The Da VInci Code: The Adaptation Strikes Back

Rating: 4/10 (29 May 2014)

The Da Vinci Code, a mystery book written by Dan Brown, tells the story of Robert Langdon, a seismologist and professor of religious iconology in his journey with Sophie Neveu to discover who assassinated the Louvre's curator Saunière. As well as in the book, the movie follows the steps of the couple while they find out an unknown side of one of the brightest minds of our history: Leonardo Da Vinci. Furthermore, it is revealed a secret not mentioned in the Bible together with the amount of corruption and conspiracy that surrounded it. As most of you might know, when released The Da Vinci Code suffered a lot of critics by the Vatican and was and still is prohibited in some countries around the world. That being said, I do not intend to extend myself discussing whether or not the affirmations made in the book are real. Although I've got to give credit to Ron Howard who tried his best to be loyal with the best-seller, it was a disappointment to see the quantity of gaps that were left throughout the play. Important issues and answers were forgotten during the film, that shown being of crucial importance for the understanding of the movie. However, unlike most of books converted to films, this one perfectly managed to mix action and dialogs (which I am not saying were good, but I will get there) that were able to catch my attention, something that not even "The Avengers" could do. Finally, my complaints about the characters: with no exception, all actors and actress were exactly the way I pictured while reading the book. Besides, all had a great historic of successful movies. Yet, the development of characters was poor and the alterations made in the plot did not contribute to their roles. In conclusion, I personally hated this movie due to the massive quantity of differences from the original. However, my mother who has not read the book loved it. My final advice is that if you want to watch the movie, please do not read the book, you may share my opinions if you start with the papers.