I’ve read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and I’ve thoroughly criticized “The Church” and Opus Dei for their extraordinary defensiveness about the movie by the same name.
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The book was a thriller, a detective story, fast-paced and thought provoking. In the end the book may have left more questions than answers, it certainly created a stir. Over 40-million copies sold and presumed read. Currently ranking 43 at Amazon. It was a good read.
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I went to see the movie, Ron Howard is a terrific film director and extremely conscientious. Details are important to him and it consistently comes out in his work. Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors. I was not disappointed. The movie followed the book very closely and the critics are either prejudice, arrogant, over-worked, intellectually inept or simply ignorant.
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Roger Ebert started his review by ripping Dan Brown, his book and than the movie. Joe Morgenstern at The Wall Street Journal is obsessed with Ian McKellen. Critics didn’t like Tom Hanks performance. I thought Hanks portrayed a Harvard professor in Religious Symbology quite well. What did they expect, James Bond? The character unexpectedly became caught up in a crime and was accused of murder. Actually set up. How would one react to finding themselve suddenly dropped into a crime scene and then accused of committing the crime, knowing they are totally innocent?
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All the characters played their parts very similar to what I imagined while reading the book, a real page turner. Critiquing the movie or book simply to criticize the “religious” aspects is petty. I view the book as an exciting mystery with thrilling scenes. The movie mimicked the book quite well, the scenery, the on location filming and the casting served each theme well.
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To go off on political questions is demeaning to the film critic and their supposedly objective critique of the book or film. To start a critique by blasting the author or actors is a disservice to the reader. It seems the critics didn’t read the book or missed something and then felt obliged to be negative about the movie.
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In the end, I felt compelled to read the book again and research other aspects within the story such as the Knight’s Templar and indulge myself with more ancient history. One particularly good scene in the movie was Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen arguing points about myths and facts of religious history. This is what should happen in the real world, active discussion and forum participation.
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When the Vatican attacks a book and movie with such vengeance, one should question the church and their sordid history and ask for answers. Separating truth from myth is an interesting intellectual exercise. Burning books and boycotting movies is censorship. Believing the critics, pundits, Opus Dei and the Vatican would be buying into their mythology and accepting blind faith.
