Inferno (2016) - Howard's third Langdon adventure is among the year's worst films

♥

 

+ Worst Movie of the Year

 

Star Tom Hanks and co-star Felicity Jones run around in a European city and look concerned on this poster for Ron Howard's Inferno

Robert Langdon awakes disillusioned and tormented by visions of Biblical plagues in Florence, Italy, where a young British woman helps him gather answers concerning a mysterious virus that he may be a carrier of.

 

Inferno is written by David Koepp (Premium Rush (2012)), adapting the same-titled 2013 novel by Dan Brown (Angels & Demons (2000)), and directed by great Oklahoman filmmaker Ron Howard (Grand Theft Auto (1977)). It is the 3rd and last in the Robert Langdon series also consisting of The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels & Demons (2009).

Koepp has provided a lazy and wretched script, maybe the low-point of his career, and this film may actually be the career low-point for several of those involved. Inferno is related in what feels like a barrage of speedily edited, flashing shots that implies actual knowledge by throwing Dante and beautiful historical sights into its nonsensical plot. Confusing, boring and marked by mitigating work from no-one, the film never finds a good pace and has inserted, dull, explanatory dialogs again and again.

Tom Hanks (The Post (2017)) appears to be in pain and also resembles a superstar who knows he is in some real junk here, but who goes through with it still - for a hefty paycheck, and a bit of loyalty to his fellow returning filmmaking partners in crime, probably. The other cast members often combat stilted dialog, and Felicity Jones (A Monster Calls (2016)), just as in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), doesn't show what exactly made her get cast in these mega-movies, (her career understandably fizzed out following both films.)

 

Related posts:

 

Ron Howard: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise 

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
Frost/Nixon (2008) - Howard's political drama is gripping, superiorly acted 
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Howard's first Brown adaptation is a popcorn thriller hoot  

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
A Beautiful Mind (2001) - John Nash given the Epic Treatment  
EDtv (1999) - Phenomenal cast shine in Howard's witty mega-flop

Far and Away (1992) - Howard, Hollywood's sweethearts visit the old West with dull result (co-writer/director) 
Backdraft (1991) - Howard's giant, stupid Chicago-set firefighter movie 

Grand Theft Auto (1977) or, Crash Bam Boom! 
American Graffiti (1973) or, Cruisin' Modesto '62 (actor)   

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 75 mil. $

Box office: 220 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.93 times its cost)

[Inferno premiered 8 October (Florence, Italy) and runs 121 minutes. Hanks reportedly earned 25 mil. $ from his performance in the film. Shooting took place from April - July 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, Italy and Hungary, including in Budapest. The film opened #2, behind Boo! A Madea Halloween, to a 14.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 34.3 mil. $ (15.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 19.3 mil. $ (8.8 %) and Japan with 14.4 mil. $ (6.5 %). Howard returned with Genius (2017, TV-series) and theatrically with Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Hanks returned in The Circle (2017). Inferno is rotten at 23 % with a 4.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Inferno? 

The Intouchables/Intouchables/Untouchable (2011) - Uplifting true-story drama with universal appeal

♥♥♥♥♥

3 Time Film Excess Nominee:


Best Film (lost to The Descendants)
Best Cinematography: Mathieu Vadepied (lost to Phedon Papamichael for The Descendants)
Best Editing: Dorian Rigal-Ansous (lost to The Artist)

+ Best French Movie of the Year

Watch Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's The Intouchables to get to know these two happy gentlemen

QUICK REVIEW:

A rich man in a wheelchair has grown tired of his usual helpers and so hires an uncouth man from Senegal to be his new caretaker. Though from completely different walks of life, the two develop a strong friendship.

Intouchables has got a great opening 'hook' scene, a handsomely shot car scene, and it continues perfectly as a warm culture clash-themed dramedy about grasping the chances that life affords and embracing life and friendships in general. It is written and directed by Frenchmen Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache (Samba (2014), both), based on a true story. (Critics of the film are often obsessed with the race aspect of the film, which they attack and dislike, and they find that it is of great importance that the real story concerned a French-Algerian caregiver, not a black African as in the film. - But, I say, what does this change matter, really...?)
Intouchables is really funny, and at the same time it manages to tell a strong story with credible, full characters. François Cluzet (Little White Lies/Les Petits Mouchoirs (2010)) and especially a very vivacious Omar Sy (Jurassic World (2015)) in the leads and Anne Le Ny (Attila Marcel (2013)) and Audrey Fleurot (Midnight in Paris (2011)) as the women who surround them have great chemistry and act with aplomb.
The movie has visual panache, cinematography by Mathieu Vadepied (Read My Lips/Sur Mes Lèvres (2001)), nice musical choices and seamless editing by Dorian Rigal-Ansous (Samba).
The Intouchables is a high-concept, feel-good crowd-pleaser, a touching human meeting that is among the year's best films.

Related posts:

Top 10: Best French movies

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Top 10: The best true story movies reviewed by Film Excess to date  

Watch the trailer for the film with English subtitles here

Cost: 10.8 mil. $
Box office: 426.5 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[Untouchables was the most viewed French film in France after 4 weeks. After 16 weeks, a whopping 19 mil. people had seen it in France, where it was #1 for 10 consecutive weeks, setting a new record. It is the highest-grossing movie in a language other than English of all time, beating Spirited Away (2001, 274.9 mil. $), the highest grossing French film of all time and the highest grossing foreign film in North America of 2012. It was #1 for several weeks in a row of European countries and has been seen globally by more than 50 mil. cinema-goers. It grossed 10.1 mil. $ (2.4 % of the total gross) in North America. The 3 biggest markets were France (166.1 mil. $/38.9 %), Germany (79 mil. $/18.5 %) and Spain (21 mil. $/4.9 %). The film was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Film Oscar category. The Intouchables is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.7 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes. General audiences are more enthused, lauding the film as the #38 best ever on IMDb's Top 250. A US remake with Colin Firth and Kevin Hart and Tom Shadyac serving as director is presently in the mold.]

What do you think of The Intouchables?