'The Da Vinci Code' doesn't live up to all that hype (REVIEW)

The recipe for a successful movie: Take a bestselling book that tackles a controversial topic, make a movie out of it, get a major organization (religious groups and governments are good, the more of them, the merrier) to cause a clamor and — voila! Blockbuster City! At this point, it doesn’t matter if the movie is horrible or mediocre – it’s bound to make money. It being actually good is a plus. The Da Vinci Code isn’t horrible. But I wouldn’t exactly call it good, either. It was… all right. Quite a let down for something that was so hyped up that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines had to call a meeting just to discuss it and a giant mall chain refused to screen it in their theaters. The movie is about a series of codes left in Da Vinci’s paintings in the Louvre which leads Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) in search of the Holy Grail and, ultimately, for answers to a religious mystery that, if revealed, would change the course of mankind forever. The search for the Holy Grail is familiar and has been told and retold in film and literature, from King Arthur to Indiana Jones to Monty Python. Each one adds their own twist to the legend, from the Grail being accessible only to the pure to the Grail being a simple wooden chalice. The Da Vinci Code takes the legend a bit further, saying that it may not be a cup at all, but the body of Mary Magdalene, who, in the film, was Jesus’ secret wife. This statement sounds more controversial than it actually is. While this is the premise that sparked the adventure in the first place, it takes a back seat to all the car chases and puzzle solving. Mary Magdalene’s role as wife to Jesus is discussed in detail in only one scene, and is done so in a sensitive, empowering way that highlights the role of the woman in history and in Christianity. The said scene made me wish that Jesus did have a wife and that it wasn’t covered up, because it would have made women’s lives throughout the centuries a lot better. The key word in the last sentence is “wished." The movie did not, as critics feared, make me question my religion and take the Mary Magdalene angle as gospel truth. It didn’t even entertain me as much as I hoped it would. Tom Hanks seems miscast as Robert Langdon. Instead of lending the film a dash of zest and adventure like any hero in a quest-type film should, he slows it down, acting more like a bewildered academic than a brilliant historian. Audrey Tatou has traded in the quirky cuteness she had in Amelie, playing Sophie straight from the script, as if she hadn’t given any thought on how to make her character grow at all. This not to say that she was bad – she wasn’t – but she could have done better. The two actors don’t even have on-screen chemistry, acting more like siblings than strangers thrown together by mysterious circumstances. Not all the actors were bad, however. Jean Reno, who plays Captain Fache, a persistent French cop, is in his element, as he plays the only character Americans know him for – a persistent French cop. Sir Ian McKellen was wonderful as Sir Leigh Teabing, an obscenely wealthy Grail-obsessed scholar. He was probably the most fun character to watch, as he’s probably the only one in the film with a sense of humor. Alfred Molina was convincing as Bishop Aringrosa, a member of the Opus Dei, but his performance pales in comparison to Paul Bettany, who plays Silas, a fanatic albino monk. You can practically feel the craziness that emanates from Bettany as he goes on what he thinks is a mission from God. And after seeing other Ron Howard films such as Cinderella Man and Cocoon, it’s not hard to say that The Da Vinci Code isn’t his best film. There’s nothing special bout his directing. It’s as if he used the camera as simply a tool to film the movie with, and not as a dynamic piece of equipment that can help tell a story. It didn’t help that the script was slow at times, and takes a while to come full circle. All in all, The Da Vinci Code was a letdown. It would have been a good enough film, had it not been spoiled by all the controversy. Instead, it has to live up to all the hype, an area where it fails miserably. A Walk to Remember was more life-changing than this movie. In the end, the only mystery to be solved in The Da Vinci Code is why everyone was getting all worked up about it in the first place. - Yvette Tan, IGMA.TV