Inferno (2016) * * *

Directed by:  Ron Howard

Starring:  Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babbett Knudsen

If you thought The DaVinci Code (2006) and Angels and Demons (2009), Ron Howard's first two adaptations of Dan Brown bestsellers, were preposterous, then you will be happy to learn Inferno makes the previous films seem plausible in comparison.      This doesn't make it a bad film.    Thanks to a great cast and director Ron Howard's ability to move things along, Inferno turns into a workable thriller.   

The suspension of disbelief required to enjoy Inferno is quite heavy.   You wonder why a lunatic intent on spreading a plague which will wipe out at least of the world's population would make it so hard on his cohort to find where the plague is stored.    Why not just tell the cohort where it is so it would be harder to trace?    Why leave clues and riddles buried in Dante's death mask and other places all over Florence and Venice which could easily be missed?     So Professor Robert Langdon (Hanks) can be called on to find them and decipher them in a matter of seconds.    Langdon probably thinks Sherlock Holmes and Ben Gates from the National Treasure movies are slow to catch on to things.   

In Inferno, Professor Langdon awakes in a Florence hospital bed with hallucinations and visions of plague and doom dancing around his brain.    He has short term amnesia, according to ER doctor Sienna Brooks (Jones), and soon the two are on the fun from assassins and others who want to know the whereabouts of Inferno, the deadly plague soon to be released to the masses by billionaire Bertrand Zobrist (Foster).    Zobrist warns the world of the devastating effects of overpopulation and promises "Inferno is the cure".    Zobrist is out of the picture for most of the movie since he jumps to his death before the opening credits finish.     We learn of his plan through flashbacks.     But there are others who believe in his cause and will carry out the mission.    I will bet these minions said to themselves, "Damn, why couldn't this guy tell me where this thing is before he decided to take a header from six stories up?"

Langdon may not be able to remember the exact word for coffee, but can easily notice a schematic of Dante's Inferno is out of whack.    He is suffering from movie amnesia, in which he can recall the events and revelations crucial to the plot at the exact time he needs them.     Sienna and Langdon manage to crawl around an art museum on lockdown and escape, but not before figuring out a series of clues.    The villains in each of these movies make it simple for Langdon to detect them since they play their games in subjects that are in Langdon's wheelhouse.     If these villains were so brilliant, they would find out what Langdon isn't familiar with and work from there.    Judging from these movies, there isn't much Langdon doesn't know.    He is the intellectual James Bond.  

There are plenty of shadowy people in Inferno and we don't know where their allegiances lie.    I enjoyed the work of Omar Sy as a World Health Organization agent and Irrfan Khan as a security expert who may be pulling the strings from behind his desk.    I was reminded of Joe Pesci's line in JFK: "Everyone is switching sides all the time.   It's fun and games, man.   Fun and games."     The suspense in Inferno lies here.    Whose side is everybody on?    Another major character is introduced from Langdon's past who sheds light on his past love life.    Is it entirely necessary to have this backstory?    No, but Hanks' scenes with her are touching with a hint of regret.     We see Langdon isn't just a crime solving machine.

I wouldn't dream of giving away the twists and turns the plot takes.    Some are absurd, some work just right within the framework of such thrillers.     Does the cable on the suspension of disbelief snap?    In some cases, yes, but that doesn't spoil the fun.     We are not in for anything unusual.   Ron Howard's job is not to make anything deep, but to execute the plot within the rulebook of these types of movies.     Howard is too good a director not to make such a film like Inferno work.     Tom Hanks once again employs his dogged, everyman charm.    It is his trademark and he allows us to kind of, sort of believe he can decipher everything within seconds of looking at it.    The other actors play smart foils for him, so they don't stand around awestruck while Langdon does his thing. 

I know this review sounds like I should be awarding the film two stars or less, but despite the absurdities, I enjoyed Inferno.    Maybe I even liked it because of them.