In short, Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code is a very good movie with a lot of great things in it. The movie is not “great”, and to me certainly not something that Ron Howard put his heart in to. Though not consistent, the man has some incredibly great and/or enjoyable movies under his belt. Have you seen Splash, Gung Ho, Backdraft, Cocoon or Apollo 13? Even very recently I found both Cinderella Man and A Beautiful Mind to be outstanding and compelling movie making. The word breathtaking comes to mind. But then again, Mr. Howard also made The Grinch (2000). Ouch.

I did not read the book and I have a few friends that are quite literate and well-read and they were all unanimous that the book was not anything special and that the writing itself was average (actually two different people said “it was written by a hack.”) Now I cannot say for sure what exactly a “hack” is, but it does not sound very good. If you lived and breathed since 2004, it is unlikely that you missed the gargantuan swell of interest in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The word phenomenon comes to mind. I wanted to read it, but did not get around to it in time. I made a conscious effort to avoid the hype and read very little about the controversy.

I think I benefited from this level of seclusion. I got to enjoy the movie. I read some of the reviews before I saw the movie and laughed out loud at the discontented back lashings the movie was getting. My feeling is that there was so much incredibly pent up expectation, that the world simply was not prepared for only a very good movie. They wanted a Lord of the Rings level miracle and what they got was just… pretty darn good. The term above average comes to mind. It seems very unlikely now that I will ever read the book. Maybe I will listen to the unabridged version read to me on CD on my next long road trip? That might work.

I think I can boldly say that if The Da Vinci Code had come out in the 70s and had not had an incredible marketing joy ride for 2 years before the movie came out, it would clearly have been considered a great film with great performances. But a lot has happened since the original the days of The Sting, Dirty Harry, The Godfather, and The French Connection. The Code’s plot was non-stop suspense, though it was never intense. We are pelted constantly with so many movies that deliver new fangled adrenaline rushes. New movies constantly hit the big screen with better stunts, bigger explosions, deeper cruelty and disturbingly more satisfying revenge. The word overdrive screams out as missing in that last sentence. In my mind, The Da Vinci Code would have fit nicely in the 70s. Though the plot and the premise were nearly world class movie fodder, the unfolding story was… very well done. The word adequate comes to mind.

One thing I will go out of my way to criticize is the character Robert Langdon. Tom Hanks acted the material superbly, just as he always does. His every-man is in a league shared only with Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis. But the character he had to play never did anything. He never made a difference. He was along for the ride and aptly put the pieces together to help the story unfold. But near the end I started to feel that we were supposed to believe that everything was unfolding by God’s divine will – because these characters were certainly not making it happen. There-in lies my complaint. These great characters were devoid of heroics. Even in situations where heroics would have erupted from almost any conceivable every-man, fate just made things click in to place to enable the next step towards a new discovery, the next escape, or the next chase (rinse, repeat). The word perfunctory comes to mind.

Everyone in the movie was excellent. Jean Reno was perfect. Ian McKellan was incredible. Audrey Tautou (Amelie, 2001) was a somewhat surprisingly fantastic choice and was just such a beautiful and compelling presence on the screen. I am sorry the movie was only very good and that so many people will be disappointed because it was not perfect and incredible. On a 5 star scale I would give it a 3.5, maybe a 4. I really enjoyed all of it; the acting, the music especially, the cinematography, and so much more. I hope you go see it, but go in with the right expectations. No other words for “very good” come to mind.