Excellently done

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2006)

Ron Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code is as good as an adaptation of a very popular book can be. Anyone who knows anything about film making knows that no film can achieve the depth of a book. There simply isn't time to establish all the little character nuances and idiosyncrasies that a book can. The job of the film maker is to keep the basic story as intact as possible, add as little as possible that's not in the book, and still make an entertaining, coherent film. Trust me, it ain't as easy as it sounds. I've read this book enough to know that the film makers left out some stuff. But, examination of what they left out reveals that it wasn't really necessary at all. So the screenplay, direction and scripting left adequate information for the viewer to know exactly what they need to know to follow and enjoy the film. The acting throughout the film was excellent. Tom Hanks is super as Professor Langdon. I'd not heard of the French actress Audry Tautou before, but she was great as his collaborator. This is a truly international cast, purposely cast as such since the film takes place in various parts of the world. Sir Ian McKellan portrays the expert Teabing. Paul Bettany is excellent as "the ghost" Silas. Altogether, this is a fascinating film. I'm not going into the plot, since it has more twists than a drunken snake. Enjoy it!