Review of Inferno (2016) by Jason D — 05 Apr 2017

This book is worse than the other two and the prose in the novel really made it seem like the movie was planned from the beginning. This film changes more from the novel than does the other two. There are two huge simplifications to Felicity Jones' character that makes her story role a lot easier to digest, but also makes her less likeable.

They replace one character with a completely different thing altogether, a rogue WHO agent with random selfish motives. Finally, they made the provost character an action hero spy instead of a bureaucrat.

I get these choices and in some way they are interesting, but the biggest complaint in the book is with the major twist involving Jones' character, and this film preserves that perceived negative without the final twist that comes in the book.

In general, it's a streamlined version of the novel's story, which does not make it tie together any better, but makes it easier to understand and more marketable. It's an adaptation of a mediocre product that changes it into a different, more profitable kind of mediocre product.

It's a different, more action-y feel than the previous Brown adaptations, and though it has good acting, the basic structure of the story prevents it from being a high-end experience.