Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: Features

This film adaptation of Dan Brown's novel, directed by Ron Howard, is the tentative sequel to "The Da Vinci Code."

Set in Rome, this movie's premise is about a group of scientists that have found a way to tweak the beginning of life in a top secret experiment that would shatter the foundation the Catholic church was founded on.

After the pope's death, Tom Hanks' character, Robert Langdon, has been asked to solve this mystery by finding the man who stole this experiment, who has also kidnapped four cardinal bishops.

Following "The Da Vinci Code," I thought this film was perfect. Overhearing other critics complain about a lack of action and too much dialogue, honestly, what do you expect? Anyone who has seen the first movie should know what to expect seeing the second one.

Yes, the movie does lack a sizable amount of action, but there is a great deal of suspense throughout. You take some; you give some.

While there are a few gory scenes, they are kept at a minimum, which I like because I feel directors are so consumed with the amount of bloodshed in movies today, they completely forget about the plot.

Howard does an excellent job of telling the story, giving the audience pertinent information to go along with it, while also throwing in a few twists at the end.

The movie does not follow the book to the tee, but no movie ever does.

Strict Catholics beware: you will not like what you will see. Think of it as a fairytale, or perhaps a bad nightmare.

Overall, I thought the movie was great entertainment, and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Hanks, as always, had an outstanding performance.

After watching this movie, I can't help but wonder, could something like this be true and could it happen? And I think that is the whole reason why Howard made this movie, to get us to think.

Job well done.

Amber Wertman can be reached at awertman@statehornet.com