Worthy effort, lead acting aside.

Rating: 6/10 (22 May 2006)

After the awful panning the critics have dished out to this movie I went expecting the worst...and was pleasantly surprised. While Ron Howard's adaption of Brown's best-seller sometimes missteps it's a solid film, absorbing without ever being really exciting. The biggest problem is the casting of the two leads; Hanks walks around in a coma for much of the running time, Tatou is simply dreadful; the lack of chemistry between our heroes so apparent as to bite the viewer on the nose. Together these two soporific performances give the film a leaden pace - a bit of trimming would have helped here. Alfred Molina is wasted. There is also lot of exposition for what should be an adventure/thriller; including a lot of flashbacks while someone does a voice-over doesn't hide the fact.
But here criticism ends. I won't go into the plot, it's too well-known to warrant comment; Howard manages to come up with several real shock moments - even if you've read the book, and keeps the intrigue intact. And if the two leads are flat there is always the compensation of watching Ian Mckellen at work. He eats up the role of Teabing with relish, and steals every scene he's in. Paul Bettany is also terrific as Silas, the monk with a mission, exuding a real aura of menace like a sort of Catholic Anakin Skywalker. The locations are exquisite but the film never feels like a travelogue. I came out of the cinema impressed that Howard didn't go for yahoo Hollywood action, but followed the novel closely. For that he's to be commended. The critical mauling the film has received is truly ridiculous.
As to the controversial nature of the plot - it's fiction, raises some intriguing questions about Christianity, makes you think, and most importantly, is not to be taken too seriously. Humph, another DVD to add to my groaning shelves...