An OK chase movie

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2006)

There's been so much hype about The DaVinci Code... That itself usually puts me off, but my friends prevailed, and we went to see it today on its opening day.
I've never read "The DaVinci Code". However, years ago, I'd read the books which were the subject of the lawsuit against Dan Brown ("The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", "The Messianic Legacy"), so I am certainly familiar with the concepts upon which it was built.
The movie's hype extended to TV news coverage today - exit polls at the cinema... And all said, "It was very faithful to the book", which may have been comforting to those who read it, but meant nothing to me.
In watching the film, it took quite some time to figure out what was what, who was who, though some things in the plot were rather predictable.
Audrey Tatou was wonderful and Jean Reno is always great to watch. Tom Hanks, however, in my opinion, was miscast. He was less an adventurous "Indiana Jones" type, than he was like the TV character, "Monk". There was no real intensity there, and the way he would wince uncomfortably when placed in a confined space, did indeed remind me of Adrian Monk when faced with germs.
I found "The DaVinci Code" to be an OK "chase" movie, which is essentially what it was, but it was a butt-numbing 2 1/2 hours long (and those seats aren't as comfortable as they used to be!). I have very definitive views about religion and the church, but this movie didn't really arouse anything in me for the first 2 hours or so.
One thing I found offensive was the 'dumbing down' of the lead female character, Sophie. I know that she (and her ignorance) was used as a device to let the audience know what was going on, but it demeaned the character, just as what was allegedly done to Mary Magdalene. Ironic.
Had I known then, when I booked ahead at $14.50 a seat, what I know now, I would've waited for the DVD (I guess I'm also annoyed at myself for getting sucked into the hype).
I rate this film "Three Wristwatches", because that's how many times I checked my watch while watching the film. Not a compliment.