Review: The Da Vinci Code

Review: The Da Vinci Code: "The casting was strong with Hanks doing his usual regular guy routine (are those hair plugs?) , Jean Reno is excellent as the menacing cop and Ian McKellen is the perfect goodie/baddie camp aristocrat. Paul Bettany is a hair’s breadth away from typecast territory by playing yet another psycho/villain but he was well-cast as the creepy Silas. The only error was Audrey Tautou, a more than capable actress who seems uncomfortable throughout and doesn’t manage any chemistry with Hanks. Maybe it’s the subject matter or the fact that this is such a huge Hollywood film, either way, she looks lost. The producers possibly picked up on this missing chemistry because the tentative romance between Sophie and Langdon at the end of the book is erased from the film. The film wheezes along, dragging its unimaginative script with it, relying on something akin to Leaving Cert. standard history to make the whole concept credible. Overly earnest dialogue (another Howard-ism) and clunky puzzle-solving scenes only confirm the film’s blandness."

The Da Vinci Code Movie Review - MoviesOnline.ca

The Da Vinci Code Movie Review - MoviesOnline.ca: "The dramatic opening sequence sets up audience expectations for the rest of the film. When Sauniere is stalked by Silas, Totino cleverly frames his last desperate moments. He captures the frightened curator’s terror as he stumbles along the dark museum corridors under the watchful eyes of the subjects of famous portraits that hang in the Louvre’s Grand Galerie, silent witnesses to his chilling demise. As the sole guardian of one of the most powerful secrets ever kept, Sauniere attempts with blood stained hands to leave clues behind that will pass the secret on to those who will discover him later, a daunting task that requires every remaining second of his life. Unfortunately, much of the rest film is filled with mediocre action scenes that simply fall flat. There is, however, one exhilarating high-speed chase in which Neveu expertly maneuvers her Smart car in reverse through the streets of Paris with the determined Fache and his men in hot pursuit."