The Order of the Illuminati was an ancient secret society of freethinkers formed in large part to counter-act the suppression of modern science by the Catholic Church. The centuries old war between the Illuminati and Roman Catholicism can be seen as a symbolic smoking gun for the ongoing cultural antagonism between secularism and religion. The most famous of the early Illuminata—Gallileo, the founder of modern science—was denounced as a heretic and placed under house arrest for the final decade of his life by Pope Urban VIII.
Centuries ago, the Illuminati were the victims of a systematic campaign of ruthless persecution and murder by the Vatican. The story of Angels and Demons revolves around the apparent resurgence of the Illuminati and the fulfillment of their 17th century promise of vengeance against the Catholic Church. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks, finds himself caught in the middle of an apparent Illuminati plot to use “antimatter”—a substance said to hold the key to the creation of the universe—to destroy Vatican City during a papal conclave for the selection of a new pontiff.
The ingenious plot thus uses the secular-religious controversy of the origin of the universe as a philosophical backdrop for the drama of a grand scale murder mystery that pits the defenders of modern science against its historical arch-enemy, the Catholic Church. One of the striking features of the story—both the novel and the movie—is that the key character, Professor Robert Langdon, is a secularist with no use for religious faith. One reviewer calls him the “first atheist movie hero.”
The film is not only beguiling and riveting but rapturously clever. Director Ron Howard has created a cinematic masterpiece. Howard’s briskly paced, compelling adventure unfolds with a dramatic intensity that surpasses the excellent job he did with Dan Brown’s previous best-seller, The Da Vinci Code, which featured an equally suspenseful plot and an equally brilliant historical tapestry.
Tom Hanks again does a terrific job in the role of Robert Langdon—a man who clearly acts on the basis of logic and facts, not faith or feelings. Hanks adeptly captures Langdon's most essential quality--the power of his sparkling intelligence--and it shines through every scene. His beautiful and engaging female co-star, Ayelet Zurer, plays a scientist with a similar devotion to unswerving rationality. Both admirably represent the cause of realism and secularism, even while their services are enlisted by those who represent the exact opposite. It is as though mysticism were suddenly forced to recognize the superiority of reason for the sake of its own survival.
This reviewer is not sufficiently knowledgeable about the facts to address the issue of whether the author of Angels and Demons, Dan Brown, portrays the history of the Illuminati accurately. There are legitimate questions as to when the secret organization actually originated. Some historians view it as a direct outgrowth of the 18th century Enlightenment. But this historical controversy need not detract from the brilliance and ingenuity of Brown’s complex and amazingly exciting plot.
Convinced that the Illuminati are responsible for the Vatican threat, Langdon retraces the steps of the "Path of Illumination," a cryptic geographic route which the Illuminati used for inducting new members. This “Path” leads Langdon to many of the most enthralling locations throughout Rome. Besides being a riveting, breathtaking drama, the story also provides a fascinating tour and exploration of some of Rome’s most enduring and magnificent historical artifacts.
Near the climax of the story, a key Vatican spokesman eloquently expresses the threat which the church feels from the heretical forces of intellectual “Light”: “If science can explain the origin of the universe, what then is left for faith?” What better dramatic-philosophical premise could a secularist possibly hope for? (I understand the scientific question of the origin of the universe as we know it to be separate from the metaphysical fact that existence as such had no 'beginning'--i.e., existence exists.)
Dan Brown is remarkable. Not only has he succeeded in using the rich, captivating history of the Catholic Church to promote and popularize the cause of secularism, he has done so in a way that is richly entertaining and enjoyable. And director Ron Howard deserves similar accolades for a doing such a wonderful job of bringing Brown’s extraordinary fiction to the silver screen.
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