Columbia Pictures

Tom Hanks stars as Robert Langdon.

Associated Press

Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Ewan McGregor star in "Angels & Demons."

MOVIE REVIEW

The boys are back in town -- Rome, to be exact.

Actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard take on another popular Dan Brown novel. They began their collaboration with "The Da Vinci Code," an enormously popular book about old mysteries, the Catholic Church, secret societies and conspiracies.

"Angels & Demons" deals with pretty much the same components. Just add a super-collider and potentially destructive antimatter into the mix.

The movie begins with the groundbreaking creation of antimatter and its theft from a Swiss laboratory. It seems that a secret society of freethinkers called the Illuminati are in possession of the stuff and plan to blow up the Vatican. Centuries in the past, the Illuminati were persecuted by the Catholic Church and now they've returned to exact revenge.

To thwart their plans, the Vatican recruits professor Robert Langdon (Hanks), an old nemesis. He's an expert in symbols and arcane societies, and the College of Cardinals considers him the best man for the job. As the story progresses, it raises issues between science and religion.

Meanwhile, the pope has died and the cardinals have a conclave to elect a new one. However, four of the top contenders have been kidnapped and the culprits promise to kill each one on the hour.

This is basically a beat-the-clock set-up. Langdon rushes madly around the Eternal City looking for clues that will lead him to the headquarters of the murderous secret society.

He's joined by a scientist partly responsible for the stuff that's threatening the Vatican. Ayelet Zurer plays Vittoria Vetra, the brainy and beautiful physicist who mainly serves as an arm charm for the frantic Langdon. One would expect some romantic sparks to fly between a fearless hero and a beautiful woman sharing a dangerous adventure in one of the world's great cities. But Langdon never allows himself even an appreciative leer.

This is a talky movie full of scientific and historical mumbo jumbo, and it makes you feel like you've just finished a scavenger hunt that you couldn't quit even though you were getting a little weary of its assigned chores.

Howard, a cross-genre director, can do talky: consider "Frost/Nixon." But he doesn't particularly excel at action and suspense.

Though there's a breathless quality about Langdon's mission, the urgency seems manufactured. Hanks is OK as the professor and Zurer is OK as the physicist who seems to also be a medical and forensics expert. Her chore is to replace a battery in the antimatter container before the old one expires. A battery? This seems like a job for the Energizer Bunny, not a fetching academic wonk.

Howard manages to accomplish the seemingly impossible. He gives us a tour of Rome but makes much of it look murky and without charm. When the story reaches the end of the desperate chase, you realize that logic has been a sacrificial victim on the altar of expediency. You may have had some fun along the way, but you feel cheated.

On the plus side, there are solid performances from Stellan Skarsgard as the commander of the Swiss Guards; Ewan McGregor as the priest filling in for the late pope; and the great Armin Mueller-Stahl as a cagey old cardinal.