a good film, not as good if you have read the novel

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2006)

For the record I did read the book before viewing the movie but I will try to abstain from making this review an essay comparing the movie to the book.
First the acting, overall the actors did a fine job, however there was some room for improvement. I did particularly like the part of Ian McKellan as Sir Leigh Teabing. I thought that Audrey Tautou could have brought more the character of Sophie Neveu, there seemed to be an overall lack of chemistry between the characters of Sophie and Robert. When I first heard that Tom Hanks was picked for the lead role of Robert Langdon I was surprised, but after viewing the film I have changed my thinking, his character was very well played. Jean Reno was perfectly casted as Bezu Fache and Paul Bettany could not have been a better choice for Silas.
I did have a few issues with the screenplay, especially the fact that the movie reveals secrets far before it needs too, particularly when revealing one of the main villains. The film at points used flashbacks to explain historical data and personal backgrounds, but at a point they sometimes revealed information that would have been better if just spoken in dialog.
The film visually was very well done particularly the scenes that take place in the Louve and in the home of Ian McKellan's character Leigh Teabing. For instance visual elements were added when in the book it was simply spoken by the characters.
Now for the book-to-movie comparisons. As with any film based off a book cuts had to be made from the story to fit it all on screen, however with this film the screenwriters added elements to the story that were in no way alluded to in the original novel. I will not give too much detail on these changes but let me just comment that some of them were made in what appeared to be an attempt to cause more controversy particularly with the role of the catholic church. The film changed several major plot points that Dan Brown originally wrote, I believe some of those changes took away from the story.
Overall the film on its own does very well, had I not read the book before seeing the movie I would have thought that this makes a good mystery story, and I most likely would have been more interested in reading the original novel. However, those who have read the book upon seeing the movie might have several questions about the plot changes.