Some HUGE howling mistakes

Rating: 6/10 (11 February 2007)

OK, I watched this on DVD last night and tried to have as open a mind as I possibly could.
It's very obvious that Tom Hanks was never the 1st choice for the lead role in this film. Not even 2nd, 3rd, 4th 5th or 6th choice I would have said. And reading the trivia for the film I was gratified to discover my feelings were correct.
I totally didn't recognise Audrey Tatou but she was excellent in her role and out performed Hanks in every scene they were both in. Jean Reno was excellent as the Opus Dei police inspector but he was a bit clichéd in certain sections of the film.
Sir Ian McKellern was brilliant and his unexpected heel-turn totally threw a spanner into the smooth running plot of the film.
The locations and sets of the film all look wonderfully, some of the characters are a tad annoying, Silas the albino monk especially so.
I noticed a couple of huge mistakes. The British Police vehicles, namely the grey BMW's with orange stripes. No Uk police forces use BMW's and all police car markings are yellow, not orange.
Also in the sequence where Silas has shot the armed police, they would have no need to issue him a verbal challenge to open fire. Under the armed rules of engagement he could have shot and killed Silas with no problems at all.
When he was shouting at Silas to drop his weapon, the gun Silas was holding was clearly empty - with the working parts fully forward meaning there were no rounds in the pistol and he was no longer a risk.
The officer who opened fire therefore committed an act of murder.
Once Ian McKellern told us the Holy Grail was a living person I worked out it was Audrey Tatou right away. That outcome was totally predictable.
The films ending is very weak, where they show where the tomb actually is. Right back where the story 1st started for Tom Hanks, in The Louvre.
This film was way over hyped and no-where near as good as the hysteria over the book and the stories behind it led us to believe.
Watch with an open mind and enjoy the visuals.