Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen
Directed by Ron Howard
Rated PG
4 Pulses
Without a doubt, The DaVinci Code is one of the most anticipated movies in recent memory. Dan Brown’s novel of the same name still ranks in the top ten of the New York Times’ best-seller list, for over three years running.
With so much hype surrounding the film and its controversial plot, everyone is a skeptic from the moment they enter the theater.
Attaching a star of Biblical proportions (Tom Hanks) to play Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is a wise and safe choice for director Ron Howard. The two have paired up successfully in the past for a couple of other massive hits, Splash and Apollo 13.
The movie opens just as the book begins: in the Louvre Museum in Paris where its curator has been shot, taking his last few (dozen) breaths to leave an encrypted message for Professor Langdon and splay himself out like DaVinci’s Vesuvian Man.
The dead man has left clues all over the Louvre to be found by his granddaughter Sophie, a gifted cryptologist working for the French police, and Langdon.
Sauniere’s death is just the beginning of the adventure, which delves into mystical societies, ancient secrets and the legend of the Holy Grail.
On page, “The DaVinci Code” is exciting. The novel reads much like a screenplay and the end of every chapter is a heartbeat-quickening cliffhanger. So where is the excitement onscreen?
Certainly not in Hanks’ performance, which is dull and monotonous. There’s no passion beneath the tweed jacket and cryptological lingo. It’s all hair and facial expressions?he spends most of the film looking bored and out of place.
Audrey Tautou’s long been a success in France, most visibly in the playful Amelie. She is well-chosen for the role of Sophie Neveu and her native tongue adds to the authenticity of the performance.
The shining star here is Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing, Langon’s mentor and resident Grail expert. His warm smile and affable demeanor hide secrets of their own with a little Gandolf gleam in his eyes. Teabing provides the only comic relief in a script otherwise heavily-laden with dialogue.
Even the scenery, which travels from France to England, seems remarkably like sound stages and film sets. With such glorious locations in the novel, it seems as though director extraordinaire Ron Howard could’ve used some of his pull to get his crew into legitimate locations for filming.
Jean Reno, also a Frenchman, walks through his scenes as though he’s considering his next line, not chasing accused murderers throughout Europe.
Frighteningly realistic, however, is Paul Bettany’s performance of Silas, the Albino monk trying to uncover the secrets of the Priory of Sion to protect his order, Opus Dei, and the Christian faith. Masochistically devout, Silas whips himself into submission to his Lord and hovers through the streets with an awkward limp and an icy stare. Bettany really brings to life the character, making him menacing and sympathetic.
Though a faithful literary adaptation, the film lacks the excitement created in the novel. Granted, symbology and classic works of art aren’t entirely thrilling, but Dan Brown managed to convince millions of readers they were. Too bad Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman couldn’t do the same.
