The real treasure is rattling good satire

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2004)

The uninitiate must be scratching their heads at the great business this film did after reviews that didn't "get" it dismissed it as non-credible.
OF COURSE it is non-credible; but it is also beautifully filmed, nicely paced, brilliantly scripted as to character banter and mystery clues just clever enough to let the audience guess them before the characters do AND (as almost no one bothered to mention in print) it is dazzling SATIRE on the "DaVinci Code" genre of mysteries.
If you loved Dan Brown's smash novel "The DaVinci Code," and can't wait for the movie, you'll adore this film.
Packing legitimate historical nuggets around a silly but *barely* plausible mystery (the initial gimmick of invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence is less plausible than the central gimmick in the Brown book - satire), the film follows the Bond (and Brown) template of giving us a gorgeous travelogue of famous sites, a none too taxing love interest with a mystery we can actually guess along with - and even tosses in a well scripted and acted comic side-kick for good measure. It's a near perfect recipe for a diverting entertainment.
In the travelogue leading to the final (admittedly silly) Indiana Jones-like caverns, only Manhattan's Trinity Church rings slightly false (the real Trinity sanctuary is slightly airier and much lighter).
As stated, the end of the chase is silly - especially the tacked on "finders' fee" finale - and yields far too many continuity gaffs (250 year old nails that are still rust free when pulled out of 250 year old boards?! Boards rotting when rope doesn't?!), but getting there is a glorious ride that most viewers will love for the ride itself . . . and as a great appetizer for the DaVinci Code movie.
It's the most fun I've had at an "adventure" film since Sean Connery made his last Bond film. Rate it fun fluff.