Metacritic reviews

This kind of film requires us to be very forgiving, and if we are, it promises to entertain. Angels & Demons succeeds.

Plucking the same violent, occult strings as "Da Vinci" while avoiding its leadenness, Angels keeps the action coming for the best part of 139 minutes.

The new movie is an opulent-bordering-on-hysterical mass of chitchat and chase scenes.

Less turgid and aggravating than its predecessor, this cleverly produced melodrama remains hamstrung by novelist's Dan Brown's laborious connect-the-dots plotting and the filmmakers' prosaic literal-mindedness in the face of ripe historical antagonisms, mystery and intrigue.

Angels & Demons is still no more than another treat for whacked-out male conspiracy theorists.

Despite the overlong running time, the action moves smoothly and swiftly.

Technically a prequel to "Da Vinci" but could also pass for a two-hour episode of "24," rarely stands still long enough for anyone to deliver a monologue.

More entertaining than "The Da Vinci Code," but still tosh.

A shapely, stylish, white-knuckle horror-thriller that hits its marks with blood and thunder. It stinks to heaven, too, but it isn't lame. The streets of Rome haven't run this red since the Inquisition.

The only thrill here comes from the adrenaline kick of the chase. Alas, it's an empty, Pavlovian kick at best.