Entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2008)

I particularly welcome the exposure the film gives to the denigration of women by the Catholic Church and the role of Mary Magdalene in church history. While The Da Vinci Code never reaches its full potential as a compelling work of art, it is solid entertainment that creates awareness of the differences within the early church and may spur people to read apocryphal writings such as the Gnostic Gospels and The Gospel of Thomas. Of course, the theory, first expounded in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, is out of the mainstream, yet, it is not as preposterous as Roger Ebert has claimed. Given the paucity of historical records referring to a historical Jesus and the passing of two thousand years, it is no more implausible than many other theological notions, widely accepted as the unvarnished truth. Anyway, all questions are answered and you are not left hanging. Whether you agree with the answers is up to you. Remember, it's only a movie, and it's never too late to become a history buff and you can do your own research.