Nuanced conclusion : Very entertaining and quite spectacular, but don't take it too seriously.

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2006)

As many readers of "The Da Vinci Code", I was curious about how the film would be. So I went to the movies yesterday to find out how it has worked out. I took my brother with me, not only for company but also to form an opinion on this movie that wouldn't be too unilateral.
Directing a film which is based upon a book of which are sold more than 40 million copies worldwide is one of the reasons why there was a lot of pressure on the shoulders of director Ron Howard. People will even pay attention to the most minuscule things that Howard has had to leave out of the movie, they will start to complain and say how it should have been done, or in the worst case, they would rather have seen another director for this film. However, I think he has dealt with it very well, or better, he has done a great job. My brother says that he hasn't done it as bad as many would think. Another thing is that just as the book, the movie is fiction. The objective of author Dan Brown was to reduce the differences between fiction and non-fiction as small as possible.
Well, now something more about the movie. I think that the historic images and locations are magnificent, but it are the actors who carry the movie. Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. At first, I was surprised that they chose him, at second thought, I had all the confidence in him, and yes, he didn't let me down. Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu. I heard that many were surprised that she was chosen for the role. Conversely, I think she was perfect. She is easy on the eyes and now I know she has a lovely French accent as well. Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing. He was funny at certain times and mean at other times, but what really occurred to me was his diction and pronunciation. It was impeccable. He certainly was stealing the show. Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa. I know he is a versatile actor and here he has done it very well. Jean Reno as Bezu Fache. The author of the book created this character with Jean in his mind. Therefore, further comments aren't needed. Paul Bettany as Silas. No one could have played it better than him. You really could see the pain, fear, relief, and joy in his eyes at different moments. At times I felt some compassion for him. My brother, on the other hand, finds the acting reasonable, above average. What appealed to him the most, was how they had put on screen, the thinking processes of Langdon and the stories on the ancient times, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.
After watching the movie, I think that the movie has lived up to my expectations. I knew the plot, nonetheless it has been almost a year since I read the book. Hence, there were numerous moments where I was surprised. My brother thinks that the film goes immediately into a flow acceleration in the beginning. Too many things happen in such a small time span. As a consequence, the spectator doesn't know what the movie is all about. This applies to those who haven't read the book (yet). I have to agree with him on this. However, Howard makes it up by especially focusing on the end of the movie in order that all the questions, which both actor and viewer in particular have, will be answered.
To the people who have read the book, I know that the book is much more thrilling and exciting than the movie. There's no question about that. My advice to them is just pretending that you haven't read the book (yet) and let the movie surprise yourself. That's what I and my brother have tried to do. Afterwards you can compare the movie with the book, if you want to. To the people who haven't read the book (yet), it's a rather intelligent movie. Thus you have to stay concentrated, in order to understand it. But there are some parts where you can loose your concentration for a while as the various escapes. Our nuanced conclusion is that it is a very entertaining and quite spectacular movie. However, keep in mind that it's just fiction. So don't take the movie too seriously. It merely wants to show another part of the truth.