Inferno

This review may contain spoilers!

It just goes to show that even an actor like Tom Hanks signs up to do a dud sometimes. I would give Inferno a 5.5/10.

This film has a great start that presents a very real threat and a good set up for the dangers that are to come throughout the story. What this film does best is build intrigue mainly through mysteries that need to be solved and chase scenes; however there are a couple of plots twists that, while not very surprising, add a lot to the overall narrative of the film. The cinematography looks great which isn't surprising considering Ron Howard's in the director seat, I enjoy the fact that you always feel in motion and that the camera moves right along with the action. The score for this film is another great example of Hans Zimmer knocking it out of the park, all of the mystery and intrigue I mentioned earlier is only heightened by the music accompaniment.

Tom Hanks, who played Robert Langdon, is such a great protagonist in this film; a lot of the film depends upon Hanks' performance which gets better as he solves more and more of the mysteries set before him. Irrfan Khan, who played Harry Sims 'The Provost', is an intriguing anti-hero in the feature; Khan's ability to both appear at ease while delivering ultimatums and brutal violence make him one of the most interesting characters of the film. Omar Sy, who played Christoph Bruder, has a strong physical presence as the relentless agent after Hanks and Jones; yet I liked that Sy had a chance to play the double agent and add a lot more to his performance than a simple agent role. Ida Darvish, who played Marta, was a very refreshing minor role in this film; her energy onscreen provided something the film had been lacking and she delivered her exposition about Dante wonderfully.

However the best performance came from Ben Foster, who played Bertrand Zobrist. Foster's strength is how he kicks this film off, the passion of his performance as he talks about the need for a decrease in the human population is powerful. Yet throughout he becomes a more and more engaging antagonist and his thinking becomes more precise and he develops to be more of a character rather than just an enigmatic entity. Foster pulls off a great antagonist even with an early exit from the film and a rather cheesy romance subplot.

The pacing for this film is slow as hell, unless you have come to this film prepared to be fully engaged then it's the type of feature that'd you fall asleep watching. The execution of the story is horrible, dwelling too long on Hanks' introduction to Jones and never allowing the action to spike so much as steadily chug along. The romantic subplots feel very off and it's hard to keep track of the numerous factions at play within the film. A lot of the roles feel very emotionless or are hard to like, which means it's hard for you to empathise with the main cast. The choice to erratically cut between the present and Hanks' jumbled memories and visions was a poor choice; the editing for it is really bad and constantly getting drawn out of the plot is jarring.

Sidse Babett Knudsen, who played Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey, gave a very dry and monotone performance; I also felt that the romantic subplot the film created between her and Hanks in the final act felt shoehorned in and lacked chemistry. Felicity Jones, who played Dr. Sienna Brooks, had no chemistry with Hanks or Foster who are pretty much the only actors she interacts with for the entire film; the plot twist that presented her as the overall antagonist was neither surprising nor well executed. Ana Ularu, who played Vayentha, was a really stock henchman-type role; it's a shame when characters like these aren't given any form of character or capacity to stand out. Cesare Cremonini, who played Ignazio Busoni, is treated as a character Hanks' knows very well but is never given the opportunity to have a scene in which he can stand out or even make this apparent; Cremonini's hasty introduction is perhaps just as bad as the fact the film seems to forget all about him entering into the final act.