When it comes to the film series adaptations of Dan Brown's novelizations, there's always been a feeling of disappointment. Starting back in 2006 with The Da Vinci Code (in actuality the second of the Robert Langdon series), the highly-anticipated adaptation ended up being a critical disaster; with placements in bottom ten movies of the year lists and even a Razzie nomination for director Ron Howard. Its sequel, Angels and Demons, fared a little better but got banned in Samoa for its representation of the Catholic Church and didn't do quite as well financially. And after a long time working on an adaptation of The Lost Symbols (the third entry to the book series), focus instead shifted towards Inferno. But with a seven-year gap between entries and a clear formula starting to show surrounding Langdon's escapades and the revolving door that is the women who accompany him, can this third instalment to the franchise be the resurrecting component that it sorely needs it to be?
When Robert Langdon (again played by Tom Hanks) wakes up in a hospital in Florence, Italy, he has no recollection of how he got there; plagued by amnesia caused by a bullet wound and strange visions that seem to resemble that of Dante's Inferno. Almost immediately, though, he's hunted down by a policewoman, so he's taken into hiding by his British doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) for the sake of healing his mental instability and trying to piece together how he went from residing back at Harvard University to on the run in Florence. With only a Faraday pointer and information on the recently deceased Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster as a fear-mongering scientist who believes judgement day is upon us) must figure out what the clues are leading up to, whilst being uncertain about whether or not they can trust the government officials that are tracking them down – while finding out that Langdon may have stolen a vital part of the puzzle before he was attacked. With the potential risk of human extinction on the cards, can Langdon and Brooks solve the puzzle before it's too late?
Setting itself up in a dynamic fashion, Inferno, unfortunately, dissolves into being an accurate representation of its title. What with its outlandish belief on filling the story with many a plot twist and a few too many changes to character personalities, it lends too often for some easy moments of ridicule and preposterousness that it makes you forget that this is meant to be a serious movie – bar the occasional mute moments of "humour" instilled over various moments. While the actual mystery aspect is a fine one, with a solid basis for going on the quest, the numerous deviations for the sake of an elongated chase sequence or the underwhelming plot twists leads only to the whole affair feeling like a disappointment, complete with a lacklustre finale set within a gorgeous concert hall, which can perhaps make a suitable summation of the whole thing: gorgeous cities in a dissatisfying story.
A common criticism for the Dan Brown adaptations is that Tom Hanks is ill-suited for the lead role, and while I can't personally comment for the prior instalments of the series, it can be said that he simply does an okay job here. By Hanks standards, it's not particularly strong nor noteworthy – especially compared to the majority of his filmography – but there's still that sense of charm given in his performance. In the same veins is Felicity Jones, who has so often proven herself well with her recent work (most notably with The Theory of Everything) that it makes it all the more disheartening to see her in a mostly minimal role; playing the sidekick despite the intelligence and attitude that's been given to her. Things do change by the time the third act rolls by, but not so much for the better. Meanwhile, Omar Sy proves to English-speaking audiences that he really needs a better agent if he wants to be given good roles (this, Jurassic World and X-Men: Days of Future Past team up for some underwritten characters); Ben Foster is given a minimal role and a slightly hammy performance in return; Sidse Babett Knudsen makes for an underused head of the World Health Organisation; Ana Ularu as a murderous police officer is bland and flavourless, and Irrfan Khan gives his usual best in a role that can't seem to make up its mind over loyalty.
On the plus side of things, the landscapes and cinematography remain a sight to behold. With director Ron Howard dropping the overreliance on leading lines from previous effort In the Heart of the Sea, he instead creates a movie filled with love given towards his backgrounds and his actors, whilst adding plenty of artistic integrity towards the hallucination sequences. However, whenever visual effects are implemented into the piece (including seemingly, and bizarrely enough, an establishing shot within a museum), it always comes across as a tad shoddy. In the case of this instalment I can understand – its budget was slashed 50% by comparison to its predecessor – but it still looks rather off-putting.
Inferno has been getting something of a critical mauling, and it's hard to deny that it may be for the best. Thanks to its overreliance on plot twists and secretive character motivations it makes the whole adventure feel distant and unwelcome for its audience. But despite that, there is still some form of care being given to the source material by a couple of the cast members and Ron Howard's direction. Perhaps if a little more care and development had been given to the piece like initial third instalment The Lost Symbols was receiving before being shelved, Howard and company wouldn't have been in this mess. 5/10.
When it comes to the new singular movies being released under the Marvel Studios banner, it's become increasingly repetitive in describing just how bizarre the character choices are – at least, in the way that the general public may perceive them. What had initially started as a constant question as to whether or not people would want to see a film about a Norse God, a period piece or the ultimate superhero crossover has grown to remarks on whether a space version of The Avengers or a pint-sized hero heist movie would keep the Marvel trend going (which in turn could be the same commentary towards Fox's 2016 gamble, Deadpool). Naturally, as each MCU movie has been released, those remarks have been silenced with a huge sigh of relief – if anything, only sequels such as Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3 have held the gauntlet for fan criticisms – but that hasn't stopped people being worried about upcoming efforts such as Captain Marvel, Black Panther and the newly-released Doctor Strange; a film that delves into the world of magic and mysticism within a universe that already has blends of fantasy, mythology and technology. Strange himself is no stranger to the world of film though, having already received a TV movie in 1987 (an extension of the flourishing Incredible Hulk series of the time) and having spent decades in the dark dimension that is development purgatory. It was only when Marvel retained the rights to the character could work truly begin, with a rigorous casting process that at one point was rumoured to star Joaquin Phoenix of all people as the titular sorcerer, and with horror director Scott Derrickson at the helm one with resume that it would be plain sailing from here on out. But with the world grows increasingly more aware of its flaws, controversy quickly grew over the casting of Celtic actress Tilda Swinton as the usually-Tibetan Ancient One. With white-washing becoming an increasingly important topic, could Doctor Strange's quality be deterred by its own castings?
Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) is well-remarked as being of the world's top neurosurgeons, and in turn has become a vain and pretentious employee at a hospital residing in New York City. But one dark and rainy night he finds himself in a severe car accident, which caused all the nerves in his hands to be replaced artificially – practically making his life a living hell due to the uncontrollable shaking and failure to find a proper solution. Upon chance, he gets pointed towards Kathmandu in Nepal, where a former paraplegic was apparently cured and is introduced to the world of magic and alternate realities by a hooded figure known only as the Ancient One. Strange's arrival and subsequent training couldn't have come soon enough, though, for a former student called Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) and his disciples are embarking on a dangerous quest to summon the Lord of Chaos Dormammu from the Dark Dimension onto Earth. With allies in the form of fellow student Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and the temple's librarian Wong (Benedict Wong), Doctor Strange must learn to control his new-found abilities for the sake of saving the world.
Harkening back to the tropes made popular in Marvel's Studios first effort Iron Man and fellow mystic being Thor, Doctor Strange follows the same steps that most of the Marvel introduction movies have made, with a bombastic opening sequence ahead of the meeting of our leading man and the later event that leads Strange onto the path of healing. And just like we see during the cave-based moments of Iron Man, we see a broken version of the man who was once filled with life and purpose. It's here though that we truly jump on board with this film though; while the opening fight is a grand spectacle and likely a visionary experience in 3D, it's this time spent with a character who's lost all meaning that we truly feel for the man we're stuck with for the next 90-120 minutes. This same feeling is replicated when we're formally introduced to the weird new world that Mordo, Wong et al reside in in a huge and bombastic manner, and from there on out it becomes a fun ride with the standard Marvel quirks and one-liners; all leading up to a finale which is more in line with the recent smash Captain America: Civil War than other superhero movies. It is evident that the screenplay is arguably one of the film's weaker aspects, thanks largely to the amount of expository jargon being thrown around willy-nilly, but considering the film's status as being an introductory lesson in not only the characters that surround Doctor Strange but the very world they live in. And it doesn't stop some truly heartfelt moments nearer the end of the film, including a duologue between Swinton and Cumberbatch, nor the whole thing being an entertaining ride.
And what makes that ride oh so thrilling is the blend of director Derrickson's ability as a filmmaker and the visual effects work done by Luma Pictures and Industrial Light & Magic. The LSD-inspired effects are so beautiful and astounding that the feeling of a drug trip is obvious just from the outset. Plenty of comparisons have been made to the similarly insane work done on Christopher Nolan's Inception, and they're aren't wrong in doing so, but on this level it could almost be said that it's even more astounding. It’s certainly a film to see on the big screen and perhaps in 3D, if not for a few moments of uneasiness at the very beginning. It also should be noted that it may not be the best for viewers that suffer from something along the lines of epilepsy, as the fast editing and visuals could cause a negative reaction. On the plus side, Scott Derrickson has a strong control of the camera and his actors during such sequences, whilst the toned down moments are still filled with some level of beauty to be had, whether it be during simple conversations between pairings to big fight sequences that just so happen to include a sentient cape and an imaginary sword. Teamed together with Ben Davis – a recurring cinematographer for Marvel Studios – the duo creates a visually stunning film.
As our leading man, there was, admittedly, trepidation to be had over the casting of one Benedict Cumberbatch. As an actor with a quintessentially British accent and a reliance on picking roles quite similar to one another (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Imitation Game are all fine examples), going for an American superhero with Sherlock Holmes-esque tendencies seemed like a flawed decision. Luckily, Cumberbatch instead delivers a superb performance; coming across as Tony Stark-like in big-headedness but devoted to not killing people like Captain America technically was. His American accent does slip on occasion, but let that slide for the sake of an otherwise great performance. In the same vein is Tilda Swinton, who's time as a despised casting decision can now be proclaimed as ancient history thanks to a stellar performance. As Strange's mentor and ally, she delivers each line with finesse and poise, with praise again going towards her moments with Cumberbatch. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast aren't quite so lucky with their screen time. Rachel McAdam's distant love interest practically disappears for a good chunk of the film and lacks a little of the chemistry desired with her leading man; Chiwetel Ejiofor is a form of reluctant sidekick who seems all too open to Strange receiving the teachings; Benedict Wong is hilarious but also disappears for a good portion of the movie; Michael Stuhlbarg's rival Doctor is a non-entity, and then there's Mads Mikkelsen. Poor Marvel still seems to be suffering when it comes to their bad guys, as the usually intimidating Mikkelsen ultimately lacks in true character or vice. And whilst Dormammu looks great, he's ultimately a living equivalent of a McGuffin that the villain craves for.
Doctor Strange is unlikely to appear on anyone's top superhero film list thanks largely to its usual Marvel formula and some lacking characters, but it will at least be remarked as the most visually-stimulating and bizarre effort to come about. With plenty of fun and laughs to be had and a couple of superb performances, this magical trip to a brand new area of the MCU is worth its admission price – and probably the additional costs for IMAX 3D. 8/10.
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