Misunderstood movie

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2006)

As Tom Hanks explained, "The Da Vinci Code" isn't a serious claim that catholicism is all made up through some dark conspiracy. It's merely a fun popcorn movie that's pointing out some interesting facts and intrigues with weird theories. A lot of people took it all way too seriously, when "The Da Vinci Code" is really only supposed to be entertaining. Then there's been talk that audiences at Cannes laughed at the movie's climax and thought it was ridiculous. Well, that's hardly Ron Howard's fault, is it? He could only stick to the existing novel. What did you expect? If you don't like the book, you're going to despise the movie even more.
Now, that we've gotten this out of the way, let's talk about "The Da Vinci Code" as the nice little thriller it is. The movie has its shortcomings, that's undeniable. Even if you haven't read the book you'll notice that things seem a bit rushed. Screenwriters must have had a hard time cramming the most important facts of this rather thick novel into a movie with only 150 minutes running time. Most of the time characters blabber as if they had swallowed a lexicon. The whole cast does the best job possible, but lines like those can't be delivered naturally. Especially in the beginning the movie is slowed down by this blabbering until you are used to it and accept it.
And yes, one has to say that the story is pretty unbelievable and almost laughable at times. It's not even hard to figure out the ending about half way through. Still, there are other movies in this genre that are a lot worse and just as far fetched (some John Grisham flicks come to mind). The problem is that people have been so hyped up, they expect something HUGE and exceptional, which this movie wasn't aimed for in the first place. If you just accept the fact, that this is not going to change your perception of life, then you're in for a very thrilling ride. Two and a half hours of pleasant entertainment, that's all there is to it.
There's nothing special about "The Da Vinci Code": not the acting, not the story, certainly not the direction. If you hope for something mind blowing, you're searching in the wrong place. If you're offended by the movie's conspiracy theories, you're no better than Islamic fundamentalist threatening with violence because of some meaningless Mohammed cartoons. If none of this applies, you should have a good time with this motion picture.