Reality Check Your Expectations At The Door Please

The Da Vinci Code (3/5 stars)

First of all, let me say that this movie definitely is way better than the critical reception it has received. The current rating of 22% is one of the lowest ratings I can remember for a movie that isn't a completely idiotic comedy like Big Momma's House 2 or a direct to video horror movie. Is this really a worse movie than say, The Day After Tomorrow? Hardly. I think the main problems with the reviews were that expectations were too high, and the movie is so similar to the book that if you have already read it you don't get to enjoy the surprises as much. I *have* read the book, and while that is no masterpiece, and neither is this movie, I still found it entertaining. This is supposed to be a summer popcorn movie for crying out loud. What exactly were people expecting? I don't know.

I did not like several things about the movie. First of all, the miscasting of Tom Hanks is one of the worst. I would have liked to have seen maybe Liam Neeson or Ralph Fiennes as Langdon, the main character. Secondly, there isn't much chemistry between Hanks and Audrey Tatou (from the great Amelie, if you didn't know), partly because the romantic hints from the book are pretty much removed here, but secondly because they don't work exactly right together. Next, the Silas character was much more creepy and interesting in the book than in the movie and it didn't seem to come out right here. Also, one of the main points of the book is the novelty of the solving of the puzzles and the mystery involved. In the movie these points are basically handed to the audience on a silver platter and you don't get to really enjoy the sense of discovery like in the book. Finally, the ending was dragged out too much (ending multiple times) and was a little on the corny side at times.

What I liked most about the movie was Ian McKellan. He definitely stole the show away from everyone else in the movie, and all the most interesting parts of the film involve him. I also, contrary to the critics, actually liked the historical flashbacks contained in the film. To the uninformed these are pretty necessary to the story, and there really weren't nearly as many of them as I was led to believe from reading the reviews. The character flashbacks were also fine in my book as they add a little bit of depth to the two leads. Technically, the score was good and the pacing was well done, although the script could've used a bit of help. Some of the dialogue just didn't seem to fit.

But what is most important here? Was it a boring movie? Certainly not. Even at two and a half hours I found myself interested throughout. And while it is no masterpiece, take it for what it is. Expectations, expectations, expectations.