What a big waste!
Advantages: an appealing topic
Disadvantages: too many omissions made the film difficult to understand
Because the new film Angels & Demons is due for release on May 2009 I watched the film The Da Vinci Code again.
Basic introduction
The Da Vinci Code was released in 2006, which was based on a popular novel in 2003, The Da Vinci Code. The novelist Dan Brown made his name overnight by the publishing.
The film directed by Ron Howard and starred Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, an expert in cryptography from Harvard University; Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, a French police cryptographer, and Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing, a wealthy teacher as well as a friend of Robert Langdon in Paris.
The film has a very complicated plot. It starts at a midnight when the curator of the Louvre gallery in Paris is murdered. Who is the killer? Why?
What I like
The film contains a lot valuable information about Christian religion, famous paintings, western histories and cultures, etc. I feel they are mysterious and interesting.
The film has beautiful sceneries of Paris, London and other places. The locations of Louvre Gallery,Temple Church and Westminster Abbey made the film more attractive.
What I dislike
There are too many omissions from the original book. Because of these it makes the film difficult to understand if you have not read the book in advance, especially for audiences from non-western world.
I watched twice I still don't know how the final code comes out. The lack of explanations made the film a little boring. For a film lasting 140 minutes if the audiences are not involved in the trip of finding answers it will be a big failure.
I like Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou very much, but I don't think they are suitable to the characters of this film, especially Audrey Tautou.
As Amelie her acting in the film Amelie was very successful, but she seems not suitable for American commercial films.
I don't know much about the Christian religion. I feel difficult to connect the awful things in this film with the Christian religion I have imagined.
The character Silas made me feel scary, although I agree that the actor who plays Silas is most impressive.
My conclusion
Does the Holy Grail indeed exist?
What's the secret of Last Super?
Is Jesus a God or a human being?
Was he married or not?
I suppose these questions are very appealing to many people. It will be very enjoyable if audiences are lead to find these answers instead of just being told.
My feeling is of my favourite lobster spoiled by an unqualified chef.
What a big waste!
Summary: Better have no big expectations.