I don't know why all the reviewers are ripping this movie apart. I thought it was VERY true to the book.
Apparently opening weekend for the DaVinci Code absolutely SUCKED. I haven't gotten around to seeing it yet but looking forward to in theatres...
I enjoyed it, it was a faithful translation of the book, but there was just so much more detail in the book, all the really interesting lil things that couldn't be fit into the movie.
Robert Langdon really didn't need to be played by Tom Hanks. Just about any middle-aged, somewhat scholarly-looking actor could have played the part.
odd, it sold out here opening night didn't see it though (went to le cheapo theatre of older movies instead) I will eventually
as some guy on the radio put it, "the movie was about 2 hours and a half. the first hour, was getting INTO the story. the 2nd hour, getting CONFUSED about the story, and the last half hour-laughing at tom hanks haircut."
i enjoyed it as it was a very accurate depiction of the book. however i enjoyed the book so very much more and can see how people just seeing the movie could have gotten a bit confused. but that is generally the case when comparing a book to a movie i enjoy all the shows contradicting some of the DaVinci Code material just as much as the book and the movie however.
I just got back from seeing it and enjoyed it a lot. I like walking out a theater with that cool floaty feeling after seeing a movie like that.
It is a nice movie. You got almost all the book in there except for the symbology explanation like "Sacred Geometry", "the Vesica Pisces", "the Phi number", etc. However it's worth going to the theatre. I loved Ian McKellen interpretation as Sir Leigh Teabing and Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. The part where Ian McKellen explains who Mary Magdalene is and that in fact SHE is the "holy grail" and the uses sophisticated computer animation to demonstrate codes in Da Vinci's paintings are awesome. The last scene when Tom Hanks discovers Mary Magdalene's tumb in the pyramid is very touching... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code_%28film%29 ♥ LOVE ♥ AIO |o| Ø
'Da Vinci Code' meets with catcalls From: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/17/da.vinci/index.html Film inspires protest -- and negative reviews Thursday, May 18, 2006 Posted: 0059 GMT (0859 HKT) Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks star in the film version of "The Da Vinci Code," due May 19. (CNN) -- The long-awaited movie version of Dan Brown's best-seller "The Da Vinci Code" is entering the world to disapproval. The opening salvos have come from journalists and movie critics, who screened the film Tuesday night, where it opened the 59th Cannes Film Festival. More trouble is coming from Christian groups in several countries, who are angry with the film's mix of fact and fiction involving Jesus Christ and Roman Catholicism. At Cannes, one scene during the film, meant to be serious, elicited prolonged laughter from the audience, and when the credits rolled, there was no applause, only a few catcalls and hisses. Things were no better Stateside, where the film screened for critics in New York. The Hollywood Reporter headlined its review, " 'Da Vinci Code' an unwieldy, bloated puzzle." "No chemistry exists between the hero and heroine, and motivation remains a troubling sore point," wrote reviewer Kirk Honeycutt, panning Tom Hanks' "remote, even wooden performance." Only co-star Ian McKellen managed to avoid criticism. Time magazine's Richard Corliss also takes digs at Hanks and director Ron Howard. The latter "seems propelled more out of duty than love for the project," Corliss wrote, while Hanks "seems to sleepwalk through the part." Corliss, however, admires the film for not shying away from the book's more controversial assertions: "Beneath the chases and crashes, the chalices and cilices [hair shirts], it denies Jesus' divinity. ... And further still: the film challenges the belligerence that too often adheres to religious believers, the wars and atrocities perpetrated in His name." For those who haven't read the book, "The Da Vinci Code" storyline proposes Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married, had a child, and that a powerful organization linked to the Church conspired to commit murder to keep it secret. Criticism by Opus Dei Those assertions are exactly the fuel that is igniting protests by Christian groups, some of which have already criticized the book. Opus Dei, an influential Catholic organization that is one of "The Da Vinci Code's" villains, asked for a disclaimer to be added to the film. None was forthcoming. On the Opus Dei Web site, the organization addresses the claims in the novel and movie, stating " 'The Da Vinci Code's' depiction of Opus Dei is inaccurate, both in the overall impression and in many details, and it would be irresponsible to form any opinion of Opus Dei based on 'The Da Vinci Code.' "Those who do further research and exercise critical judgment will discover that assertions made in 'The Da Vinci Code' about Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, and Church history lack support among reputable scholars," the Web site statement said. Although the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has not voiced an opinion either way on the novel or the film, many Catholic Church officials have. "I'm mystified by the popularity of it," said Father Joseph DiNoia, a Vatican official during an interview with CNN's Alessio Vinci. "It has to do with the harm it does to people's faith, not the harm that it does to the [Catholic