Severely Disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (16 September 2006)

Curious to know what all the buzz has been about - with millions of losers crossing the pond to check out the CLUES in an ever growing cynical tourist industry that grasped how clueless those people could be (ugh) - we saw it - and we puzzled, so we got the book too. And were severely disappointed for the second time.
I have no issue with Howard making this one. Someone was bound to, so why shouldn't he pick it up? What scares me is that he probably took it seriously.
The author has some serious work to do to become a first rate author and he has some serious traveling (and foreign residence) to put behind him before he can be called someone capable enough of weaving a tale such as this.
His language continually fails, as does his imagery, and I dare say his narrative style is nigh on non-existent - and this shows through as well in the final movie.
This is like a Tom Stoppard conceit short circuited. It's a hodgepodge of lots of things good god fearing 'Americans' of course have no clue about (and for which they remain just as clueless afterwards) put together in the most haphazard fashion. To admire this movie necessitates approving of the total dime store novel aspects of it - and the 'hack' quality of its writing and plot.
In other words, it's a piece of junk - a piece of trash, both the book and the movie, precisely because the tenet is so unbelievably childish and amateurish.
This book was written not by someone who was familiar with the scenarios in the book but by someone who'd read about them. Imagery is so lacking and trivial that after a few sentences, a few abortive one or two page chapters, one is forced to put the rubbish down as utter nonsense.
Of course the movie fares no better. Dan's con is dark.