Good but not great

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2006)

I saw this tonight with someone who had read the book (very quickly), and they enjoyed it more than I did I think. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it. The music was good, the composition was very good. Ron Howard has carved out a niche or trademark in the "the solution appears to the protagonist using CGI and stuff" for himself. A lot of the actors were on autopilot though, namely Hanks and Reno. Bettany and McKellen put in good, solid performances.
Some things were just a bit convenient to me, not to mention one or two plot holes but I really can't be bothered going into them here. I also don't understand the controversy here - did the Church whine regarding the first and third Indiana Jones movies?
Anyway, there were one or two moments where it seemed like the end but it continued for just a little longer, and character development was somewhat thin but not completely amiss.
All in all, not a waste of a night out, a definite critic-proof movie, although more of an OK thriller than a revelatory, iconic piece of work.