Inferno (2016)

Director: Ron Howard

Screenplay: David Koepp (based on the novel by Dan Brown)

Cast: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan

Music: Hans Zimmer

Time: 121 minutes

Bottom-line: Faithful to the book; in other words, equally horrible

Humanity is the disease; Inferno is the cure…

The third Robert Langdon novel to be made into a film, Inferno continues to do what the previous two films did – ruin the book (if the novel isn’t terrible as is!). Tom Hanks reprises his role as Langdon, and alongside him star Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy and Ben Foster. This is also the third collaboration between Howard, Koepp, Hanks and Zimmer.

Florence: Professor Robert Langdon (Hanks) finds himself in a hospital. The doctor tending to him, Sienna Brooks (Jones) says that he is suffering from a head trauma, courtesy a bullet grazing his head. He is unable to recall anything from the past 48 hours. Just then a female assassin tries to kill Langdon but Sienna escapes with him to her apartment. After cleaning up, Langdon finds a Faraday pointer among his belongings, which shows a modified map of Botticelli’s painting of hell. We learn that a billionaire named Zobrist (Foster) has taken drastic measures to curb the world’s population, by spreading a virus, and that he has left a trail of clues based on Dante’s Inferno to track it down. Meanwhile the WHO and another secret organisation, headed by Harry Sims (Khan) is also after the pointer and Langdon. Will the virus be released? The clock, is ticking…

 

Hanks as Langdon

Having written some amazing screenplays for Panic Room and Jurassic Park, why did Koepp write one for a Dan Brown book?! While it is a more-or-less faithful adaptation, a lot of my friends and myself found the movie far worse than the book. The ending is altered here (the book’s climax is far better), and the last half hour seems very hurried. The story as such has several plot holes I feel; I mean if Brown goes to such lengths to make sure his history is right, then he can do some work to get the logic of the stories right as well. I also did not find the need of the discussion between Dr. Sinskey and Langdon about their past… it is not related to anything going on at all. Then of course there are the clichés in all Langdon novels – a far younger female partner, who always is a prodigy, the last-minute escapes, the assassin working for some secret organisation… just the names seem to be different!

 

Jones as Sienna

Tom Hanks is one guy whom I believe, can never give a bad performance, irrespective of the role/theme/story. In his third movie where he plays the professor, he gives the best he can for such a role. Age and injuries seem to be the last things to worry about, as he ever so easily escapes assassins and cops and runs around from the country to country. The highlight I’d say, is Irrfan Khan. With about thirty minutes of screen time, he makes the most of it with enough sarcasm and dry humour…and some surprises too.

 

Irrfan Khan as Harry Sims

Hans Zimmer’s score is excellent, as always. The cinematography is usually of a good level in Howard’s films but here however, it becomes bad, particularly towards the climax. While the acting is worth watching, the story is not...whether you liked the book or not. In short, the film is not worth your money.

My Rating: 2/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 24%