The Da Vinci Code, My Take

I, like many others this weekend, went to the theaters to see the The Da Vinci Code. I was worried about the critics take on the movie, but I was a big fan of the book, and I had been anticipating this movie for quite some time. In talking it over with friends and family, someone brought up Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man", which was highly regarded with critics but when it hit theaters, no one went to see it. So, here we have the opposite situation. When you think about it--it's not all that surprising. For one, critics who enjoyed the book may have had expectations a little too high. It certainly is no secret that many people (i'm sure even some critics) disagree with the central themes of the book, and in a lot of cases are angry about it. I also think it is safe to say that a lot of these critics were already angry about not being allowed to see the movie until the last minute. Putting all of this together I personally am not at all surprised about the critics verdict! I think all of this is just more of a reason to see the movie and decide for yourself!!!!

In the case of the book, it was entertaining, it was a murder mystery, a conspiracy theory thriller--a work of fiction. In reading it that is exaclty how I approached it, and I didn't approach the movie any differently. Having enjoyed the book, I did however, have some high expectations going into the theater--especially when you are dealing with talents like Ron Howard and Tom Hanks. Overall, I found the movie to be highly entertaining, I did not have a problem with Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. His hair only bothered me slightly during the course of the movie (cinematography helped him out in that department). I think Tom Hanks is a tremondous narrator, and his character narrates a number of scenes in explaining, or talking about different theories etc. I wouldn't describe his performance as "wooden", I think his portrayal of a Harvard "religious symbology" professor was completely in line with the book-- admittedly, in the book he did have a few more lighter moments, but let's be honest the movie was long enough as it stands! I also didn't have a problem with Audrey Tautou or her "chemistry" with Tom Hanks. Paul Bettany was terrifying -- he was a fantastic portrayal of Silas. Without giving anything away, I will say there were some departures from the book--possibly to quicken the plot of the movie??--but while i really did like the movie, I prefer the way Dan Brown told the story. Ultimately, I thought the book was adapted well to the screen, the visuals were fantastic, and the acting was great. Over all I would give the movie 3.5/5 stars.

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