Angels and Demons

So, the mighty Nebulon has returned. I have spent the last few months over seeing the refit of the might Nebulonian fleet. Even as I write the final preparations are underway, prepare to die earth men.

In the mean time though you might like to go to the movies.

Dan Brown may write decent books (if you like airport trash) but maybe they ought to stay books, as soon as they get made into films they descend into mazes which have little room for plot and require far too much room for exposition. Tom Hanks hand holds us through a convoluted chase, from heavy handed clue to heavy handed clue. Leaving aside some hilarious set pieces and the inevitable twist, there is little here of interest to Nebulon other than reminding him how nice it is to see a film which doesn’t require a character to constantly dispense Art History factoids in order to advance the plot.

Exposition can work, even be essential. Shakespeare was a big believer in exposition, and even better, so was Shane Black when he gave us the classic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but it needs to be the right context. A narrator in a detective novel or a play is one thing, but it is hard to get away from Dan Brown’s books being as much about history as they are about thrills and spills. It might work in print, but the combination of history lesson and thriller is an uncomfortable fit on the screen.

This is Nebulon the mighty, back at Station 59, signing off earth men.