For once in my life, I agree with Cannes! I caught
The Da Vinci Code this past Saturday evening and was summarily reminded, for two and a half hours, that I was not in London or Paris, but indeed stuck in a hot and sweaty theatre!
Sporting cast performances comprable to those of Episode II, it's no wonder to me that Ian McCellar stole the show. He's terrific in almost everything he does, and honestly, the hour or so in which he was featured was the only one that I can say I enjoyed. Oh, and that conversation between Silas and the Teacher at the begining bothered me. Latin isn't exactely 'my' language, but what was with Silas? He was like using Spanish intenation with French accention. It was weird, but, in and of itself, did not detract from the overall film.
The plot wasn't anything to write home about, and the theories presented in the film (those not attatched to Mr. Brown's historical perversions, at least) weren't new to me. I'm not a Christian, so I wasn't bothered by the accusations the film made of the Catholic Church, or the Bible for that matter.
As for the book, I cannot say how true the film was to it, as I have never been able to finish reading it. Why is that? Suffice to say, it is no wonder that Mr. Brown's book has left so many people scractching their heads, as the book isn't exactely cohesive or well written. Or at least, the parts I've read aren't.
All in all? I think
The Da Vinci Code sucked. The only question I was left with was: "Where was the editing department?", as the film seemed to drag on for entirely too long. My grade? D+, it wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't good. Go see
Posiedon instead.
