Hard Not To Compare It To The Book (The Da Vinci Code (DVD))

Member Name: Brown_eyes1984

Product:	The Da Vinci Code (DVD)
Date:	13/07/06 (499 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great cast performances, some good action scenes

Disadvantages: not as gripping as the book, probably better not to have read the book beforehand

The da vinci code was set to be the blockbuster of the year when it was released in early 2006. Director, Ron Howard, would have been jumping up and down at the prospect of directing this movie, though he does have an impressive portfolio already. Having worked on films such as the smash hit, ‘Cinderella Man’, ‘Cocoon’ and ‘A Beautiful Mind’, The Da Vinci Code had a lot to live up to. So did he manage to pull it off, and could he possibly make the film just as good as the book?

*** The Plot ***

Dr. Robert Langdon is a respected, American symbology expert who, after being scheduled to meet an historian, ends up being part of a murder investigation.

However, this is more than a simple murder case, and the historian makes sure, in his last moments before his death, that a trail of clues has been left for Dr. Langdon and his granddaughter, agent Sophie Neveu, to find.

A fast- paced chase through the Louvre Museum, the city streets and across the channel into England ensues, in a race against time to find the secrets that date back to the times of Jesus. But will Langdon and Sophie discover just what it is that her grandfather was hiding, or will the killer and the police catch up with them first?

*** How it compares to the book ***

I was one of the thousands of people that read the book before I saw the film, so unfortunately I had my reservations. I did try and go in with an open mind, but people kept telling me ‘The film is never as good as the book’.

I was also worried about the fact that I would know what would be coming next. It is impossible to enjoy a film where you can guess, or worse, know, what is going to happen. It is all part of the fun finding out new information, so in a way I wanted the film to be different from the book. Sadly it wasn’t.

Almost everything was identical to the book. Now that has its advantages and its disadvantages. The advantage is that the people, who haven’t read the book before, get to see it from a completely fresh angle, but they aren’t missing out on any details that were in the book. The disadvantage obviously comes to the people who have read the book, and like me, it is fresh in their minds so they know what is coming.

There were one or two differences I picked up on, but they were only differences like things being explained in a little more detail. An example of this would be when Dr. Langdon is explaining to Sophie about the Knights Temple, and the history of it. I feel that I learned a lot more from this scene, than I did from the book. This is because sometimes it is better to see things in order to learn them, than it is to just read about them.

I suppose the story line couldn’t really alter much anyway, because the whole point was to put Dan Browns theory onto the big screen. I don’t think you could possibly change it anyway due to the nature of it. One thing I did think they could have expanded on was the group ‘Opus Dei’. In the book, it explains more about the Opus Dei, and what it is they do and how they practice etc. However, in the film, it doesn’t give as much information on the group itself, or the extremeness in which some members take it. There is a scene with Silas the monk, where he is hitting himself with rope, and he has barbed wire on his legs, but I think parts have been missed out, because of the fact that the group Opus Dei still exists and they couldn’t really give them bad publicity. From what I remember, when they were making the film, the Catholics weren’t too happy, especially members of the Opus Dei group, because they thought it was portraying them in a bad light.

I personally thought there were advantages and disadvantages for both the book and the film, but ultimately I think the book was better.

*** The Action ***

There was a lot of action in the film, but it didn’t seem to grip me that much. Again mentioning the book, the police played a big part in the book and there always seemed to be a police chase. However, the film seemed to focus more on Silas the Monk and his victims. Langdon and Nevue seemed to be mainly chased by bad guys, and to me, it didn’t seem to create as much action as it maybe could have done with more police intervention.

There were some good scenes throughout the film. One in particular was starring Silas. Everyone in the cinema jumped when Silas jumped from the shadows onto Teabing. We all knew he was there, but we just didn’t know when he would pounce, or indeed, if he would pounce at all. That was the one main scene that I remember but there were a few others that were pretty good action wise.

*** The Way the Film was Directed ***

I honestly cannot fault Ron Howard for the way that he directed this. I thought it was shot brilliantly. The light was just right and it also helped to create tension. The sound effects went really well too.

There were no fancy special effects, which was a good thing. This film had the potential to be turned into a proper ‘Hollywood’ production, but luckily Ron didn’t go over the top and that to me, made the film more believable.

