
the novel, Commander Olivetti is the commander of Swiss Guard, and his second in
command is Captain Rocher, whereas in the film, Richter is the head of the Swiss
Guard. In the novel, the Assassin contacts members of the BBC in order to influence
how they present the story of his activities, but this does not happen in the film. The
character Leonardo Vetra is named Silvano Bentivoglio in the film, is not related to
Vittoria and his death scene is changed. Vittoria is a love interest for Langdon in the
novel while there is no attraction present in the film. In the novel Camerlengo Carlo
Ventresca is revealed to be the late pope's biological son, in the film he is his adoptive
son. I also noticed that in the novel, Vittoria is kidnapped, whereas in the film, she
accompanies Langdon almost everywhere. In the book, all four preferiti are killed by the
assassin and eventually the high elector, Cardinal Saverio Mortati, is elected as the new
pope whereas in the film, the fourth preferito, Cardinal Baggia, is saved by Langdon and
is elected the new pope. The high elector, renamed Cardinal Strauss, becomes the
Camerlengo to the new pope.

Powerful beings invisible to our eyes inhabit our universe and have played an
important role in the history of human civilization. The Bible identifies these beings as
angels. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 , “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Paul reminds us that we need
to be well aware of the forces seen and unseen that war against us each day.
Angels are fascinating creatures who have peaked our curiosity for ages. Unfortunately,
there are many myths surrounding these servants of God that have been further
perpetuated in several Hollywood movies.
 First of all, this book assumes that the Catholic Church is the only church.
Christianity is not a denomination, but rather the body of Jesus Christ on earth. It spans
denominations and is only recognized by the condition of the heart and the fruits in a
person’s life. Not everyone claiming to be a Christian is actually a Christian. Yes, we
have all done stupid things and the Catholic Church throughout history, especially, has
been associated with atrocities (killing of Protestants, killing of Muslims and Jews, etc.)
… but not all Christians agreed with the evils their church hierarchy committed – even
back in those dark days. God sees into our hearts, and it is sad that the world can not
distinguish between true Christianity and the fake kind which actually is self-serving and
self-righteous. Anyone can take a good thing and make it bad – if we use it to serve our
own purposes and thus begin to worship SELF or MONEY rather than GOD. Christians
have a calling to live out our faith, and a lot of us lack in that area on different occasions
(me included). We are called to be ambassadors of Christ, and we all should remember
books like this one (and the sad theological suicide found within it’s pages) when we
think of the seriousness of that charge.

Secondly, Science, as I stated above is not proving that faith is archaic and un-
necessary. In fact, every shred of TRUE Scientific evidence over time has proven the
Bible to be true. I could write an entire book on this, but I don’t have to, because plenty
of authors have beaten me to it – and their books are available for you to buy or check
out if you are interested. I’ll just leave you with the link to CSE or Dr. Dino (dot com),
Kent Hovind, who has over 17 hours worth of solid video evidence that Darwinism is
dead. Science is actually a TOOL that has done nothing but prove the Judeo-Christian
God’s account (through the Bible) is factual. Almost every branch of Science was
founded by a Christian. You don’t have to leave your brain behind when you leap off the
faith bridge. When you see the truth about what macro-evolutionists want you to believe
up against the TRUE evidence (not the propaganda and lies), you will see that it is more
of a leap of faith to accept their dogma than it is to believe in a Creator. Christianity has
nothing to fear from Science. It is rather far-fetched to believe someone would be so
afraid of Science that they would embark on a formidable killing spree (as this book
depicts).

The book’s statement that doubt is what brings souls to the Church is entirely
wrong. Doubt is what turns people AWAY from church. Doubt is why people can read
books like this and see nothing wrong with them. People go to church because they
start to feel that something is missing. There is a hole in each of our hearts that God put
there. We each have a need for Him. Nothing in life can fill that god-sized-hole but a
purpose-filled life in Him. We can endure hunger, pain, loneliness, bitterness, anguish…
but we can not live without purpose. Evolution provides nothing but a vacuum (and
you’d have to have one in your head to believe it). Christianity provides an answer and
a reason for living. With Jesus, you have a commission, you have a hope, and you have
a future. What do you get with survival of the fittest (if you can manage to swallow that
your great-grandfather is a monkey that evolved from a puddle of primordial soup)?
Nothing but an excuse to kill and destroy anyone and anything in your way. Remember
the Nazi’s? Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s entire evil plan was to breed a superior race in
Germany based on a horrific evolutionary theory called “eugenics” (founded by Charles
Darwin’s cousin). Eugenics claimed to improve the human race using principles from
the theory of evolution. Hitler believed man fell into two categories, the “unfit” and the
“fit.” This is entirely contradictory to God’s loving claim that all of us are His children,
and He desires all of us to choose life and be saved from judgment.