Implausible but fast and exciting; a good ride...

Rating: 7/10 (3 July 2007)

Dan Brown's bestseller had all the surprising twists and turns of a Sidney Sheldon novel--add to that a plot concerning a secret sect of the Catholic Church involved in a conspiracy and a treasure hunt to the Holy Grail and you've got a pretty entertaining thriller. Ron Howard directs this adaptation fluidly (it may be his best directing yet), however the opening moments involving a murder and some nasty self-flagellation are off-putting. Tom Hanks is very good as a famous writer and professor who lectures on the study of symbols as language; he's pulled into a murder investigation in France and soon finds himself on the run with a French female officer who was the granddaughter of the victim. There's a bit of heavy exposition with the arrival of Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing, a learned acquaintance of Hanks who helps sort out the clues left by Audrey Tautou's grandfather. Jean Reno's police captain presents a different problem--he's left too ambiguous without enough material. Otherwise, "Da Vinci" is a fast-paced game of wits topped with exciting flourishes and European travel. *** from ****