Why wasn't this better?

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2006)

I've got to be honest from the start. I haven't read the book, I'm not a big Tom Hanks fan and the last film Ron Howard directed that I enjoyed was Willow. I've also avoided all the press attention so that this is all my own opinion.
The Da Vinci Code (for anyone who doesn't know) sees Prof. Robert Langdon (Hanks) thrown in to a criminal investigation when the curator of the Louvre is found dead in the gallery having written Langdon's name in his own blood. Surrounded by mysterious symbols and cryptic writing Langdon is teamed with a code breaker Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) as he tries to find out exactly what's going on. His search for the truth puts him in opposition with the church and a mysterious monk Silas (Paul Bettany). With a great secret at stake, a secret 'that if revealed it would devastate the very foundations of mankind' there's everything to play for.
I saw the film at a late night screening. What I got was 150 minutes sitting in the dark being slowly bored to death. The film is described as 'a thriller' but lacks any actual thrills. The main problem is how Howard tries to get the ideas and complex information on to the screen. James Cameron, talking about The Terminator, stated that any exposition (explaining how and why things happen) works in a book but kills a film stone dead. The whole length of the film is Hanks explaining to Tautou what's going on.
There are action scenes, but they are so badly edited together you lose where you're up to. Probably the 'best' is a car chase with Audrey at the wheel. One minute she's a mild mannered investigator the next she turns in to Jason Bourne with the driving skills of a rally champion. Hanks clings on for dear life looking like his lunch is about to come back up, a look he keeps for most of the movie.
Why 6/10 then? Two people made me stick with this mess: Sir Ian McKellen and Bettany. As the albino monk Bettany is the most menacing villain I've seen in a while. He draws the eye in to the film brilliantly. As Sir Leigh Teabing, McKellan is there to give more plot points and point Hanks and us in the right direction. His screen presence is fantastic and his slightly tongue-in-cheek delivery of the hokum makes for some lighter moments.
Howard is extremely heavy handed with the direction. A light touch would have helped make the film feel less than it's actual running time. Having people running places rather than having barrages of talking would also have helped.
There's little to recommend the film on the big screen. It feels like a feature length episode of The X-files. There were even cheers and laughs from the audience when the big reveal comes towards the end.
As one of the most anticipated films of the summer its a disaster.