Simply National Treasure for Intellectuals? A Pretty Good Straight-up Murder Mystery.

Rating: 6/10 (23 June 2009)

This is a Boys' Own adventure for grown-ups pure and simple. Sure you can chuck in the mix a secret society and the Catholic Church, and that works better here than in Da Vinci, but at the end of the day this is a film with one premise: unravel some clues, defuse a bomb, and the obligatory twist. It's a watchable and enjoyable murder mystery with less of the pseudo-intellectual than Da Vinci and it really does look and feel like National Treasure for the over 30s.
I was surprised at how much better the pacing and action are in this one, but disappointed at how little real sleuthing was involved. Many of the clues were solved by simply following the directions.
All in all a surprisingly fun film (If fun is the right word for a murder mystery) with just enough philosophical musing amid the break-neck action and gruesome killings to justify your brain cells involvement.
With excellent settings (Even though we all suspected a lot of computer wizardry) and with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks as always working well together this is good entertainment if a little popcorn.
All in all: go for the plot and stay for the action.