The Da Vinci Code

I finally went out to see the Da Vinci Code movie last week. I had planned to watch it on opening night, having loved reading the book a year or so ago, but I got stuck in one of the worst traffic jams ever on the way to the theater, and when I got there, the seat that my friends had attempted to save for me was taken. So I had the choice between sitting among strangers on the very front row of the theater and getting a crick in my neck that would last for weeks or just to skip the movie. I chose the latter and went home.

Dan Brown's novel is undoubtedly a completely fun, engrossing story. Like John Grisham's early books, it is a story that will have no earth-changing long-term effects, but it's good entertainment and just a fun read. But, due to its popularity, people tend to have unrealistic expectations of the movie adaptation.

Because almost any book-based movie will suffer from a problem that is almost unavoidable; that is, you can fit far more into a book than you can into a 2-hour movie. So, the movie creators simply must leave some things out or move quickly past events that are unfolded in much greater detail in the book. This should not be viewed as a criticism of the movie-makers; it is simply their dealing with reality.

The Da Vinci Code movie has been criticized by many for this very thing, but I think that Ron Howard and his team did an admirable job keeping the pace of the movie going and staying as true as possible to the storyline. The story itself does not have much in the way of action sequences; in fact, the intrigue of the story is almost entirely the "treasure hunt"-type mystery that the characters work through. So it make sense that much of the movie is dialogue more than action, and much time is spent explaining and setting the context of the mysteries.

In spite of all that, the movie is entertaining, well-crafted, and while not worthy of the big awards or anything, certainly worthy of better reviews than many have given it. My one complaint is that Tom Hanks, who is one of my favorite actors in Hollywood, seemed to be almost detached from his role. Rather than being the high point of the movie like he has been in so many others, he seemed somewhat lifeless and uninterested in what he was doing. Of course, after having done such amazing acting throughout his career, he's bound to have a letdown performance on one or two occasions, so it's forgivable.