I saw The DaVinci Code tonight.
Anyone who's been paying attention the past week has heard the various film critics panning the film but I'm here to tell you all, brother...
That they're absolutely right. This might have been one of the more boring movies I've ever seen.
I liked the book, didn't love it but it wasn't what I would consider a waste of time. I thought it was very cleverly constructed and admired the way the author wove his fictional tale through all the real world historical Christian conspiracy stuff. The Knights Templar, the Holy Grail, the secret history of Christ...it's all pretty interesting stuff.
Anyway, the movie has all of that in it but still manages to just feel flat. It's a suspense thriller without any suspense or thrills. I like the lady that played Amelie and Magneto is always good. Tom Hanks ( who's gotten awfully chubby since Forrest Gump ran across America) sort of drifted through the movie. His character wasn't much of a protagonist. He just sort of got drawn into this adventure then reacted most of the time. Jean Reno (so great in the Professional) was one of the dumbest cops I've ever seen in a movie. The guy that played Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina, I'm not an idiot) wasn't very creepy and neither was Paul Bettany (although he does have A Beautiful Mind)...but if you like seeing a skinny naked albino whip himself, this is the flick for you, my friend.
If going to a movie and watching actors try really hard to make two and a half hours of expository dialogue sound interesting is your cup of tea, by all means check this one out. If you're interested in all the secret Christian Conspiracy stuff (which I do think is fascinating in its own right), then I guess you might enjoy seeing all the dots connected onscreen. But if you like good movies, go back to that last paragraph where I listed the cast and rent those. This one, you can skip.
Talk to you soon,
Keith
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I did not read the book, but rather listened to the unabriged version on tape while driving to and from Virginia (14 hrs). I must say that I enjoyed it, though I find many of Rob's grumpy comments to be true. Its also true, as Chris stated, that it is a hard book to movie translation. So bearing all that in mind, factoring in Keith's review, my low expectations may lead me to enjoy the movie and silently applaud the efforts of Gandalf,the guy from Bossom Budies, and the naked Albino.
My current plan is to see it when it comes out on DVD.
P.S.- Rob, your attack on T.Brown is surprising. The layers of information and story that lie in Tom's first book ,the Tracker, has me reading it once a year if not more often. Even in his field guides , great stories are interspersed in the detailed classifications and exercises.
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