The critics are dead wrong

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2006)

This is a review from a person that has NOT read the book. The critics were never more polarized: some said it was the best film ever and some said it was a horrible film. The most disturbing part was that most of these critics uttered these claims without ever having seen the film. Even the "journalists" who saw the first show in Cannes were negative in a way that was almost unheard of. In fact, I have read so many negative reviews (too long, too narrative, boring, predictable, laughable, Tom Hanks ashamed, Ron Howard ashamed, public not amused. etc.) that I was almost tempted not to collect my 2 premiere tickets to the nearby cinema, saving me 20 euro's in the process. My companion (who did read the book, by the way) however insisted and we went. Good, so now I can write about it first hand. Yes, it's a long time to sit with your face directed upwards to the big screen (two and a half hours, plus 15 minutes commercials). Granted, and it contains lots of talking and here and there, some plot movements were indeed incredible and it was quite predictable in certain parts (remember, I did NOT read the book nor did I know the plot), but in whole, it was a fascinating film indeed. Of course, it was a fascinating novel to begin with and personally I found the direction of the film, as well as the parts of most notably Tatou, McKellen and Reno, excellent. I am well aware that, although some points are right on, a considerable part of the story is fiction and some of the facts in the film are dead wrong (unambiguously and easily ascertainable), but most stories, if not all, are. Nothing special about that. Why do many people find exactly this story bad? Simply because of the fact that it is believed to undermine these same people's religious beliefs. But religion itself is based on beliefs, and never the whole truth. This lies within the fundamental definition of what we call religion. Myths are not seldom more true. But that is all irrelevant. Religion itself brings that people will always bend the truth or intermix truth with facts, even facts which are out of place, out of time, or both. Nothing new or spectacular about that. What is spectacular, that this is possibly the most interesting time in recent history in a way that many people start to rethink the whole Christian beliefs. And the fact that the Judas gospel was published also this year, helped tremendously in the process. That process of rethinking belief, that alone is valuable. Many critics wrote from this belief: if you are a fundamentalist Christian, you will most likely hate Brown's book, the film and its message. And if you hate the church, chances are that you love it (I can't think of another reason why over half (616) of the 1176 voters to this instant I write this review, valued this film with a 10 out of 10 (no film in history is worth this)). But both opinions don't count for much, if you ask me, because they are prejudiced ans biased and nothing good ever came from those sentiments. And I can really do without critics who claim you go to hell if you go out and see the film. Hey buddy, I know about hell, I live in The Netherlands... -spoilers after this- Was the a historic person called Jesus the Christ? Probably, but not certainly. Was Jesus the Christ married with Maria Magdalena? Possibly. If yes, did they have children? Possibly. And is Maria Magdalena buried under the Louvre? Unlikely. And is Tatou a direct descendant of Maria Magdalena and Jesus? Very unlikely. Did the Catholic church try to hide Christ's bloodline? I don't think so. Does the church know much more than they say? Certainly. Did the church commit genocide over and over for unholy reasons? Absolutely. Is the new testament complete? Most certainly not - even the translations contain dreadful mistakes. Were there indeed more than 100 gospels instead of 4? Very likely. Is half of Dan Brown's book fantasy? Most likely, yes, but also half is most likely true. but that is again not the issue here. The issue is that if you do have a sufficiently long attention span, if you do have an open mind and if you do have more than half a brain, you may very well enjoy this film. And never stop thinking, no matter who informs you: The Priest, The Politician, The Legislator, The Judge, The Scientist, The Teacher, The Novelist, Mr Gates or the critic. Just never stop thinking...