Monday, May 22, 2006

The Da Vinci Code

Rating:★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure
Watched it with my sister last night. Found it to be an okay film. Given the constraints of a movie, guess it can't cover all the details as well as the novel. The book is much more gripping in its story-telling.

However, that is not to say that the acting wasn't any good. Sir Ian won my admiration for his portrayal of Sir Teabing. Tom HAnks was alright as the symbologist Robert Langdon, and I didn't even linger too long on his weird hairdo. Audrey Tautou didn't has much capacity to display her full acting range (as compared to her role in "Emile"). Jean Reno made an excellent Captain Fache, although his role is also more of one dimensional. Almost couldn't recognise "Doc Otto" Alfred Molina as the Bishop - is it me, or does he seems to put on weight for his character? Silas was so-so, even though I winced at the parts showing his self-flagellation scenes. Ouch.

One thing that really stands out later during the film is that this screenplay adaptation is really much based on the "shining knight saving damsel in distress" formula. You don't see it so much as a story to bash up Jesus' divinity or the church per se. RAther, I feel it focused more on the hero's (Langdon's) protection of the heroine's (Nevue's) life through his wits.

To me, I've already read up much on the arguments against "the Da Vinci Code" proposed historical truths, so when viewing them onscreen, it didn't have that "oomph". To those who didn't read the book before viewing the film, they might find the visual imagery stunning at first, but after a while too much info may drown out the "wow" of the visuals.

Seriously. the book is a better telling than the film,. Better to catch it on a weekday rate.

Official Movie Site:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thedavincicode/

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