Has anyone noticed how the turnaround between a bestselling novel and its film adaptation is getting shorter? This year, The Girl on the Train hit the big screen barely a year and half after the novel hit the shelves. Gone Girl wasn’t far behind from June 2012 to October 2014. There seems to be a greater emphasis on riding that initial trend wave before it breaks, getting the film version confirmed and cast while the novel is still in the charts to get excited fans hooked. Inferno comes from merely a 2013 literary release but being 7 years removed from its last film in Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series (following 2006's The Da Vinci Code and 2009's Angels & Demons), is their still a wave left to ride? Either way, the Pope’s favourite author is back in cinemas this October. The film series to date has mirrored its literary counterparts in finding high grossing financial success (over $1.2 billion from 2 films) but struggled for critical acclaim. So will this entry finally turn up the heat and make the third time a charm? Not really. It’s more of the same with good ideas that does not come together in its execution. A film for the existing fans that’s unlikely to gain any new ones.
Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks – all those films form the James Corden sketch) awakes in hospital with fleeting memories of the recent days ito find he’s wrapped up in puzzle trail leading to a deadly bio-plague capable of halving the world’s population. With the help of his hospital doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones – Theory of Everything, Rogue One), he must find it before it gets released.
Now even if it never reaches an inferno, the fire kindles well here, with an interesting and well-presented start and setup. It is essentially Langdon does The Bourne Identity as he begins halfway through the mystery, having to slowly recall the beginning while moving towards the end. It plays well into the idea of a mystery thriller while also utilizing Langdon’s sketchy memories for unreliable narration and subsequent twists. However, there is a serious renaissance elephant (they had those, right?) in the room here). That is that even before Langdon’s left the hospital bed, what is later built up as “the big twist” is already painfully obvious and spelt out, which destroys its later impact. Many other elements of the puzzle and story become rather messy as they develop. The pacing flips back and forth between being clunky in over-explanation or vague for lack of it. The film spends much of its whole two hours trying to find the right balance fuelling intrigue and sustaining mystery but never quite does. Then there are the bursts of action which, while providing some good thrills and energy in places, quickly get repetitive as they all revolve around Langdon and Brooks running away from people. Although the scoring does help inject some thrills and enjoyment back in, I could happily watch weeping angels in a staring contest if Hans Zimmer provided similar musical accompaniment.
The film’s biggest strength, like its previous entries, is its visuals as the adventure takes them to and through many stunning historical locations. The highlights being a first half Palazzo Vecchio gardens chase with a police drone gives some stunning aerial perspectives to the beauty of the physical location, and the climax Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern. The latter is particularly magnificent with its red-tinted waters glistening amidst the elaborate columns. It really helps to give a sense of style to the events and the colour palate plays well into the drama as different people try to release or contain the deadly virus. Langdon’s prophetic vision sequences are also a lot of fun to watch as he envisions Dante’s hell applied to real world with plenty of morbid yet fascinating imagery.
By contrast, the film’s biggest weakness comes from a surprising lack of finesse. David Koepp’s script (Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds) would never been left hidden some 1,000 year old monument hoping nobody would find it. So much of the dialogue between Langdon and Brooks feels awkward and forced depriving the pair of any notable chemistry. Many other characters get some terrible lines to work with, making their arcs very un-engaging. For example, we get an old Langdon flame in Sidse Babett Knudsen’s (Theresa Cullen in Westworld) Elizabeth Sinskey but their reflections on an ill-fated love never feel that emotional. Although credit where it’s due, Koepp does a damn fine job with the speeches of idealist billionaire and Inferno plague creator, Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster – Hell or High Water, Warcraft), they feel as epic and slightly sinister as they should be.
Robert Langdon is not one of Tom Hanks’ better characters but his effort is still noticeable, and without it the character, would not have the everyman hero qualities it needs. He’s let down by the material but he does keep this film being watchable. It’s a similar story for Felicity Jones: great actress plus poor material yields average results. However, Jones actually gets the MVP award because her character is on-paper the most unbelievable thing on screen yet somehow she makes it at least passable. If she can do that here, she’ll blow us away in Rogue One. Elsewhere, Ben Foster is enjoyable making his aforementioned big speeches and Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi) impresses with his composure as the head of a mysterious organization. Omar Sy’s (Jurassic World) hit man is more of a miss.
Inferno has merit in its adaptation and the scope of its adventure but those that aren’t already hooked on this franchise trail are better off starting at the beginning if at all. It’s by no means a bad film, it’s just a good looking average film. Thriller fans would be better off watching The Girl on the Train but hey, if Mr Brown is your Dan the Man, then don’t give missing it a second thought.
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