Jan and I went to see Inferno yesterday. We picked it partially because I’m having back problems and it was playing at one of those new theaters with reclining cushy chairs. We really like Tom Hanks, and, actually enjoy Ron Howard. And, okay, we weren’t expecting much more than an entertainment. In fact a mindless cartoon like adventure was just what we wanted. We were not disappointed.
Still, now having seen it, it’s hard to see how this movie wasn’t going to be panned by the professionals. And it certainly has been. At the nearly always reliable Rotten Tomatoes, a mere twenty percent of the one hundred, seventy-four professionals “liked” Inferno. Doubling that miserable number a good forty-three percent of the approaching twenty-two thousand regular viewers willing to comment had a good word for it.
Jason Buchanan at Rovi and quoted at Rotten Tomatoes gives a succinct summary of what you get. “Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon in director Ron Howard and screenwriter David Koepp’s adaptation of author Dan Brown’s bestselling novel Inferno, which finds Langdon using Dante’s The Divine Comedy as a tool in the race to prevent a devastating global pandemic.” The film does have an all-star cast including Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Sise Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster and Irrfan Khan. Foster and Khan genuinely seeming to love their villain roles. A bit more on Khan later.
David Edelstein at Vulture says Hanks delivers “another paycheck performance… (in) Ron Howard’s mostly lame adaption of Dan Brown’s wholly lame novel.” Lame and lame, yes. But a mere paycheck performance from Hanks, come on. Indeed, on the other hand Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood opines that while “No one should plan on getting the tux out for the Oscars for this one, but what is wrong with some good old fashioned fun and a gorgeous swing through beautiful European locations?” And, I would add, with really good actors taking on cartoon character roles. (That’s “cartoon” with all the attendant cheese, not “graphic novel” level story, which might actually be literary) The story itself, well, let’s say it has more holes in the plot than a colander. Although with the actors, I think, they were enjoying the great froth machine in action. It sure felt that.
Let’s be clear. Dan Brown is a hack. And he always has been. Anyone who expected more is frankly silly. He caught lightning in a bottle with his novel the Da Vinci Code, a ridiculous story that requires the viewing public have next to no actual knowledge of Christian history. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t particularly difficult. But, and this is important, Brown conjures a great chase story and so far those stories have turned out to be perfect vehicles for popcorn munching mindless adventures that if you don’t look too closely feel as if they’re about something more than they really are. And, really. Who doesn’t love Tom Hanks, the boomer generation’s Jimmy Stewart?
Christy Lemire at Roger Ebert first reminds us of the hokum that is the franchise, and then with this particular film “the multiple twists, double-crosses and leaps in logic are more likely to prompt giggles than gasps, despite the impressive production values and the earnest efforts of an A-list cast.” True. It is a profoundly silly movie. And, okay, I liked it. Lemire feels “The one who nearly runs off with the entire movie, though, is Irrfan Khan known as The Provost. With his impeccably tailored suits and an arsenal of ornate daggers, he may be yet another bad guy—but then again, he may be a good guy. One thing’s for sure: He’s the only one here who realizes how ridiculous “Inferno” is, and he’s having a blast with it.” I think the whole cast is in on the joke, and enjoyed it thoroughly. And that was contagious.
Popcorn popping fun, sure.
In hard times such as we’re wallowing in today, is maybe just right for one hundred and twenty-one minutes of those multiple twists, double-crosses and leaps, we’re talking Grand Canyon leaps of logic, might just be what the doctor ordered.
So, bottom line: if you need a plot that scans, this isn’t for you. But, if a silly chase movie with fun characters portrayed by first rate actors having fun making a claptrap, although high-budget movie, well, like I said, a fun couple of hours…
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