DaVinci Code Review

Last night I went to see The DaVinci Code with my friend Becky. In case you hadn't heard, this highly-anticipated film has recieved pretty sucky reviews. I hadn't set my hopes too high, due to the bad reviews and that movies are almost never as good as the books from whence they came. The book was phenomenal, but the movie was pretty good too. I expected that they would stay fairly close to the novel's plot, but they made some significant changes, ones which I felt stayed true to the spirit of the book. I was impressed, overall. It wasn't a movie that I'll buy to watch over and over, but it was quite decent.

There was a bit of tension in my house over whether or not I, as a Christian, should be supporting such a film. It has caused quite the uproar among conservative Evangelicals. Should these questions come to your mind, as well, reader, I will address them here. I can't say these things out loud without starting WWIII in my house, so I gotta get it off my chest. ;)

A) The DaVinci Code is a novel, and now a film. It is ficticious and never claimed to be truth. Novels and films are not biographies or documentaries. I saw the Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe four times and to this day do not believe that beavers talk in real life. ;) Likewise, having read the DaVinci Code twice and seen the film, I do not believe that Christ was the mortal son of a carpenter and married to Mary Magdeline. In fact, reading the book caused me to do some soul-searching that actually deepened my faith. It taught me that my faith does not rest in doctrines, but in Jesus.

B) If we as Christians cannot allow others to question our faith--if our beliefs are not strong enough to withstand doubt--then I'm not sure we're on the right track after all. My Jesus is big enough to take some doubters (He sure was back in His day--everybody was doubting [Matt. 28:17, Jn. 20:25] and He didn't seem to be in the uproar that we are today). If people are going to the movie theaters and walking out thinking, even remotely, about Jesus, then GREAT! I mean, the alternative is to walk out thinking about how lucky Katie Holmes is to wake up to her MI:3 fiance every morning, right? Let's face it: if the DaVinci Code were right and Jesus wasn't really God, following His teachings is still better than emulating Tom Cruise's recipe of divorce and pre-marital parenting. Even though you've gotta admit the man's got more enthusiasm than anybody you know.

C) Publishing books, pamphlets, and websites proclaiming the evils and lies of a certain book or movie, or pushing people to boycott it, isn't going to get us anywhere. It only makes us look like angry, fanatical, close-minded, judgmental bozos. By doing this, people are not only going to a movie where a slim percentage may walk away doubting Christianity's validity in spite of our efforts. We've also just verified what the film implies. By not acting like Christ, aren't we ourselves telling the world through our actions that our faith is all a hoax? Sometimes Jesus actually had to be talked into a corner for Him to say that someone was wrong. Mostly He just walked around lovin' on people. I'm pretty sure that if it was good enough for Him, it's good enough for us.

It's just a movie. It was good. Most people who read this blog probably aren't of the ultra-conservative mindset who would have a problem with it--so I would recommend seeing it. It was good entertainment. I didn't think it was too long, slow, or technno-jargon-ful, as the reviews proclaimed.

Tom Hanks (I originally wrote and posted "Tom Cruise" which is why you should always re-read after publishing) was, as usual, brillaint. Paul Bettany was beyond brilliant. He played Chaucer on "A Knight's Tale" and starred in the (failed) "Wimbleton" and was in "Master and Commander: Far Side of the World" and "Firewall" too I believe. He's such an amazingly versatile actor. For a moment I almost didn't recognize him as the albino hitman/monk, Silas. Absolutely fantastic. Audrey Tautou ("Amelie", "A Very Long Engagement" and "L'Auberge espagnole"/"The Spanish Apartment") also fell into the "beyond brilliant" category. She is the essence of everything that makes foreign films wonderful. I've never seen her play a part less than perfectly. I was shocked that although she is a French actress and this is one of her few American films, I've seen several. I can vouch for those three above--she's amazing. She makes reading subtitles totally worth the effort. Go ahead, try a French film. I've never been disappointed. You'll feel smarter for the cultural experience. There's my little plug for foreign films. They're awesome. Anyway. Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings--Gandalf) was splendid as usual. Also adding their talents were Alfred Molina ("Dr. Otto Octavius" from Spider Man II, Chocolat, Raiders of the Lost Ark), Jean Reno (Pink Panther, Hotel Rwanda, MI the first one), Jurgen Prochnow (The English Patient, Air Force One) and a host of talented French actors.

The suspense is great in this film. There were two instances where people in the theater actually screamed. The first time this occurred, the scene actually caused me to jump out of my seat with my heart racing. I realized several minutes later that I still had my hand to my throat with my pulse still pounding violently against my fingers. This doesn't happen for me often. I jump easily, but I'm not usually that sucked in.

Good entertainment. Great acting. Good suspense. Good controversy (among Christian circles anyway, and I suppose between critics as well). Great storyline. Fair screenplay. Find a theater that only charges five or six bucks and see it. I paid $8.50 and I don't regret it but it's much more worth six bucks than eight.

There's my stinkin' long review. You had to read all my religious rantings in order to get to the review part. [Cue maniacal laughter.] I didn't even plan it that way. Muah-hahahahaha!