It starts of with the news that the pope is dead and that the cardinals are convening at the Vatican in order to hold conclave (where they decide on the dead pope's successor). The four preferiti (the favoured cardinals) are missing at this point and the Vatican contact Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to help solve the mystery of their disappearance, of which responsibility has been claimed by an ancient secret brotherhood, the Illuminati.
The turbulent adventure begins with Langdon and his female side-kick, Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) racing along with the Vatican police along the "Path of Illumination", in search of the mastermind behind the murders of the preferiti and the planned destruction of the Roman Catholic church. The mastermind also holds the answer to the location of the stolen anti-matter which will blow Vatican City to oblivion should the batteries in its canister die.
Tom Hanks plays the role of Robert Langdon to the "T". He's smart, quirky and witty and an intriguing protagonist. The rest of the cast, I found, didn't quite fit the part. Ewan McGregor, who usually is quite fantastic, didn't for me capture the character of the Carmelengo; he was way too meek and mild. As for the Hassassin (Nikolaj Lie Kaas)! What bad casting! He's supposed to be of Middle Eastern descent! He's supposed to have this sadistic lust for women! He's supposed to be killed by Langdon!
There were many things missing from the movie including a few key characters like Maximilian Kohler, Gunther Glick and Chinita Macri. Also, the last Illuminati ambigram brand is the "Illuminati diamond" which is given to Langdon in the end as a gift from the newly elected pope. The diamond made no appearance at all.
Perhaps the book was too content-rich to be adapted into a movie. It was disappointingly inadequate; perhaps Dan Brown's Digital Fortress may have made for a better movie.
