Movie Review: Inferno…scarcely the scorcher you hope for

While the closest to the riveting Da Vinci Code that took the world by storm, in terms of its setting and build up (I refer here strictly to the book and not the movie), for all its depictions of hell, doomsday, blood and blazing fires, Inferno is scarcely the scorcher you hope for.

The start is promising – Robert Langdon is back and while proceedings are a little slow you brace yourself for the earth shattering impact that would subsequently be revealed. Following an atypical Dan Brown book setting, it spins its yarn against a series of paintings and ancient history and yet another conspiracy theory, yet again. However, while the threads for the Da Vinci code were deliciously complicated, Inferno keeps the solutions a little too simple. There seems to be much ado over nothing – even the background score suggests it. While we have the illustrious Hans Zimmer at the helm yet again, he is but a shadow of his true self – something that’s been the case with this series itself.

The big reveal (if one can call it that) is when the stuff simply crumbles and  you realize that the pieces don’t fit together as well as you hoped. There are more questions than answers and the entire scenario seems forced rather than a natural flow to the proceedings

While I have great respect for Ron Howard’s directorial skills (especially after Rush) this time around, he seems to be at a disadvantage with a poor script. While he tries to push that same sense of urgency and a race against time that Angels and Demons (the most successful of the book adaptations, in my view) did – this time there isn’t enough to hold your attention.

In all fairness, I haven’t read the book – so I can’t be sure if there was enough content or the movie doesn’t do it justice. From what I witnessed though, beyond a point I just didn’t care what happened to the characters and their world. I am pretty sure that’s not what the author would’ve wanted.
As for the acting, Tom Hanks is a veteran and he brings a level of sensitivity and endearment to Robert Langdon that makes you at least feel some connect for him. Felicity Jones is pretty mechanical but the role doesn’t require her to emote much. Our own Irrfan Khan comes off as wanting to sound a little too suave – something his no-nonsense dialogue delivery doesn’t go well with so that’s a disappointment.

If you’ve read Inferno, you probably know what to expect – I don’t think the movie can convince you otherwise. If you haven’t, you might still want to venture to the theaters to watch Robert Langdon’s latest adventure – but don’t expect much else.