hmmmmmm....

Rating: 6/10 (20 May 2006)

One would think that with names like Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Alfred Molina, and Ian McKellen attached, and the best-selling novel as the basis, this movie would blow audiences away. It seems, however, that none of these names cared that the screenplay was dreadful, just that they would be backing a summer blockbuster called the Da Vinci Code. I cannot say that this movie was totally bad. In my opinion, had there been no book and this movie had been made the way it was, it would have been quite the spectacle. However, almost every person who saw the movie the first day had read the book and was comparing the movie to the book. If you see this movie and expect it to be in the same league as the book you will be seriously disappointed. Now, I must admit it has been a while since I read the book, but it seemed that a lot of information was taken out and/or changed. Also, many of the twists and turns that made the novel great were quickly thrown in and poorly explained. I must admit that I think Tom Hanks is a great actor but he seemed very dry in this role. I never thought he was right for this part. Audrey Tautou is a fantastically charming actress and I felt her part was done pretty well, but she had no chemistry with Hanks. Jean Reno, in my opinion, nailed the role of Bezu Fache, he was perfect. McKellen was good, but he didn't have the look of Teabing. Aringarosa was played somewhat well by Molina, but it was Paul Bettany as Silas that really seemed perfect. He was eerie to say the least. All in all this movie, compared to the novel, was a bust, which is sad to say because Dan Brown himself backed the movie. And with the star power behind it, this could have and should have been a site to see. It fell short. I must say that the last 2-3 minutes of the movie did give me goosebumps, as it was well shot and the music was perfect. But again, do not go to see this movie with expectations that it will do the book justice.