When smart characters suddenly turn stupid.

Given the tragic death of the burning Cardinal and numerous deaths of Vatican police officers by one, highly skilled assassin, I'd have hoped Langdon would also implore the two Vatican police officers to call in a lot more backup. Nope. Blam! Blam! I guess they should have stayed back and mourned the loss of the next dead Cardinal with the rest of the crowd after all, yes?

And for such a highly skilled, savvy assassin to disregard his skepticism for supposed holy officials (apparently viewing Camerlengo Patrick McKenna as not only holy, but trustworthy, too) and start the gift car spoke to an easy-out plot strategy for such a complex individual, evident in his earlier soliloquy with Langdon and the woman.

My favorite madness was in the Camerlengo's heroic feat in the removal of the anti-matter via chopper, effectively saving historic areas of the Vatican, though potentially putting the lives of thousands of tourists and laity at risk of annihilation. I have all due respect for religious tradition and sanctimony, though don't view historical tombs and artifacts as important as I do the sanctity of human life.

Watching the helicopter like a Goodyear Blimp is on point, much like watching a parachuting priest whisked around by the shock waves of a blast, from rooftop-to-rooftop. Then again, the Camerlengo's almost super-human fortitude was witnessed only moments prior - after having branded himself in the chest with a red-hot iron, he was swiftly on the move. Most of us take days to recover from a bad sunburn.