Film-Making at it's Most Average

Rating: 4/10 (21 May 2006)

Having read the book and being enthralled by the debatable topic it questioned (a hypothesis like that of the bible itself), I entered this film with a somewhat open mind and wondering how the movie would amuse in parts that it does not rely on the gimmick of "the holy grail".
I was disappointed. Howard is remarkably faithful to the book but does no more, and as the book can not be regarded as a particularly "good" book  a somewhat poorly written adventure essentially, the movie itself is exactly that  a slow, visually bland adventure. More effect should have been taken to make the film ACTUALLY interesting instead of a visual form of the novel.
That's not to say the film is bad, it just lacks imagination. Everything in this film is just plain average, the acting specifically where Hanks attempts a lackluster performance that comes off as forced and Tautou who seems more concerned at speaking in English than actually acting.
No doubt this film will be a box office success with the 60 million fans that have read the book, and some would find that great to great out this "truth". But it is important to remember that this theory like the nature of history is open to fallibility, especially considering the source "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail" which make a number of ridiculous inferences. It like the bible, evolution and gravity can prove to be very different.