Great book, disappointing film.

Rating: 4/10 (28 May 2006)

I think you will enjoy this film if you have not read the book. I read it a few years ago when it came out and enjoyed it. This week I re-read the book so I could compare it to the movie a little better. It is not the best work of fiction in history but it is entertaining.
I have been looking forward to this movie since I found out it was going to be made. However, when I saw it this evening I was very disappointed. I feel like it didn't follow with the book as much as I would have liked. In my opinion the film is very loosely based on the book. With many, what I feel, important parts changed.
Robert Langdon didn't seem like the smart Harvard professor that he is. He wasn't offering up information in the same way he did in the book. Sophie Neveu also did not seem as smart as she should have been. With the book you really got the feeling that they were intelligent people who could follow the clues and solve the mystery. With the film I thought if these two can figure out the clues anyone can. It wouldn't take a Harvard professor or a cryptologist. You expect a higher intellect level from these people. Also, it was not the same give and take as in the book. It seemed Robert was solving all the clues himself. In the novel Robert would give a little, Sophie would give a little. It was a team effort with a good dynamic.
One of my main problems with the film is the way Robert thinks things through in his mind. It was reminiscent of the way Russell Crowe's character saw things in A Beautiful Mind. I'm not sure if this was done in an effort to save time, or to make Langdon seem smarter.
I saw this film with a friend who has never read the book. When the credits began she immediately said she thought it was one of the best movies she had ever seen. With that impression of it she still had a few negative things to say. She felt that there was was a lot of information that was hard to keep up with at times. She also agreed about the way Langdon's thought process was shown. She plans to read the book and see the film again to get a new perspective.
I did enjoy Ian McKellen's performance. I think Sir Leigh Teabing had the best lines in the whole film. Paul Bettany also impressed me as Silas.
I'm giving this a 4 out of 10. It was not the worst movie I have ever seen but I don't think I will ever watch it again. I was very disappointed and bored. The entire length of the movie I kept thinking "I don't like that its so different from the book". I couldn't turn my brain off long enough to enjoy the film and not think about all the changes.
I heard that Dan Brown's Angels & Demons may also become a film. I hope that it doesn't. I enjoyed Angels & Demons much more than The Da Vinci Code. After seeing The Da Vinci Code I don't think that a film would do Angels & Demons justice.