not great, but worth the admission

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2006)

I read the book a few months ago and noticed that the three Dan Brown novels I've read follow a pretty similar formula; Similar story + Similar Characters + meticulous detail = a decently interesting yet trite kind of novel. Brown's attention to detail is probably what made this novel-to-film adaptation receive less "stars" than expected. There were few significant differences between the novel and movie that stood out. Yet when you consider amount of info written in the novel about the artwork, the buildings, the Roman Catholic Church, the opus dei, the priory of sion, and Da Vinci, one should expect that some of the information has to be cut. Otherwise you'd end up watching one of those "Da Vinci Code themed" documentaries that have been trying to cash in on the hype. I liked that the actors were true to their characters in the novel. Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou were fine choices to personify the main characters, and Jean Reno is perfect for Fache as was the choice of Ian McKellen as Teabing. The acting was convincing, and the movie was filmed nicely. I didn't like how Ron Howard chose to shoot some of the history in the book (both the factual, and character back stories). Sometimes it felt like you had taken a mind altering substance that put you back in the time when these things happened. Characters would remain but the background would fade into the same place in a different time, and it felt more like a hallucination than a good transition. Additionally Tom Hanks would occasionally think a puzzle through and some CGI effect would float in front of him as if he were on a peyote trip Though the differences between novel and film are tolerable, they are not necessarily justified. While, I guess, the changes worked somewhat well with the movie, had the screenplay remained closer to the novel it probably would have worked better. In sum, yes the book was better than the movie, what was cut will bother Brown fans, what's different will bother people who love and read the book. Yet for those who haven't read it, the movie will probably convince you to pick up a copy of the novel and figure out what everyone is so bugged about. It was a pretty good attempt and worth watching.