One very good feature, the rest rather mediocre

Rating: 5/10 (29 March 2010)

Unfortunately for Ewan Mcgregor, he is the lone star of this film. He was able to portray the character nearly exactly like I envisioned him in the book. He also got in character, unlike Tom Hanks who felt awkward trying to portray an academic. Don't get me wrong, Tom Hanks is a great actor, but I like his off-beat comedy the best (The Burbs, Joe Vs. the Volcano, etc). He did some war films OK. But this role would have been better to be played by somebody with a little more bookish gravitas. All other aspects of the film were sub-par, including the story by Dan Brown, the screenplay, the acting, and the choice of changes from the text. That said, Ewan Mcgregor made the film quite watchable, and had a memorable verging on extraordinary performance.
I was not put off by the special effects, which were fine; nor was I put off by the montage of Rome, which I thought rather beautiful, but this particular film necessitates story above all else, and the story is simply not a plausible one. Really, that is all Dan Brown's fault.