Inferno (2016)
★★ — Inferno (2016)
Inferno is the third entry in Columbia Pictures' Robert Langdon series, following The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels & Demons (2009), and reunites director Ron Howard with both Tom Hanks and screenwriter David Koepp for another adaptation of a Dan Brown bestseller. Brown published the novel in 2013, drawing on Dante's Divine Comedy as its central conceit, and Columbia moved fairly quickly to bring it to the screen, shooting largely on location in Florence, Venice and Istanbul. Howard by this point was working in a broadly commercial register, having come off Rush (2013) and the rather more troubled In the Heart of the Sea (2015), the latter a notable box office disappointment. Felicity Jones, fresh from her Star Wars: Rogue One press cycle, takes the female lead opposite Hanks.
Inferno (2016) wraps up the Robert Langdon trilogy with a whimper rather than a bang, a visually slick but narratively hollow thriller that squanders its potential at every turn. Based on Dan Brown’s increasingly far-fetched novel, it follows Langdon (Tom Hanks, still game despite the material) as he wakes up with amnesia and must stop a globalist madman from unleashing a virus to cull half the human population, all inspired by Dante’s Inferno. The concept could’ve been chilling, even provocative, but the execution is clunky, rushed, and devoid of real tension. The story feels like a recycled version of the previous films (cryptic clues, European landmarks, shadowy organizations) but without the intrigue or intellectual spark. The pacing lurches from one set piece to the next, the dialogue is stilted, and the villain’s motivation is cartoonish, delivered with zero subtlety. Even the grand reveal about the virus and its “solution” lands with a thud, lacking emotional or ethical weight. Visually, it’s polished (Venice, Florence, Istanbul look stunning) but the overuse of CGI dream sequences and frantic editing makes it feel more like a video game cutscene than a film. Felicity Jones is underused as the female lead, and the chemistry between her and Hanks is nonexistent. Beneath average, forgettable, and a disappointing end to a once-promising series. It’s not offensive, just dull. A film that mistakes confusion for mystery and spectacle for meaning. Langdon deserved better. So did we.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2016 | Watched: 2025-10-04
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More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)
