Da Vinci Code

With over 50 million copies of Dan Brown's novel in print, The Da Vinci Codeis a guaranteed blockbuster. His controversial story is a Holy Grailtreasure hunt laden with suppositions regarding Jesus leading a verydifferent life than what has been propagated for some 2,000 years and themurderous steps the Catholic Church will go to keep this a secret. Add inan outstanding cast, Ron Howard at the helm, and the film has all theingredients for a great movie. This is the sort of film that regardless ofreviews, regardless of advertising, people are dying to see because it'sboth accessible and controversial.

Unfortunately, it feels like the cast and crew of the film knew that thefilm was a guaranteed success and the movie suffered as the challenge ofcreating a blockbuster was gone. Tom Hanks barely acts in the film,irregardless of the fact that he stars in it; his dry, dispassionateperformance as Robert Langdon frequently clashes with the frantic pace ofthe film. Audrey Tautou suffers as she spends the majority of the filmacting in her second language, giving many of her lines a stilted,uncomfortable feel (for proof of her skill rent Amelie). Ian McKellan'sperformance is by far the most enjoyable, and the film picks up considerablywhen his jovial, offbeat version of Sir Leigh Teabing hobbles onscreen.

In comparison to the book, the main story elements survive as some changesto both characters and details take place in an attempt to fit everythinginto one sitting. While it generally achieves its goal of condensing, oftentimes some basic facts are overlooked, such Silas being portrayed as ablue-eyed albino, when one of the defining conditions of albinism is redeyes. Its oversights such as this that highlight how this film was made andplays; everything looks and feels great at first but as the movie meanderson the connection between the audience and the film slackens just as itshould be pulled taut.