As good as the book...so pretty bad

Rating: 3/10 (30 May 2006)

Well, they did a good job following the book and churned out a rather boring movie. Tom Hanks seemed half-asleep and actors like Jean Reneau and Alfred Molina weren't given much to work with. Ian McKlellan more or less saves the movie with a performance that actually required effort. Basically, proof that a poorly-written book doesn't translate well even when-thankfully-the movie is shortened a bit. Probably better if you haven't read the book because the painfully obvious twists won't be confirmed beforehand. Not that it takes much to figure them out, an IQ of more than 70 or so should be sufficient. Might as well spend money on something worthwhile and check out National Treasure (it got ripped off, anyway); for once Nicholas Cage outdoes Mr. Hanks.