Church's] public image. It's something a lot more important." (Watch what the film's attraction is -- 3:09) Monsignor Robert Sarno, also a Vatican official, told Vinci he did not see the storyline as an attack on the Church. "I just think it has been given a lot more truth value and faith value than it has," he said. "I just read it as an entertaining novel." Author Brown himself does not purport that the novel or movie are historical or theological fact on "The Da Vinci Code's" Web site. "This book is not anti-anything," he writes on the site. "It's a novel. I wrote this story in an effort to explore certain aspects of Christian history that interest me. "The vast majority of devout Christians understand this fact and consider 'The Da Vinci Code' an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate." "If we have offended any Christians I would ask them to forgive us, which seems to be one of the main [tenets] in the New Testament," actor Paul Bettany, who plays Silas in the film, said with a smile during an interview with CNN's Brooke Anderson at Cannes Tuesday Bans, protests, boycotts Protests were brewing in several countries. In India, the government Tuesday put a temporary hold on the movie's release because of complaints, The Associated Press reported. In South Korea, which has 13 million Protestants and 4.6 million Roman Catholics, a court ruled Tuesday that a Christian group's request for an injunction to block screenings lacked merit. The Christian Council of Korea, an umbrella group of 63 South Korean Protestant denominations, said it respected the ruling but would lead a boycott of the movie, which it said defiles the sanctity of Jesus Christ and distorts facts, AP reported. In mostly Hindu India, which is also home to 18 million Roman Catholics, Joseph Dias, head of the Catholic Secular Forum, began a hunger strike in downtown Mumbai and said other people were joining him. "We want the movie to be banned," he said. The film had been set for release in India on Friday and had already been cleared by the national censor board. But Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said he put a temporary hold on the movie after receiving more than 200 complaints. In Thailand, Columbia Pictures has appealed a ruling by government censors to cut the final 10 minutes of "The Da Vinci Code," police said, after Thai church leaders complained the film's content was insulting. Philippine censors approved an adult rating for the movie but stopped short of rating it "X" because "it does not constitute a clear, express or direct attack on the Catholic church or religion" and does not libel or defame any person. The movie-review panel's chairwoman, Marissa Laguardia, told The Associated Press that the movie would be a "test of faith" for many people in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. The National Council of Churches in Singapore, which also had requested a ban, planned lectures to refute aspects of the film and the book on which it is based. The censorship board gave the movie an NC16 rating, barring viewers under 16, arguing that "only a mature audience will be able to discern and differentiate between fact and fiction." Also, while not planning a protest or boycott, members of the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation expressed unhappiness with the film's heavy, a monk-assassin, being an albino, as described in the book. Michael McGowan, an albino who heads the organization, said "The Da Vinci Code" will be the 68th movie since 1960 to feature an evil albino. He said the group aims to use the movie's popularity to raise awareness about the realities of albinism. People with albinism have little or no pigmentation in their skin, eyes and hair. After making its print debut in 2003, "The DaVinci Code" has since sold more than 60.5 million copies and has been translated into 44 languages. Source: http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Christianity/Articles/da_vinci_film.htm ♥ Love ♥ IOA |o| Ø
it was always going to be critiscised and disapointing because it was an impossible task, taking a complex book like the da vinci code squashing it into 2 hours without eliminating any of the book and also making it understable to the non book readers, with all that considered i think they did a very good job, disapointed that they left out one of the cryptex's though, you know the sofia one ... i thought that was a very clever riddle and would have been nice
The problem with the Da Vinci Code is that, while is stuck with most of the facts of the book, it completely violated the spirit of the book. There was no chemistry between Hanks and Tautou, and Langdon went from someone who was an expert on the sacred feminine to a skeptic. No particular opportunity for character growth was presented to Sophie's character, which is pretty pathetic considering that the story is supposed to be ultimately about her. And finally, in their quest for the PG-13 rating, the whole sex ritual thing, a critical plot point in the book, was completely white-washed. Plus what was up with the completely unnecessary special effects? Mr. Howard, just because you were given a certain budget doesn't mean you have to spend it all on CG that in no way add to the story. Weak. The Da Vinci Code will most likely end up being the summer's biggest disappointment. Considering the high caliber names, it was just a pretty crappy movie.
Yeah, I totally agree with you. Perhaps in a near future Da Vinci's Code Resolution? ♥ Love ♥ IAO |o| Ø
I haven't read the book but i really enjoyed the movie. It was alot better than i thought it would be.
