Disaster

Rating: 1/10 (19 May 2006)

Spoilers!
This picture is a flat out disaster. The plot in the novel was actually laughingly and stupidly convoluted, but masked by the interesting discussion of symbolic meanings in Renaissance art. In the movie, however, this discussion comes across as wooden and even rather silly digressions from the investigation of a homicide.
The disaster begins almost from the start. The curator is murdered in the Louvre. While any sensible person would have been saying prayers or writing a coherent note about his killer, this fellow performs more self mutilation and spends his last moments constructing an anagram and puzzle clues for his niece. It sold in the book - it comes across as preposterous as it is in the movie.
This is the first time in forever I can remember Tom Hanks dialing in a performance. The delightful Audrey Tatou isn't much better. The script is just awful. The direction isn't much better. The cinematography is very good, but you can see the same thing in a documentary.
A dreadful movie