The storyline did come across quite factual. Although it was a fictional film, Ron created it to be as factual as possible, just like Dan Brown did in the book. I did feel the filming was a little slow at times, though I can see that this was trying to create more tension, though personally, it just didn’t work for me.
*** The Cast ***

I’ve heard a few people commenting on the fact that there aren’t many high profile actors/actresses in this film, despite the fact that it is one of the biggest films of all time. I have to admit, I am a little surprised that there weren’t as many well know actors/actresses as I thought there would be, but then again I think this could have been a good thing. Too many high profile actors could have spoilt the film because it would have been more about them, instead of the actual storyline. The fact that most of the actors were unknown to me, helped me to focus on the actual plot and it made it more real.

Tom Hanks, the highest profiled actor in the film, played the lead role of Dr. Robert Langdon. I thought he was perfect for this role. His face fit, his accent was good, and he just fit really well into the role. There aren’t many people that haven’t heard of him but just in case, he has also starred in films such as ‘The Green Mile’, ‘Forrest Gump’, and ‘Cast Away’. Almost all his films have been massive hits, so it didn’t surprise me to see him starring in this one. He came across as very believable and he made the character his own. I think there’s definitely still a good career ahead of Tom and his acting just seems to get better.

Audrey Tautou played the second lead role of Sophie Neveu. As I understand it, Audrey really didn’t like the attention she got from this film. In fact, I read that she was thinking of quitting Hollywood because she just couldn’t take the attention. Now I had to wonder how the attention from this film could possibly be any different from previous films she has starred in. From what I know, she has starred topless and isn’t particularly as shy as she is making out. Strange, but anyway, some other films she has starred in are, ‘Le Libertin’, ‘Nowhere To Go But Up’ and many French films. I did think that she played the role of Sophie really well and it really did help to have a natural French speaker, playing the role. So many actresses attempt to learn new languages, but unless you are fluent, you will never sound completely believable. She showed to me that although she is unknown to most people in Britain, she is a very good actress and one that I will be keeping an eye on, on the big screen. Her chemistry with Tom Hanks throughout the film was believable, and they really brought out the best in each other.

Ian McKellen, another well known actor (some may argue that he is just as well known as Tom), plays the part of Sir Leigh Teabing. Otherwise known for his roles in ‘The Lord Of The Rings’, ‘X-Men’ and the voiceover on ‘The Magic Roundabout’, Ian was almost unrecognisable in this film. Although Teabings part in the film wasn’t a major one, Ian still managed to give his all to his character and made him stand out. The twists and turns involved with the character were really well put across, and the way he walked and talked was great. His acting skills really were tested here and he played the part without fault.

Jean Reno played the part of Captain Bezu Fache, the policeman in charge of the murder investigation. He manages to play the baddie quite well, though his performance wasn’t one of the strongest of the cast. He is otherwise known for his roles in films such as ‘Godzilla’, ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and ‘The Pink Panther’.

Paul Bettany is the last actor I shall mention. He played the part of Silas, the evil albino monk. I can see why he was chosen, he spookily fits the right description in order to play Silas, as although he isn’t albino, he has extremely fair skin and natural blonde hair that finishes off the look. I thought he did extremely well in his role and as I said, he was believable and looked the part. He helped to create a lot of the tension throughout the film and I feel he gave the role his all. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for him in any future films.

All in all I’d say the cast really were amazing. They all played their parts convincingly and I can’t really say that anybody did a bad job. Their chemistry together was good and it all made the film that little bit more enjoyable.

*** Overall ***

My overall opinion of this film was that it wasn’t as good as the book, but I’m still glad that I saw it. I feel it really would be more beneficial for somebody who hasn’t read the book, as the storyline would grip you a lot more.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this and most people have given it bad reviews, so I was a little sceptical before seeing it. I was disappointed though it wasn’t terrible. I would recommend this film to anybody who has a curiosity about it. If I hadn’t have seen it I would have always wondered if it was as good as the book.

The action was OK, but as I said earlier, more police action would have improved this for me.

The cast were brilliant and I feel the director did a great job. All in all, it was a mediocre film that I am glad that I saw.

Summary: a decent film but it didn't live up to it's hype.