There is much less time for him than in the novel, but Hanks' Langdon feels genuine and roots our empathy. In fact, the greatest strength of Brown's creation is that he takes pains to paint his characters as, if not wholly three-dimensional, then at least relatable and likable. And it's also hard to criticize Brown for committing any crime except being pulpy - 'The Da Vinci Code' may place itself in a religious milieu, but its plotting, villains, big secrets and general structure are as formulaic as any literary page-turner of yore. So I'll give Brown and director Ron Howard credit for not kowtowing to religious groups, and keeping the film faithful to the book. What follows is back-room plotting by a cable of mean old Catholic priests, one really psychotic monk-dude (Paul Bettany) who likes to whip himself, endless dialogue about hidden clues and church lore (and I mean endless), and of course, lots of edge-of-your-seat chase-and-rescues.Īs I said, I don't find 'The Da Vinci Code' remotely offensive. He is trying unlock 'The Da Vinci Code,' which the Catholic Church has kept hush-hush because it thinks its discovery will lead to mass apocalypse (or, at least, a drop in donations). Tom Hanks plays some scholar with bad helmet hair named Langdon, who grabs that chick from 'Amelie' (Audrey Tautou) and runs around churches and museums and stuff. Since the book is now in print in like 30 countries, and has sold millions and millions of copies worldwide, the plot is probably already familiar to you. Unfortunately, the story he concocted also doesn't really hold up much to critical scrutiny, because while it's easy to praise its efficiency, it really doesn't have much emotional weight or thematic resonance beyond its own gargantuan success. In fact, this guy is a genius, as he sure knew how to push buttons and sell books, and that he did. I still can't believe anyone would take Brown's obviously commercial intentions seriously as anti-religious, or label them as anything but old-fashioned showmanship - and that's no slam against the author. This is a polished, star-studded and sometimes engaging thriller whose plot is absolute hogwash, but that's fun enough while you watch it that you forget to care much about the illogical details. To answer that question, on the level of pure popcorn entertainment, 'The Da Vinci Code' does work - if just barely. All I care about going into a movie like 'The Da Vinci Code' is whether it works or not as intended - meaning, is it a good thriller? - not if its realistic or literal to matters of faith. As a content agnostic, I have to say that all of this religious backlash over 'The Da Vinci Code' means nothing to me. Shocking! Controversial! Blasphemous! Heretical! Just some of the adjectives used to attack Dan Brown's runaway best-seller 'The Da Vinci Code,' and also this, it's big-screen adaptation.
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