Wellington - The Pacific island state of Samoa has banned the movie Angels and Demons, Radio New Zealand International reported Friday from the capital Apia.

It quoted censor Lei'ataua Olo'apu, who is Roman Catholic, as saying that the film is critical of the Catholic Church and the ban will avoid any religious discrimination by other denominations and faiths against the church.

Angels and Demons is based on a book by Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code, which was made into a movie that the Samoan censor also banned.(dpa)