yet another nicely done blockbuster..

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2006)

i just had the chance to watch the movie at the Cannes opening, and being in the company of the crew in such an amazing room usually puts you in a positive mood. I was interested, also, because I think i'm one of the few ones that have not read the book! Hey, I do like reading, but tried a few pages and it's really not my style. I thought this little introduction was necessary.
So, what about the movie, now? Cinematography is quite stunning - camera movements and sceneries are just beautiful. Editing is slightly conventional, but feeds a good rhythms. Acting is not overwhelming, with the exception of maybe of Bettany - but that's because of the nature itself of the story - a running puzzle-solving thriller. Surprises are frequent (at least if you have not read the book, i guess), only sometimes easy to anticipate. So far, quite good.
What really did not impress me, then? Well, the plot is slightly weak - the "codes" are not very amazing (actually i found the "code" part very disappointing). The history about Opus Day and Priory of Sion (not going to reveal anything about that) is interesting, but the film does not manage to pin it down to its real value, as the action is taking away too much of the attention. The characters are onlt OK, missing some deepness, lacking moments of weakness, ambiguity; really not all-round.
All in all, a couple of hours of entertainment, a theory about Church which is worth listening (but please, it's only a movie, don't make too much noise out of it!!!), deceiving enigmas which are more of an excuse to show different nice locations, good actors a little underexploited by only OK characters.