A pleasant surprise...

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2006)

After many attempts to persuade me otherwise, I braved the Da Vinci Code on opening night. Expecting the worst, I must confess to have been pleasantly surprised by this movie. So all right, the book was better, but isn't it always?
Despite the negative reviews it got in Cannes it stands well on it's own right, bringing forth a great plot with enough twists to keep the audience entertained. I'm sure that if I hadn't read the book prior to seeing the movie, I'd be going on and on about what a great movie this is.
Tom Hanks, Jean Reno & Ian McKellen delivered a fantastic performance. The rest of the cast also did an amazing job, however Tautou left me a bit cold. I'm not saying her performance was bad, but it wasn't very good either. She just didn't bring much depth to the character,so I couldn't really sympathize. And, as much as I hate admitting that the critics were right, there was indeed not enough chemistry between Hanks & Tautou (they give off sparks in the book!).
I loved the way this movie/book transforms everyday reality into something of a mystery. Things we walk by or dismiss as 'ordinary' are given a whole new dimension. It also deals with religion and it's impact in our reality. A big plus to this movie is that instead of letting the French characters speak in English - as most movies do- they had them speaking french, giving the movie something extra. And I absolutely loved the ending shot!
Some of the less positive aspects of the movie are the omission of a few important parts from the book, something that would have definitely added more depth and suspense, and the rather hollow characterization. Silas, amazingly portrait by Paul Bettany, was simply the bad guy. The futile attempts to give us an insight to who he was hardly sufficient. In the book I really felt for him, here: Nada! Off course I can understand that it's mostly because of insufficient time. 2 hours isn't enough to make the characters really come to life.
All in All a definite recommendation for those who haven't read the book, and for those of us who have- it may be a bit annoying knowing what's going to happen and dissecting the differences between movie and book-but it's definitely worth seeing The Da Vinci code come to life!
Not the best, but one of the better movies I've seen lately.