Movie Review: THE DA VINCI CODE Author: Bill Ramey Friday, May 12, 2005 U.S. Release Date: May 19, 2006 Distributor: Sony Director: Ron Howard Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Paul Bettany, Ian McKellan, Alfred Molina MPAA Rating: PG-13 OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.sonypictures.com/movies/thedavincicode TRAILERS: www.apple.com./trailers I have a confession to make: I’ve never read THE DA VINCI CODE. Now, I’ve certainly wanted and intended to, but I just never found the time. You know, working full time, wife and kids, the daily grind, running BATMAN ON FILM, etc., can really chew up space on the calendar. As it turns out, this might be a good thing -- at least when it comes to reviewing the film version of the book. Perhaps you’ve heard about this film, THE DA VINCI CODE? It’s directed by Ron Howard and starring some guy named Tom Hanks. It is definitely a piece of current pop culture. For instance, I was riding the elliptical this morning and watching Mike and Mike In The Morning on ESPN 2. Greenberg and Golic (the hosts) began talking about THE DA VINCI CODE. Golic asked Greenie if he intended to see the film. His answer was no, because he was too much a fan of the book and didn’t care to see the film version. And this seems to be the consensus: If you are fan of the book, you’re most probably not going to like Ron Howard’s THE DA VINCI CODE. Too many changes and the edges have been sanded down, so to speak. At least that’s what I’ve hear. Tom Hanks is Robert Langdon, a symbols expert, who is on a book tour in Paris. Practically out of the blue, Langdon lands in the middle of a multi-layered mystery regarding religion, murder and centuries-old secrets. Hank’s character and a police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), are framed early on in the story for various murders throughout Paris. One of the victims happens to be this Sophie's grandfather (Jean-Pierre Marielle), who has left clues in his own blood near the Mona Lisa and other Da Vinci paintings in the historic Louvre as to why he was whacked. Added to the mix is Silas, a murderous, albino monk (Paul Bettany) with a penchant for self-flaggelation. Alfred Molina is Bishop Aringarosa, who heads up a secret society (Opis Dei) using Silas to retrieve, well, whatever it is that everyone is now looking for. And of course, Langdon and Sophie are after the same “mystery object“ as a race to unlock the many clues that have been left by many men -- such as Leonardo Da Vinci -- over the centuries. Of course, I am sure that most of you all know what this “mystery” is, so I’m not going to mention it here -- and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book and/or wants to see the film. Although I’m quite sure that just about everyone knows what I’m taking about here anyway. As far as the film itself, I liked it. Didn’t love it, but it’s OK. That’s why I’m glad that I’ve never read the book. I don’t know what has been changed, what is missing, or what has been added just for the movie. I also had no problem with the story’s premise either. I’m sure that’ll provoke a reaction one way or another from whomever, but so be it. Frankly, anyone who thinks the entire plot is true or that the film will cause people to lose their faith, needs to get a clue. It’s a movie people, keep that in mind. The film itself is fast-paced and fairly entertaining -- at least the first two hours -- although it is a bit confusing at times. I’m sure that this is due to trying to cram a 400 some-odd page book into a 2 and a half hour film. One of the problems I have is the last half hour. The movie ends. And then it ends again. And then it kind of ends for a third time! I guess it’s not that big of a deal, I found it somewhat frustrating. It’s not like there’s this big twist at the very end or anything. As far the performances, only one stand-out one here for me and that goes to Sir Ian McKellan as Sir Lee Teabing. Teabing’s job is to fill in the audience on the whole backstory to the “mystery” so they’ll know what the hell is going on. McKellan does a fine job and looks like he is having fun with the role. In fact, it seems that he is the only one having fun in this film. Paul Bettany is genuinely scary as the murderous Silas -- a devout man of faith and killer at the same time. Tautou puts in an admirable performance, although her English is a bit confusing at times. I also found it a tad hard to believe that she would be a Paris police detective. Molina’s DA VINCI‘s “obvious heavy;’ although there is not a time when you find yourself thoroughly disliking the guy. That seems to be one of the film’s flaws: just who is the “badguy?” Is it Silas, who is nothing more than a pawn. Is it The Church? Is it Bishop Aringarosa? Is it Opus Dei? Is it Inpector Fache (Jean Reno), who is relentlessly persuing Langdon and Neveu? Or perhaps it is this mysterious character known only as “The Teacher.” It felt to me that the audience is never really provided the chance to root against someone. With that said, let’s do a 180 and talk about the “hero” of DA VINCI, Tom Hank’s Robert Langdon. He’s just sort of “there” -- standing around while the story unfolds. He’ll participate when needed, and then return to the shadows, so to speak. It’s not as if Hanks is bad or that he mailed in his performance, he is simply, as I said, “there.” Miscasting or underwritten? You decide. THE DA VINCI CODE, is not going to set the cinematic world on fire. It wants to be a huge summer blockbuster adventure film, but that’s not what it actually is. With that said, it still manages to entertain; IF you leave the hype, hoopla, and your beliefs -- one way or the other -- at the door. JETT’S GRADE: C+ "Jett" is the founder and editor-in-chief of ON-FILM.NET and BATMAN-ON-FILM.COM.