Review of The Da Vinci Code (2006) by Mitchell B — 07 Nov 2016

The Da Vinci Code is one of the most controversial books and films to come out in recent times. This is mostly because it denounces a key story in the Bible, and this drove a lot of religious nuts crazy. I personally never got the controversy. I was raised Catholic, but I don't mind when a story plays with history. Fiction does this all the time. Gladiator plays with history, but I still love the film. Indiana Jones does this too. I think people take it too seriously. Plus, the Bible itself is not meant to be taken as factual history anyway.

I just care if the film is good. Is it good? In my opinion, the film is okay. I don't know how accurate it is to the book as I've never read it. As a film on its own it has its ups and downs. The film looks great, and wonderfully directed by Ron Howard. The scenery is beautiful and the score greatly compliments the visuals to create a mysterious atmosphere.

The cast and acting is also on-point. Tom Hanks does a great job here, like with most films he's done. You also have a good performance by Ian McKellen, one of my favorite actors. I also think the story works in concept. It feels very much like an Indiana Jones adventure.

The main problem is that the film takes a while to get going. Honestly, the first half of the film is fairly boring. The first half is Tom Hanks's character, Robert Langdon, being falsely accused of a murder and him running from the police, which I've seen done better in many other action movies. It isn't until we meet Ian McKellon's character that the film really gets in gear. While I said the idea works in concept I feel like the journey itself was not that interesting through a lot of it. While the concept is like Indiana Jones, Da Vinci is a far cry from those films in execution (Raiders and Last Crusade at least).

Overall, Da Vinci Code was an okay timewaster. It had potential, but it could've been better. It was the film's beautiful visuals and strong cast that saved it from being an entirely forgettable movie that had a neat concept. If you like films like National Treasure you might like this.