A cannibalistic psychiatrist who likes his kidneys with a side of fava beans? Frightening. An unhinged sociopath with a penchant for white face paint, slashed-on lipstick and arson? Scary. A bespectacled drone who could pass for an accountant and drives a Kombi? Not so much.

Even compared to a masochistic monosyllabic albino priest, the most visible villain of 'Angels and Demons' isn't exactly in your face.

That's left to the other elements of an overstuffed story featuring Illuminati; the science versus religion debate; fission, the Big Bang Theory, anti-matter, and the 'God particle'; classic renaissance art and architecture; the primordial elements of Fire, Air, Earth and Water; and the papal conclave at the Sistine Chapel.

Oh, and car chases through Rome, shootouts, human sacrifices, exploding stuff, silly secret symbols, a nuclear physicist who looks like Nigella Lawson, the good ol' bait-and-switch, something or other about a Path of Illumination, and Tom Hanks furrowing his brow.

Essentially though, the pope's dead, four cardinals most likely to succeed him are kidnapped, and a science experiment is stolen. The miffed mastermind behind it all threatens to kill a cardinal on the hour, every hour, before blowing up the Vatican.

But conveniently the baddie's left behind a clue that could possibly be deciphered by someone in the know — say superstar symbologist and 'Da Vinci Code' veteran Robert Langdon (Hanks).

It all sets the scene for much running down corridors and up stairs; extreme close-ups on pages, maps and that furrowed brow; and excessive walking and talking as our hero provides Nigella with non-stop commentary of his thought processes.

Breaking up this tight dialogue, like clockwork, are the increasingly violent run-ins with the assassin, as Langdon and the cops arrive on the scene of each religious slaying with just seconds to spare.

Frantic moments perhaps, but Hanks remains non-plussed throughout what is really a bookish and over-earnest tale told as a big, brash blockbuster.

'Indiana Jones' without the bull-whip and roguish grin, 'National Treasure' without the fast receding hairline and giddy overacting, the slick, accomplished 'Angels and Demons' may be entertaining — but, beneath all the fluster and lofty subject matter, there's really not much to it.

Just like the accountant in his Kombi.

From another angle: Zoopy 'On Screen' review