Fine adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (23 May 2006)

I asked several people sitting nearby, at least 7 out of 10 have read the book. There are differences, at some points they simplified the story (e.g. # cryptexes), however I think the movie is true to the spirit of the original story.
I was glad to see the segment when Teabing and Langdon argue/explain the grail history in Teabing's house. It was made clear that there is controversy on important points of the grail history; this was probably ignored by those who gave the 1-3 marks to the movie out of (misplaced) "religious loyalty". (I guess the mere fact that there are / can be alternate theories or people considering them irks these reviewers.) It is worth looking at the median score for this movie: 8. I wish IMDb would show both the median and the average on the main page as well. A significantly (>1 diff) lower average than the median may indicate that some zealot's are voting the movie down.
Some parts may be difficult to understand without reading the book, for example Teabing's background was not presented fully.
Note that when reading, the reader adds a lot through their imagination. You cannot make a movie matching everyone's idea. For example my girlfriend pictured a more bulky guy for Silas, and so on.
I liked that they did not make out an obvious romance between the main heroes. There were some hints for attraction letting the viewer interpolate to his/her wish. I also liked the ending a lot, finishing with focusing the intellectual aspect (search for truth/solution/resolve whatever) and not the action, hence putting the two in excellent balance.
Some will say the movie is slow. My theory is that many moviegoers today use their imagination less and less. Using the brain is work you know. They just want all their senses overwhelmed with effects, speed, action, emotion etc. without any effort on their own. A friend of mine sometimes mentions that a movie is good/interesting but a little slow. That immediately makes me consider it!