Captured from the start.

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2006)

I was a bit concerned I would be lost seeing the movie because I seem to be one of the minority who has not read the book. It was definitely not a problem. Of course, I had heard about the basic premise of the book but knew none of the characters or the plot line of the story. It may have actually been an advantage. I have heard reviews discussing how there was too much dialogue in the movie. My thoughts are that the movie was made with the assumption that the viewer had not read the book. The dialogue spent a reasonable amount of time explaining what was happening. I found it to be extremely helpful.
There was plenty of action and surprises and I did not have one minute where I was bored. The acting was good and the characters well cast. I think Robert Langdon could have been played by quite a few actors out there today but I was happy with the choice of Tom Hanks. Audrey Tautou did a decent job with her portrayal of Sophie and changed appropriately as she discovered her role and background. Paul Bettany was terrific and the rest of the cast worked very well to tell the story.
The locations were great, the special effects were well done and I particularly liked the scenes done of past times. All in all, an entertaining movie, good directing and a well told story.