Despite a couple of sloppy missteps, Da Vinci Code is a good thriller
This movie review appeared in Fort McMurray Today May 24, 2006
By PAULA OGONOSKI
ehT aD icniV edoC si gnillepmoc.
That's to say the least.
But the trick to enjoying the film is ignoring the hype surrounding it and simply enjoying it for being a good thriller.
A murder inside the Louvre sparks a journey that threatens to unlock a religious mystery protected by a secret society for centuries, through the use of codes and symbols in famous art. The truth, if uncovered, could strip the faith of billions of Christians in the world, forcing extremist members of a Catholic sect called Opus Dei to destroy any evidence of the truth, at any cost. But to solve the mystery, a cryptologist with a obscure past, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), and a Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), have to decide if the truth is worth dying for.
The film, while interesting, does have some plot contradictions.
The story, closely based on Dan Brown's book, is very detailed with one exception.
In the first scene an elderly man has time to write cryptic codes, hide a key, get undressed and design a symbol on his chest using his blood. This in itself is impressive, but considering he did all of these things after getting hit with what became a fatal gunshot to the abdomen, is more than a stretch. This bugged me for the rest of the film, even more so when every other "i" was dotted and "t" crossed. Some movies warrant a little artistic licence with the unreliable parts of the story, a blind acceptance to allow the film to flow but because of the near perfection in the rest of the film, I couldn't simply get past the scene's simple contrivance, especially when there was a simple resolution to the problem. Had there been some kind of reference to some of the cryptic work being done before his being shot, I would have gone along with the setup a little more.
There were also some cheesy moments in the film, including the casting of Jean Reno as the French inspector. Reno, who recently played a French inspector in The Pink Panther, holds the patent on the French cop roles despite being from Morocco. Before seeing the film, I though that an albino monk who works as an assassin might have a little Parmesan sprinkled on it but I'll give actor Paul Bettany props. The normally comedic actor pulled off the creepy role to near perfection.
That being said, the end, without divulging too much, left me a little disappointed, wondering what was the point of the entire story?
The Da Vinci Code
Starring: Tom Hanks
Directed by: Ron Howard
Rating: 14A
* * * (out of four)
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
By PAULA OGONOSKI
ehT aD icniV edoC si gnillepmoc.
That's to say the least.
But the trick to enjoying the film is ignoring the hype surrounding it and simply enjoying it for being a good thriller.
A murder inside the Louvre sparks a journey that threatens to unlock a religious mystery protected by a secret society for centuries, through the use of codes and symbols in famous art. The truth, if uncovered, could strip the faith of billions of Christians in the world, forcing extremist members of a Catholic sect called Opus Dei to destroy any evidence of the truth, at any cost. But to solve the mystery, a cryptologist with a obscure past, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), and a Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), have to decide if the truth is worth dying for.
The film, while interesting, does have some plot contradictions.
The story, closely based on Dan Brown's book, is very detailed with one exception.
In the first scene an elderly man has time to write cryptic codes, hide a key, get undressed and design a symbol on his chest using his blood. This in itself is impressive, but considering he did all of these things after getting hit with what became a fatal gunshot to the abdomen, is more than a stretch. This bugged me for the rest of the film, even more so when every other "i" was dotted and "t" crossed. Some movies warrant a little artistic licence with the unreliable parts of the story, a blind acceptance to allow the film to flow but because of the near perfection in the rest of the film, I couldn't simply get past the scene's simple contrivance, especially when there was a simple resolution to the problem. Had there been some kind of reference to some of the cryptic work being done before his being shot, I would have gone along with the setup a little more.
There were also some cheesy moments in the film, including the casting of Jean Reno as the French inspector. Reno, who recently played a French inspector in The Pink Panther, holds the patent on the French cop roles despite being from Morocco. Before seeing the film, I though that an albino monk who works as an assassin might have a little Parmesan sprinkled on it but I'll give actor Paul Bettany props. The normally comedic actor pulled off the creepy role to near perfection.
That being said, the end, without divulging too much, left me a little disappointed, wondering what was the point of the entire story?
The Da Vinci Code
Starring: Tom Hanks
Directed by: Ron Howard
Rating: 14A
* * * (out of four)
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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