Enjoyable, yet silly, the Da Vinci Code is another great film of 2006!

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2006)

The Da Vinci Code may have received far less than full universal acclaim, but it certainly didn't bomb at the box office (with overall takings of over $700 million worldwide) and was the financial success that all the producers were hoping for. It was a better book-to-film adaptation than Stormbreaker (and certainly a more profitable one), but it is easy to see why it flopped critically - some parts were really silly, and parts in which you were meant to gasp with shock, you burst out laughing. But while there's no denying it's just silly, it is also quite gripping in parts - the constant darkness in the Louvre and the blood all over the professor's body keep an appropriately haunting atmosphere throughout the start. And it stays true to its Christian roots, and doesn't leave out anything vital in the story. It would be better to read the book before watching the film to get a better understanding of what exactly is happening, but you can still vaguely keep along with the plot as it continues and there is a clear beginning, middle and end. It won't have you on the edge of your seat, it won't have you gasping in shock, but it will entertain - and I think that is why it did so well. Some of the photography was neat, and though the budget wasn't exactly tiny, it didn't exactly show off with massive epic sets and kept a rather small-scale atmosphere, like it was in the book. The ending is satisfying, and at the end, you realise the film stayed loyal to the book all along, and it managed to show off that fact with neat photography and a rather epic feel. But one person saved this film from total disaster - Ian McKellen. He managed to keep the film enjoyable and ham it up to restore faith - especially in the scenes at his mansion in which he revealed to Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu the truth about the "Da Vinci Code". There is only one bit in this film that will make you jump out of your seat (let's just say, it is a flashback (and it may not even frighten you)), and there isn't any high-octane action or explosions, but this is meant to be something that challenges the roots of Christian history. Though the film doesn't exactly do that, it does engage in the aspect of being a thriller and a big-budget book adaptation. Dan Brown can stay optimistic in the fact that his book has received a worthy adaptation and that both the book and the film have bought much more success than anybody could have anticipated. The Da Vinci Code is fun and quite fast-paced, but if you want something gripping and suspenseful, you'd be better off looking somewhere else. But then again, which kind of person doesn't enjoy a laugh? 9/10