Mission impossible: from book to movie

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2006)

In November 2004, I attempted to post comments on the book (quoted below) under this movie which was in the "filming" status. For obvious reasons, the posting was not accepted. Those comments ended with "I'm quite curious as to how the movie version will be tackled, as the main attraction of Da Vinci Code is mental rather than visual  quite a challenge to Ron Howard." Having now watched the movie, I think Howard has sidestep the challenge altogether - he didn't try to bring to the audience the puzzles the readers were treated to in the book. Good move. Dan Brown had made allowance for that and wrote the book as if it were a screen play so that the story would have a different existence as a movie. He was partly successful. The movie "The Da Vinci Code", in Howard's competent but uninspired hands, is a decent suspense thriller but not much more.
The cast has helped to make it more enjoyable than otherwise. Not the leads Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. The former is in a least challenging assignment that he's had in a decade, while the latter is at least adequate, and actually looks better in the "normal" role than many of the offbeat characters she has played. It's the foursome of exceptional movie talents that has lifted DVC a notch - Ian McKellen (LOTR, X-Men), Paul Bettany (Master and Commander, A beautiful mind), Alfred Molina (Frida, Spider-man 2) and Jean Reno, probably the best known French actor to the Englsih speaking world.
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Comments on the book I attempted to post a year and a half ago:
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This Suspense thriller with Vatican as a backdrop is not such a rarity. One such, the main theme of which is remarkably akin to that of "Da Vinci Code", is Canadian writer Charles Templeton's "Act of God" (1977). (One of Mr. Templeton's other novels, "The kidnapping of the president", was made into a movie in 1980). Rather than divulging the twists in "Da Vinci Code", I'll use "Act of God" to demonstrate this main theme. With much simplification, let me just say that the main character, a cardinal in New York aspiring to be the next Pope, stumbles across an immense discovery, Christ's remains. This puts him in a diabolical dilemma, of whether to allow this secret to be revealed to the world. The impact on not only the Catholic Church, but on Christianity at large, will be at catastrophic proportions, as this discovery would seem to directly contradict Christ's resurrection. Granted that educated Christians in general have come to accept the symbolic nature of a lot of things written in the Bible, the majority (particularly in less developed countries) would still likely take everything literally. The consequence of the revelation, therefore, is so devastating to contemplate that the cardinal resorts to murder in order to stop it.
While the plot of "Da Vinci Code" is very different, this central theme is almost identical  the startling nature of the "secret", the immensity of its implications, the potentially devastating impact of its revelation. What is different thought in "Da Vinci Code" is that this secret has in fact been revealed to the world at large over the last few of centuries, manifested in various art forms, from Renaissance arts to Disney characters. While I find this theory to be carried just a little too far, I do like the thought of looking at my most favorite opera, The Magic Flute, from yet another mystical angle i.e. one of the vehicles for revealing this monumental "secret".
A suspense story succeeds or fails on its ability to provide good "hooks" to keep the reader glued to it, and to subsequently provide satisfying explanation in the twists. A great master at this art is the late Isaac Asimov, dean of science fiction, who not only leaves explanation of "hooks" right to the end of a novel, but even to the end of the sequel! And the twists will have you marveling at the ingenuity. While not quite reaching this plane of achievement, Da Vinci Code has its interesting aspects. With a simple structure of very short chapters (a little over a 100 in total), it is easy to read through. What makes it stand out is that in the first half of the book, you'll find a hook at the end of just about every chapter! Personally, I find this slightly irritating, but at the same time amusing. Most of these hooks are in the form of puzzles and games, some subtle, some less so, but mostly entertaining. Midway through, there is a lengthy, satisfying explanation of the main mystery. As we move on, more of the earlier questions are answered, while new hooks and twists are thrown in. Towards the end, we encounter the more familiar type of twists, i.e identity puzzles.
With its most unabashed proliferation of hooks that wouldn't miss a single opportunity to present themselves, Da Vinci Code nevertheless hangs together coherently and also provides a well paced, fluid read. I'm quite curious as to how the movie version will be tackled, as the main attraction of Da Vinci Code is mental rather than visual  quite a challenge to Ron Howard.
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