Hot Take: The worst Tom Hanks movie I’ve ever seen. And I saw Bonfire of the Vanities.
Inferno was so bad, I have effectively wiped out most of the film from my memory. It’s a completely forgettable third installment of the Robert Langdon trilogy on a downward spiral from the adequate The Da Vinci Code to the less than adequate Angels & Demons and now Inferno.
Inferno sucked. Not as much as hearing the results of the Presidential election but it was pretty awful. Yeah, I know I’m still on the election thing and if you are a Trump supporter, I’m sure you’re telling me to get over it but at what point did you prove during this election cycle any capability of getting over anything? So, allow me to stew for the next 4 years.
Inferno did really suck though. Tom Hanks is better than this. The movie was so bad that the mere presence of Felicity Jones in the film has put a damper on my hopes for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Okay, that’s not really true. I was being dramatic. But Inferno really did suck.
“Spoiler Free” Pros
- Nap Worthy
In the right theater with luxury recliner seating, you can get one hell of a nap during Inferno. Trust me!
“Spoiler Free” Cons
- Where’s the Intelligence?
One thing that typically drives this type of thriller is an underlying presence of intelligence. In the world of James Bond, Jack Ryan, Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne, there’s that underlying presence. Robert Langdon (Hanks’ character, if you care) has none of that going for him in Inferno. - A Played Out Plotline
Someone might unleash the next plague. The plotline instantly brings the movie down to an ordinary level. It doesn’t help the person expected to release the plague is kind of, sort of painted as a Steve Jobs-type figure (at least in the way he presents his gloom and doom hypothesis). - Where Are the Puzzles?
The previous films were centered around some nifty puzzles, at least. None of the puzzles of Inferno are all that nifty. The only one that is tough to solve is why did they bother making this movie?