Solid and entertaining...

Rating: 9/10 (1 June 2006)

Now I'm one of those people who loves the book mostly for the subject of the mystery.
And therefor I simply had to see this movie.
So should I make the usual comparison with the book or just review the movie?
I always try to make the best of a movie for what it is. And in this case the word "thriller" usually is attached to the movie... but as I see it this movie is more of an adventure movie... with a more realistic background than Raiders of the Lost Ark and Tombraider... but the story is still a treasure hunt.
The character work is not superficial but not that deep either, some efforts have been made to develop our main characters, but nothing big. This is probably an effect of the clearly much discussed storyline. Silas and Bishop Aringarosa is where Dan Brown himself have made most back story to show their common background...unfortunately this doesn't get as much attention as Sophie Neveu and partly Robert Langdon. But all characters are believable... and Ian McKellen is a joy as Leigh Teabing.
I for one misses the story line of Silas and Aringarosa and later Captain Fache... there is a lot of good material in this story... Ron Howard has been able to make Silas a tragic villain for sure but Silas's background and why he suddenly is the loyal servant of a bishop doesn't make it... I would love to have seen more of this... and the line "I'm a ghost" could have been used more as to show this difference between his old violent self and the new "angel" self. And the last turn of betrayal by Aringarosa and Fache turning his back to Aringarosa does nothing to make Aringarosa seem more human and tragic... he becomes more evil. I can understand why Christian would have something against the movie over the book where he is much more human, they make the church seem much more cold and calculating in the movie.
As for story.. it is highly entertaining and well put together. It is actually one of those few movies where we don't end in lose ends. We get a nice closure on most subjects. Akiva Goldsman has been able to write a rather solid script where the important things survives and only useless subjects doesn't make it. we get the story we need, but then again not much more. This is the way a movie work. I feel it is always important to view a book and a movie of the book differently. Some things just needs to be dropped and changed to make it a working movie. And for Da Vinci Code they make it work.
The Length of the film is rather long, but I actually forgot it. The pace of the film is not fast but far from slow... we get a lot of information over a short period but the mood of the film is slow, the "car chase" from the embassy where the music and the fast pictures make huge contrast is a good example and I sat there impressed i stead of one the edge of my seat. It is a slow fast movie, unlike most movies being fast. But with a lot of fast movies a lot happens to fast and we get to much information and at one point one sits and things "when is the movie over anyway?", in Da Vinci I instead was able to just enjoy the movie!
Over all this is a solid movie for what it is, not as a mind changing movie, but a highly entertaining movie with a story line that just seems to make people go nuts. A shame actually, for once some people ought to see a movie with out making it all real!
It get a 9 from me!