Excellent movie! Just put beliefs aside for the duration, and simply enjoy!

Rating: 10/10 (8 June 2006)

The Da Vinci Code is, in my humble opinion, a very good movie. Admittadly, like all movies, the book is a hundred times better, but it was a good, faithful adaption (unlike The Lost World by Crichton - give me the book any day!).
Many people seem to feel threatened by the film - many Indian countries, and now China, have banned the film. Certainly, the storyline is controversial, and bound to upset people who are staunchly against this kind of idea. However, to quote Dan Brown himself, "It's fictional - it's called a novel"(!). The Da Vinci Code is a fictional book - it is not trying to put forward the idea of Mary Magdalene as true or false, but simply, as other novels, providing an entertaining read - and by the same lines, the film also does not attempt to prove/disprove it, simply trying to entertain us.
Once you have put all previous beliefs aside, and accepted that what you are about to see is fictional entertainment, then the Da Vinci Code is a very good film. Silas and Teabing spring to mind instantly as exceptionally good actors - McKellen provides a very good character, injecting humour as well as seriousness into the film. By the same token, Bettany plays Silas fantastically - his self-flagellation and attacks are often quite unsettling. The music and cinematography used throughout is very good - one thinks especially of the shot where the viewer only realises that the dark figure standing out of focus is Silas once the camera suddenly focuses on him. The film is very true to the novel; while many parts are condensed or left out, and flashbacks added in different places, I (having read (and loved) the novel first) still found the film immensely enjoyable.
10/10