Moderately interesting work of fiction regarding religious beliefs.

Rating: Null/10 (18 December 2006)

This movie received lots of 'hype' before its introduction, and that often signals 'mediocre.' Although it has an all-star cast and a competent director, the controversy surrounding it turns out to be more interesting than the movie itself.
Tom Hanks is Dr. Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor specializing in symbols. In Paris a murder is committed in the Louvre, and his name is scribbled in blood by the victim. So that puts him directly on the suspect list, even though we know someone else is responsible.
Audrey Tautou (of Amelie) shows up quickly as Agent Sophie Neveu. Their chief pursuer is Frenchman Jean Reno as Captain Bezu Fache. The trouble is many of these characters belong to a fictitious secret society to protect the faith. At issue is whether an old code left by da Vinci leads to the location of the Holy Grail. The movie is done in a style where the protagonists are being chased by the cops and each time they barely escape via a ruse right before getting caught. Plus, there are many slow-moving parts where characters talk and explain what is going on. Often it reminded me of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' in the way arcane clues are pieced together to lead them to the next set of clues in a different city or country.
Other key characters are Paul Bettany as the ghostly Silas and Alfred Molina as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa. My wife and I watched it on DVD, free from the library. She had read the book and said it was a faithful adaptation. Both of us thought it interesting, neither of us thought it was a particularly good thriller.
SPOILERS. Although the ending leaves everything open, as to what is real, it hints that the 'grail' is really a female descendant of Jesus who married Mary Magdalene, and further that Agent Sophie Neveu is the last living descendant.