The Da Vinci Code

“Why is it divine or human? Can't human be divine?" asks Professor Robert Langdon as he passionately explores the true nature of Christ’s life on Earth in Ron Howard’s latest film “The Da Vinci Code."

By now, most people are more than familiar with the issues raised in Dan Brown’s controversial best seller and are quick to dismiss them as nothing but preposterous pieces of fiction. Although they might seem implausible, they are almost impossible to ignore as shown by the enormous number of books being sold throughout the world.

As if the novel wasn’t enough, we now have a feature film to further add to the phenomenon and once again present people with the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were in fact married. Following its premiere at Cannes, it was immediately smashed by critics who said it was long, boring, and anti-climactic.

Despite all of the harsh criticism, I decided to go see it for myself and as an avid fan of the book, I have to say that I was not disappointed.

We begin inside the world famous Louvre Museum in Paris as museum curator Jacques Sauniere is desperately trying to save himself from death while being chased by a crazed albino monk known as Silas, who will stop at nothing to expose the biggest secret in human history.

Knowing he’s minutes from the end, Sauniere makes one last second attempt at keeping the secret alive by positioning his body in such a way that only a select few will be able to decipher the code he has so cleverly arranged. When police arrive, they are baffled by what is in front of them and are left with no choice but to bring in an expert to help them understand what Sauniere was trying to say.

For those of us who have read the novel, we know what happens next as Professor Langdon arrives and is instantly able to provide insight into the situation. At this point, Howard is following the story fairly well, but seems to lose much of the excitement generated by Brown’s novel and makes key elements of the quest seem somewhat ordinary. Despite a few absurd lines of dialogue, Tom Hanks gives an interesting performance as Langdon and seems to have the part of Harvard scholar down to a science.

Although it’s not as captivating as some of his other roles ( “Forrest Gump", “Saving Private Ryan" etc. ), he still creates a very likable and sincere character that audiences can hopefully enjoy. Knowing that Langdon can’t solve it on his own, French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, played by Audrey Tautou, comes to the scene and offers her own take on what has occurred. It is not long before Langdon discovers that he is the prime suspect in the murder of Jacques Sauniere and that French police brought him there in hopes of getting a confession. As the film’s pace quickens, Langdon and Neveu embark on a journey that with any luck will lead them to the final resting place of the Holy Grail.

Even if the chemistry between Hanks and Tautou seems a bit off, they still make a decent on-screen pair during most of their scenes together and can be fairly convincing at times. From this point on, the film evolves into a thrilling adventure tale involving knights, car chases, and even a Fibonacci sequence for good measure. But when all of the excitement is over, the million dollar question still remains. Were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married, and, if so, did they have a child?

To go even further and say that the descendants of this royal bloodline are still living today has been regarded as the detail that would cause an unprecedented crisis of faith and forever change the world as we know it. Many accuse this film of being too preachy in its viewpoints, but if its all fiction anyway, then why is everyone getting so worked up over it?

I think people need to stop attacking it and just acknowledge the fact that Dan Brown has created a wildly entertaining story full of twists and intellectual intrigue that has captured people’s attention for the last three years. But like all religious films that make there way onto the silver screen, few are ever free from the immense disapproval that follows and this has proven to be no different.

Overall, “The Da Vinci Code" was an engaging film that bombarded its audience with enough secret codes and religious uncertainty to make serious followers of Christ gasp when presented with such nonsense. With all that aside, I found it to be great entertainment and anyone who likes to have fun at the movies should feel the same way. I think the real winner here is Brown himself, who will be laughing all the way to the bank.

- *** out of 4