![\"Inferno_(2016_film)\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/81\/2016\/10\/Inferno_2016_film.png\")
<\/a>\nJan and I went to see Inferno<\/em> yesterday. We picked it partially because I\u2019m 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\u2019t expecting much more than an entertainment. In fact a mindless cartoon like adventure was just what we wanted. We were not disappointed.<\/p>\n
Still, now having seen it, it\u2019s hard to see how this movie wasn\u2019t 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 \u201cliked\u201d Inferno<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n Jason Buchanan at Rovi<\/em> and quoted at Rotten Tomatoes<\/em> gives a succinct summary of what you get. \u201cTom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon in director Ron Howard and screenwriter David Koepp\u2019s adaptation of author Dan Brown\u2019s bestselling novel Inferno<\/em>, which finds Langdon using Dante\u2019s The Divine Comedy<\/em> as a tool in the race to prevent a devastating global pandemic.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n David Edelstein at Vulture<\/em> says Hanks delivers \u201canother paycheck performance\u2026 (in) Ron Howard\u2019s mostly lame adaption of Dan Brown\u2019s wholly lame novel.\u201d Lame and lame, yes. But a mere paycheck performance from Hanks, come on. Indeed, on the other hand Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood<\/em> opines that while \u201cNo 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?\u201d And, I would add, with really good actors taking on cartoon character roles. (That\u2019s \u201ccartoon\u201d with all the attendant cheese, not \u201cgraphic novel\u201d level story, which might actually be literary) The story itself, well, let\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s 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<\/em>, a ridiculous story that requires the viewing public have next to no actual knowledge of Christian history. Which, let\u2019s be honest, isn\u2019t 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\u2019t look too closely feel as if they\u2019re about something more than they really are. And, really. Who doesn\u2019t love Tom Hanks, the boomer generation\u2019s Jimmy Stewart?<\/p>\n Christy Lemire at Roger Ebert<\/em> first reminds us of the hokum that is the franchise, and then with this particular film \u201cthe 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.\u201d True. It is a profoundly silly movie. And, okay, I liked it. Lemire feels \u201cThe 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\u2014but then again, he may be a good guy. One thing\u2019s for sure: He\u2019s the only one here who realizes how ridiculous \u201cInferno\u201d is, and he\u2019s having a blast with it.\u201d I think the whole cast is in on the joke, and enjoyed it thoroughly. And that was contagious.<\/p>\n Popcorn popping fun, sure. <\/p>\n In hard times such as we\u2019re wallowing in today, is maybe just right for one hundred and twenty-one minutes of those multiple twists, double-crosses and leaps, we\u2019re talking Grand Canyon leaps of logic, might just be what the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n So, bottom line: if you need a plot that scans, this isn\u2019t 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\u2026<\/p>\n