‘Inferno’ review: “Instantly forgettable…”

Inferno review: Tom Hanks is back as Dr. Robert Langdon for a third outing – only this time he’s lost his memory and a number of bad guys are on his tail…

Inferno review by Paul Heath.

Inferno, the latest Dan Brown adaptation, once again brought to the screen by the undoubtably talented Ron Howard, really tries its best, but somehow manages to make a hash of things with this scrappy Tom Hanks-led thriller.

It has been seven years since Howard and co. subjected us to the horrors of Angels & Demons and a full decade since Dan Brown’s first novel The Da Vinci Code made it to screens, and with Inferno, it’s unfortunately more of the same. Tom Hanks reprises his role of Dr. Robert Langdon, the famous symbolist who has somehow managed to land himself in hospital in Florence, Italy after an unfortunate incident which has left him with a touch of amnesia. Like Jason Bourne he’s riddled with bullets (actually, just the one, which has only slightly grazed his head), and is instantly teamed with young doctor Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) who breaks him out of the ward as an immediate threat graces them with their forceful presence. The two then take to the streets, via Brooks’ flashy apartment, as they evade the local law and various other authorities and organisations in a two-hour cat-and-mouse game where yes, Langdon must piece together a puzzle to save the world from a deadly virus which has been already been unleashed by Ben Foster‘s dead billionaire Bertrand Zobrist.

While Howard and screenwriter David Koepp absorb themselves in art and culture for their latest foray into Brown’s world, Inferno is very much a paint-by-numbers affair which, while nowhere near as bad as the atrocity that was Angels & Demons, still fails to impress on so many levels. At various points throughout it’s difficult to understand just what is exactly going on – the viewer just as confused as Hanks’ troubled Langdon whose tap on the bonce has given him an excruciating headache and frequent nausea. Howard uses some flashy horror-like sequences early on, which frankly made us feel exactly the same. There are also some other flashbacks, largely present to try and fill us in with some idea of what is going on – most of which feature Foster’s character who meets the reaper in the film’s opening scene. Don’t worry though,  he pops up quite a bit throughout, which we’re thankful for because he’s probably one of the best things about the film.

Hanks manages just about keep his head above water delivering his lines from David Koepp’s hammy script, but Felicity Jones and the rest completely drown, which is a shame because of all of their positively solid talent. Save from a funny, well-delivered turn from Irrfan Khan as Harry Sims ‘The Provost’, most of the cast are completely wasted – most of the effort concentrated upon the three exotic locations and ill-executed action sequences.

The final scene nearly saves proceedings as the action crosses another border with Howard delivering quite an intense climactic sequence, which immediately follows an unexpected plot twist, which lovers of the book will, of course, already be aware of. I was pleasantly surprised by it.

Inferno is a bit of a let down, but is far from the worst in the trilogy – but really, that’s not much of a compliment is it? Jumbled, messy and instantly forgettable.

Inferno review by Paul Heath, October 2016.

Inferno is released in UK cinemas on October 14th 2016.