The Demo Site

Angels & Demons is a 2009 American film adaptation of Dan Brown's eponymous novel. It is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, another Brown film adaptation, even though the novel Angels & Demons was published first and takes place before the novel The Da Vinci Code. Filming took place in Rome, Italy, and the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Tom Hanks reprises the lead role of Robert Langdon, while director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman also returned.

The Roman Catholic Church mourns the death of the Pope in Rome. Until the College of Cardinals selects a new Bishop, Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) assumes day-to-day control of Vatican City. Reporters, nuns, priests, and other faithful all crowd into Saint Peter's Square, waiting for the white smoke from the conclave. But the Illuminati, a 400-year old secret society of scientists, kidnap the four most likely candidates (preferiti) after the conclave goes into seclusion. The Illuminati threaten to brand and publicly execute them, choosing methods of murder linked to the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. They do this as vengeance for "La Purga," when Illuminati members were cleansed of their sins and executed. The Illuminati also send a message to the Vatican demanding US$50 million. They then threaten to destroy the Vatican, using the highly explosive material antimatter.

The Vatican summons Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) from CERN to help them solve the Illuminati's threat, save the four preferiti, and find the hidden bomb. Langdon listens to the Illuminati message and deduces that the four cardinals will die at the four altars of the Path of Illumination. However, no one knows where these altars are located, but they are all somewhere in Rome. Langdon demands access to the Vatican Secret Archives to see the original copy of Galileo Galilei's banned book, as it contains clues to the Illuminati plot. Eventually, he is able to convince the camerlengo to grant him access. Using the clue from this book, Langdon, Vetra, and Inspector General Ernesto Olivetti (Pierfrancesco Favino) of the Vatican police start their quest across Rome.