Inferno

Here is another episode in Dan Brown's trilogy (so far) about symbologist Robert Langdon, again played by Tom Hanks, as he takes on a nefarious plot to wipe out half of the world's population (to save mankind). The statistics are compelling but I don't remember the other two movies being quite so hectic.

Oscar winner Ron Howard ("In the Heart of the Sea") returns again to directing duties, using another script by David Koepp ("Indiana Jones 5"!) as they follow a familiar story arc. Once again we visit picturesque locales (Florence, Venice and Istanbul) and meet new faces. We watch as Langdon is injected with a hallucinogenic in a crowd, shot at by the police in a hospital, chased by a drone through city parks, and hunted by dogs, cops and mysterious Men in Black in streets, museums, and airline/train terminals. Whew!

This time, Howard casts these folks:

• Tom Hanks ("Sully") is back as Robert Langdon, the familiar face of rational thinking in the face of impossible odds, but this time he has been inoculated with something that impairs his mental processes (he can't remember the word "coffee"). The story begins...
  
• Felicity Jones ("The Theory of Everything") is Sienna Brooks, a woman who has known him since she was eight. She is a doctor, a scientist, and an expert on Dante. She also can explain Langdon's amnesia.
• Omar Sy ("The Intouchables") is Christoph Bouchard, the fellow who does a great job of second-guessing our hero.
  
• Irfan Khan ("The Lunchbox") Harry Sims plans to (maybe) help the World Health Organization, or (maybe) help Langdon, or (maybe) protect the helpless. I couldn't make out the dialogue, so it's anyone's guess.
• Ben Foster ("Hell or High Water") Bertrand Zobrist can foresee a time in the near future when the human population will reach an unsustainable number. This will trigger our extinction. He also has a solution.
• Sidse Babett Knudsen ("Borgen") is Elizabeth Sinskey, a World Health Organization operative, intent on derailing Zobrist's "solution." She is an old friend of Langdon's.
  

In my experience, if a person is called a symbologist, I know right away I'm gonna feel stupid. Sure enough, much of what was said was esoteric and scholarly: Lots about Dante's Inferno and all those circles of Hell. I'll leave it to the experts to pick apart the minutiae, I will focus on all the nuances I can get in one viewing (closed captions would have been appreciated). Many will opt for a second screening just because the story is so complex.

This PG-13 movie runs a touch over two hours; it feels longer because it's so chaotic and intense. Expect bloody wounds, gun battles, bodies falling from great heights, stabbings and drowning, but little or no profanity, only implied sex and one lone episode with blowie uppie stuff (which may be a hallucination). When a franchise like this is such a dependable money maker, it's a challenge to find new ways to imperil our hero. Rest assured, these evil movie makers have managed to do it! The screening audience was enthusiastic; on the other hand, I felt overwhelmed.

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Here is a preview:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi396539673

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