This sequel to The Da Vinci Code was a first for director Ron Howard. He had never done a sequel to any of his previous films, which can only make one wonder whether he will again (Dan Brown’s book “The Lost Symbol” is the third in this series and would be an obvious choice).

Although I enjoyed watching Hanks chase around Rome, it felt a bit contrived and predictable. A Catholic cardinal will be murdered every hour, on the hour, so he arrives at each location just minutes too late to stop the killer. Law enforcement is portrayed as inept bumblers. And the selection of a anti-matter bomb as the focal point of all the chasing around (but nobody is willing to evacuate the Vatican) is kinda far-fetched. There really is little connection between this and the previous film, either.

All that said, the pacing keeps it interesting and the “who’s behind all this” mystery keeps the audience guessing. Not bad. Not great. Brown’s books are much better.

I actually had to turn this off for fear it might tarnish my affection for Ewan MacGregor.