I guess you can call Angels and Demons a step up from 2006’s unspeakably turgid adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, if only because it’s a good deal more frantic and unhinged than that burnished, lethargic yak-fest. This batshit boondoggle begins with a time bomb full of anti-matter (yes, kids, “anti-matter”) stashed somewhere in Vatican City, and only gets more preposterous. Late-game developments in this picture provoked peals of laughter the likes of which I’ve seldom heard at comedies. I daresay it’s Ron Howard’s funniest film since Splash! But not on purpose.
Sean Burns on Angels and Demons.