one of this years worst films

Rating: 1/10 (22 November 2006)

This review has nothing to do with the "controversial" content of the film, nor has anything to do with any religious issues. This is a review of a film which fell apart in MANY places.
The script was atrocious. Akiva did a really poor adaptation of a no-brainer novel. The plot, obstacles and resolutions were all laid out. All he had to do was pick a point of view, make something film-able (ie. get rid of all the exposition, or make it into something visual rather than just dialog) and give the characters a bit of depth. Either he or the studio were so scared to make a decision regarding this book, that they just let it lay there.
The choice of director was always a bit of a puzzle to begin with. Ron Howard is not even in the top 50 names of directors who come to mind for helming thrillers (Ransom, specifically the third act, was a disaster). And like Goldsman, he too seemed to refuse to make any unique decision regarding the material. So, what we're left with is a dull retread of the novel which, consequently, has no reason for being a film. If you're not going to make any cinematic decisions regarding the original work, then there is absolutely no reason to adapt it to another medium. Look at Jaws and The Godfather for examples of first rate adaptations of mediocre pulp books.
Technically the film was also a disaster. The cinematography was laughable, especially for something with a $120 million budget. The scenes in the Louvre and through Paris should have been spectacular. Instead they were a muddy, unfocused mess. Nobody seemed to know where to point a camera, which lens to choose or how to compose a shot for any tension. None of the scenes has any suspense what-so-ever.
The editing was also pathetic because of the lack of suspense in what is supposed to be a thriller. It also had the worst car chase sequence in recent cinema history. You have Paris, you have a SMART car and you have a huge budget. It should have been executed at a much higher level.