Angels and Demons
May 22, 2009
It was just a few weeks (or was it months?) ago when I saw a preview of the movie Angels and Demons. I immediately started rereading Dan Brown’s other book, The Da Vinci Code, hoping to finish it so I can also reread Angels & Demons after that. I just wanted to refresh my memory about the entire story coz I believe a reader’s imagination is always better than any translation a movie can make.
To give you a little background, I first read the book in 2004 when Dan Brown wasn’t even that popular and even before the book became famous here in the Philippines. I got my first “ancient” copy (a hardbound special print for people with poor eyesight meaning, the fonts were huge!) from Booksale that year. Popsy, (Peter’s dad, who lives in the US), has been raving about it so when we saw it in Booksale’s display window, we immediately bought it for P100. Soon after, all of Dan Brown’s books became a hit so I bought all copies of his books too, (including Deception Point and Digital Fortress) both softbound and the illustrated edition which means we have three copies of The Da Vinci Code, hehehe.
Going back to my reading, it was unfortunate that my schedule didn’t allow me to finish rereading the books. Even until now, I’m still halfway through The Da Vinci Code. Nevertheless, I went ahead and watched the movie. This happened last Tuesday, after a very exhausting field work, hopping from one mall to another where my last stop was Mall of Asia. I was supposed to wait for Peter. But it was already 8pm and he was still at work. My feet were killing me and my legs were throbbing so terribly. I needed to sit down. Sitting in one of the benches near the Skating Rink was just making me fall asleep from exhaustion so I made a decision, bought the next movie screening and at 8:05 pm, I was there inside the theater, half asleep, half excited to watch the movie. I probably fell asleep during the previews but as soon as Angels and Demons started, I was all eyes and ears.
My gosh, this is probably the best movie I’ve seen so far! I say it’s the best because I am totally grateful that I wasn’t able to reread the book. Therefore, I had no expectations whatsoever, I totally forgot what the real plot was and I totally fell in love with the Camerlengo (portrayed by Ewan McGregor) only for my heart to be smashed into pieces towards the end. And speaking of the end, for a brief moment, I had this profound intuitive understanding of why the Catholic Church is the way it is and I felt kind of reborn to my old religion. The movie translation is totally better than the book! It’s not anti-Christian nor anti-Catholic at all. On the other hand, if you are smart enough to understand the little details, you will even learn to appreciate the Catholic religion. I know I did. And that’s a big thing coming from a non-practicing Catholic, ex born-again, Wiccan, agnostic person such as myself. Kudos to the producers, writers, director & actors of Angels & Demons! I can’t wait to get a DVD copy for my collection. Those who haven’t watched it yet, please do. It’s one heck of an amazing ride!
