By Jason Yon
Elm Staff Writer
“Inferno” is the third and final story to be transferred to film from Dan Brown’s famous Da Vinci Code trilogy of novels. Tom Hanks reprises his role as the brilliant Dr. Robert Langdon and Ron Howard takes the director’s seat once again to complete the trilogy. Sienna Brooks, an ER doctor played by Felicity Jones, follows Langdon and assists with parts of the mystery, finding the location of a massive bio-terrorism threat initiated by a billionaire who has certain desires for the future of humanity.
The movie starts with the suicide of Bertrand Zobrist, a billionaire of a biomedical company, who dies trying to protect the location of his manufactured disease. It is his manifesto that in order for the human race to continue, more than half of the population of the world needs to die. He states that if something drastic doesn’t happen, the population growth will cause a global conflict over dwindling resources. His solution, though not publicly known, is to release a massive virus into the world, killing much of the population. Zobrist draws heavy connections between his virus and the Black Plague, even hinting that a Renaissance will follow the purging of the population, something he insinuates will happen after his apocalypse.
In Florence the same city as Zobrist’s suicide, Dr. Langdon wakes up with a bullet graze wound to the head and mild amnesia. In his pocket is an evidence tube containing a light, that when shined on a flat surface projects the image of Boticelli’s “The Abyss.” Contained within the image is Zobrist’s first clue to the location of his virus, left behind him in case he didn’t survive to set it off himself. With less than ideal mental capacity, Dr. Langdon sets off down the trail of Renaissance art and poetry inspired clues with the common theme of Medieval doom and destruction.
The key strength of Dr. Langdon’s character is that he’s supposed to be proficient in solving obscure puzzles. This aspect of the character is almost completely absent from the start of the film due to his temporary mental state, which does slightly improve with time. However, without viewing the other two films the viewer doesn’t experience the main draw of the character. If the film had shown Dr. Langdon operating at his full mental ability at the beginning of the film, then his amnesia would be felt more by the viewer and the film could stand on its own better. In the current state, the film opening with Dr. Langdon having little to no memories is shocking, but the audience has nothing to compare it to. The entire plot device of Dr. Langdon having amnesia as a whole seems unnecessarily hindering since having the trail of art history clues would be difficult and interesting enough on its own.
The most interesting part of “Inferno” is by far the myriad of historical locations featured and traveled to. Dr. Langdon starts out in Florence, then travels to Venice and eventually ends up in Istanbul. The amount of little historical facts spouted by Dr. Langdon and secret doors or hidden passages in old buildings is very reminiscent of “National Treasure” in a good way. It is cool to see a film add interesting aspects to history such as action and mystery while still maintaining a certain level of respect for the historical sections. Also, the simple act of filming in such beautiful locations such as Florence and Venice was entertaining. The old Renaissance palazzos and basilicas filled with neoclassical and romantic art created a satisfying backdrop for the story.
“Inferno” suffers from sequelitis: the rushed or unnecessary production of a sequel, but this does not inherently make it a bad film. As a standalone film it may be confusing and forgetful, but when paired with the first two of the trilogy, it fits right in. The addition of Dr. Langdon’s mental condition feels forced but Hanks’ performance was not weak. The political commentary of overpopulation is relevant and fresh and stimulates thought on the matter. “Inferno” turned out to be rather enjoyable with the highlights being the extensive inclusion of Renaissance art and Dante references. This movie is definitely worth checking out for any history buffs or fans of Hanks.
Score: B-