Richard Corliss of "Time" gave the film a positive review, stating that ""Angels & Demons" has elemental satisfactions in its blend of movie genre that could appeal to wide segments of the audience." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" awarded the film three stars, praising Howard's direction as an "even-handed job of balancing the scales" and concluding "film promises to entertain." "The Christian Science Monitor" gave the film a positive review, claiming the film is "an OK action film." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that "the movie can be enjoyed for the hell-raising hooey it is." Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote that it "manages to keep you partially engaged even at its most esoteric or absurd."