'Inferno' Review: Full Details of Characters and Movie Plot

Inferno is a film oozing with a talented cast, but the director, Ron Howard, was neither here nor there in terms of executing a solid story, so his latest rendering of a Dan Brown book is just miserable to watch. Just like its predecessors, Inferno failed to have straight good reviews from top critics despite staying true to its source material.

In Inferno, Tom Hanks is back as symbiologist Robert Langdon who found himself in an Italian hospital where he met his doctor, Sienna Brooks (played by Felicity Jones). The rest of the film saw them being chased by fanatics whose aim is to kill all humans as an apocalyptic solution to the population problem.

Compared to "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons," Inferno is watchable but does not deserve repetitive viewing. This film could pass for a travelogue featuring scenes shot across Europe including those in Italy and Turkey.

Inferno has its own merits too. The screenwriter David Koepp managed to create built-in interest in stories involving the end of the world. The wide-screen vistas of tourist destinations Florence, Venice and Istanbul served as backdrop for the spinning story and characters. Peripheral characters are worth noting including the amusing Irrfan Khan and Ana Ularu as the ruthless assassin Vayentha.

The film explores various themes such as skepticism about faith and conspiracy theories. But these explorations were marred by the plots' endless lurches and Howard's failure to address the script's contrivances.

Inferno received a dismal 44 percent rating from Metacritic. The mixed and average reviews it received are highlighted by descriptions such as "idiotic film," "brainless," "manipulative," and "confused." The New York Times' Manola Dargis finds the film kitschy and easy to forget while The New York Post's Kyle Smith considers Inferno's twists as ridiculous.

In a capsule, Inferno is an escapist thriller pockmarked by a dense plot and too many characters. It is a formulaic Hollywood movie that is saved by colorful supporting actors.