Movie Info

The Da Vinci Code - "Seek The Truth"

I decided that I wasn't going to read the book before watching the Movie. I've heard so much hype about the book that it was inevitable that the movie would be disappointing if I read the book. On paper, this movie would be great. It's a Ron Howard film with Tom Hanks, Sir Ian McKellen, Audrey Tautou (Amelie fame) and Jean Reno in the cast. How could this film possibly be bad? It isn't, despite what many critics have said.

To me, the key to watching such a hyped-up movie is to ignore the hype and watch it for what it is. The Da Vinci Code is a movie based on a book. This automatically means the movie will have tons of stuff missing from the book. This fact is even more relevant when you think of the facts that are involved in for solving the mystery. How can you fit all the facts from the book into an interesting movie? The answer is you cannot.

The Da Vinci Code is about the ancient order called the Priory of Scion. They were once the Knights Templar and they have charged themselves with protecting a secret that is so powerful, the Catholic Church as sought to eliminate them. I love this cloak and dagger stuff. Secret societies and ancient mysteries have always been appealing to me.

The film's protagonist is Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks). He is an ancient symbols expert (how boring is that) and is called in to assist a murder investigation at the Louvre. Turns out that Langdon isn't really assisting but is a prime suspect. Langdon escapes with the help of Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tatou) and so the mystery begins. Langdon must discover why the curator was killed and why he has been involved in this plot.

I'm not going to say much more about the film. The film is built like a mystery so I can't say much more without revealing more plotlines. So what does this have to do with Da Vinci? Well, Leonardo Da Vinci is said to have been a member of the secret society and the author uses this 'information' to create an elaborate code.

I don't know what is factual and what isn't factual in the movie. I do know that there is a lot of controversy over the film's attack on Christianity. I personally don't think it's an attack on the religion but again, I'm not well-versed in religious politics. All this information does make for a great film and probably a great book as well. I'm definitely interested in reading the book now as I've been told of some of the things that are missing in the movie.

Ron Howard does a great job directing this film. He paces the movie well and the score (Hans Zimmer) is great and well-timed. The mystery is revealed a piece at a time and I was intrigued throughout the movie. Tom Hanks delivers a good performance as Robert Langdon as does Audrey Tautou. Both were convincing in their parts. The creepy Silas (Paul Bettany) was well...creepy. Sir Ian McKellen was brilliant as Leigh Teabing. I guess playing an eccentric rich old coot wasn't that difficult for Sir McKellen. Jean Reno playing an obsessed detective was great as well. Reno has always been overlooked in North America. Overall a superb cast that where each had a fair amount of screen time.

So in conclusion, I think The Da Vinci Code is a great movie. If you fall into the trap of comparing it to the book, I think many people will find the movie disappointing. I was glad to have stayed away from the hype and the end result was a really enjoyable film that I would probably watch again. Don't listen to all those critics, just go out and watch the movie and most importantly, enjoy a film well made.

Dragoncrypt