a worse kept secret, no more

Rating: 1/10 (1 January 2007)

I must confess that I actually paid full price to see this movie upon its release early June - this pains me tremendously since in spite of my best intentions and the constant nudging of my friends to get some value on my ticket purchase, I could not stay awake. I must've fallen asleep a dozen times during the course of the film! As I can't remember the last movie I snored through, I chalked up this snooze fest to being too tired to sit through the film, lack of decent dialogue, no screen chemistry between any of the actors, preposterous plot zig zags, one too many sloppy action sequences, and zero comic relief. I appreciate absurd fantasy as much as anybody, but there wasn't anything remotely funny or intriguing that I could ream out of this dud. True, I was asleep for almost 2 hours, so could it be that this film was more than a succession of busy nothings? Well, I had my second chance to view the Codeand this time I didn't have to pay extra! It was the featured movie on my flight today and I was somewhat gladdened that I'd be able to make a final judgment on whether this film had any merit whatsoever. Good news is that I managed to stay awake this time. Could this be attributed to the fact that the ride was very bumpy and without a real meal, I was suffering the pangs of hunger? Sad to say, this overwrought tale was not the meal ticket it could have been. It certainly provided no brain nourishment at all. Upon second inspection, my initial assessment was validated. This movie is devoid of basic ingredients required of any passable movie: intelligent plot, credible characters, comedy, a slice of life What were Hanks and Tautou - two of my favorite actors – thinking when they signed up as automatons for this feeble, fetid potboiler? Truly, the best things about this film were the villains. Each of them - especially Silas and Sir Teabing – was a zillion times more fascinating than either Sophie or Robert ..unless of course you have a curious empathy for one-dimensional, muppet-haired, sanctimonious numb-skulls.
So I've completed my penance for falling asleep the first time and I've also reconciled myself for giving this film one star things are indeed looking up this year!