Entertaining, but not engaging

Rating: 4/10 (1 June 2006)

The plot line of the The DaVinci Code is fairly taut, without too many holes, contradictions or loose ends. I imagine that to many Christians, the explanation of the faux-religious root of the mystery will seem slow and pedantic. As a non-Christian, however, I appreciated the intellectual hand-holding, and recommend that you forgive this minor fault. There aren't too many surprising twists, however. Both my wife and I guessed the identity of the secret character far in advance of the movie's revelation.
Part of what makes a murder/conspiracy mystery movie work for me is people's reactions to the mystery itself and the mayhem that affects them as they unravel the mystery. All throughout The DaVinci Code, I kept waiting for the two protagonists to react in a way that was consistent with (a) the continuing mortal danger they were in (b) the background of their characters. How many academics (Indiana Jones excepted) can you think of who wouldn't retch at the sight of a ritually murdered body, and who wouldn't freeze like a deer in the headlights with a gun pointed in their face? And isn't it reasonable to expect a veteran cop, even a desk-bound one, to have some degree of clear-headedness in a crisis? Instead, you get the opposite. Professor Langdon goes from befuddled to resourceful with a cool reserve that James Bond would admire in an instant, apparently immune to the effects of adrenaline. Conversely, Det. Neve spends most of her screen time looking frightened or confused, and occasionally disabling bad guys. And both of them seem strangely muted in their reactions, given the excitement of a grail quest combined with a constant effort to avoid being killed. Combined, this doesn't make for particularly sympathetic or interesting characters.
The most interesting character is Sir Leigh Teabing, a friendly rival academic of Langdon's, and who joins Langdon and Neve in their adventure. To say more, unfortunately, would spoil the movie.