Angels And Demons: Sequel Heaven Or Hell?

23 May 2009

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Ewan McGregor has fought a Phantom Menace armed with a lightsaber, undressed Nicole Kidman and crash-landed a Black Hawk helicopter but to date, nothing compares to wearing the Pope's underwear.

The 38-year-old Scottish actor plays Catholic priest Patrick McKenna in new thriller 'Angels and Demons', the sequel to 2006 blockbuster 'The Da Vinci Code'.

It was a role that saw him stripping off to be measured up by Pope Benedict XVI's official tailor.

"My costume was so beautiful because it was made by the Pope's tailor. I don't think the Pope knows that. I don't think he'd be too pleased," McGregor said. "The Vatican weren't very happy about the 'The Da Vinci Code' so they weren't thrilled when they heard about 'Angels and Demons'. But they had nothing to worry about.

"There's no anti-Catholicism or anti-Christianity in the movie. If there was, I would never have agreed to make it. It's just an exciting thriller where I get to dress up like the Pope!"

The film is based on Dan Brown's novel on the same name. It stars Tom Hanks as scholarly symbologist Robert Langdon, who is called in to solve a mysterious kidnapping in Vatican City.

In the wake of the death of the Pope, cardinals from around the world are arriving in Rome to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church.

But just hours before the College of Cardinals is due to be locked in the Sistine Chapel to vote, a cryptic note is posted to the head of the Swiss Guard, the Pope's official bodyguards.

The four Preferiti - the favourites in the race to be Pope - have been kidnapped and a devastating explosive is hidden in Vatican City.

The threatening missive warns one of the holy men will be executed every hour until midnight, when a massive explosion will flatten the tiny nation, and half of Rome.

Attached to the note is an elaborate drawing of a single word - Illuminati.

The police are bemused but Langdon springs into action. The Illuminati - a mythical secret society bent on destroying the Catholic Church centuries ago - has returned, he says, and he is the only person who can stop them from carrying out their terrible mission.

For the next 120 minutes, Langdon leads the police, the Swiss Guard and beautiful nuclear scientist Vittoria Vetra (played by Ayelet Zurer) on a frantic race across Rome to save the priests, find the explosives and save religion as we know it.

My costume was so beautiful because it was made by the Pope's tailor. I don't think the Pope knows that. I don't think he'd be too pleasedEwan McGregor

Despite negative early reviews, the film made more than $150 million worldwide on its opening weekend, beating 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' to become the highest-grossing film since last year's 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'.

But while the public loved 'Angels and Demons', the Catholic Church was hesitant from the start, banning director Ron Howard from filming in Vatican City before he'd even asked permission.

A spokesman for the Pope said: "Usually we read the script but in this case it wasn't necessary. Just the name Dan Brown was enough.

"'Angels and Demons' peddles a type of fantasy that damages our common religious beliefs, just like 'The Da Vinci Code' did."

Howard, however, was quick to find a way around bans, sending as many as 20 crew members into the Sistine Chapel posing as tourists with cameras.

"We just weren't allowed anywhere near any holy buildings. They were really upset by 'The Da Vinci Code' and this film was completely barred," he explained. "Officially, we didn't shoot in The Vatican. Not officially - but let me just say that cameras can be made really small."

As expected, Catholics worldwide were outraged by 'Angels and Demons' especially when Howard chose to hold the world premiere in Rome.

Leading the fight was the US Catholic League, which branding the movie "anti-Catholic propaganda".

The group's leader William Donohue even admitted to sending plain-clothes priests to spy on filming.

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