> The DaVinci Code - Exclusive

Flashback 2003. A book called The DaVinci Code hits the store shelves and disappears off store shelves faster that Dan Brown could have ever imagined. In what will probably be biggest suspense thriller of our lifetime, the author takes us through and incredible mix of 2000 years of the Church's History, Cryptography, Symbiology, Code Breaking, Secret Societies, Reniassance Art all mixed in one engaging potboiler so impressive that a new word was christened by the "Washington Post" to describe it - Unputdownable. And in what must be a record of some sorts, the movie based on the book hits the screens world wide in just over 3 years of the book's first release. Another record, the review hits the site in just under 3 hours of the movie's release.


The Cast

Tom Hanks ....Robert Langdon
Audrey Tautou ....Sophie Neveu
Ian McKellen ....Sir Leigh Teabing
Jean Reno ....Captain Fache
Paul Bettany ....Silas

The Acting

Before I tell you how the acting was, lets get one thing clear. Tom Hanks is the best actor in Hollywood. Period.
So as expected from a Cast of such high caliber, the acting does not disappoint. Tom Hanks is at his usual best. Audrey Tautau may be new to some movie goers, but her 2002 hit "Amelie" was nominated for 5 Oscars. And she can pretty much hold her own, considering that practically every scene of her's is next to Tom. Ian McKellen (LOTR fans will remember Gandalf from LOTR-II ) as the eccentric brit historian does his bit wonderfully. However the standout performance for me Paul Bettany as the manic monk Silas. Incredible performance, does complete justice to his role. Every frame of his could not have been done better.
9/10 for acting, except Paul, who gets a 10.

The Direction, Script and Screenplay

So as expected from Ron Howard movie, (he also was behind the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, and the extremely popular TV Series that isn't shown in India, 24) the direction is excellent. However there are a few loose ends, which is to be expected when a book transitions to a movie, like the special effects of the planets revolving around Tom Hanks which I felt were not needed, but thats about it. I must have spent atleast 15 hrs (maybe more, dont remember) reading the book. To compress that into a 2hr 20 min movie, some of the charm will undeniably be lost. Fans of the book will note that a lot of sub-plots have gone entirely unmentioned. Before this movie was released, there was talk of the ending to be changed to something more in line with mainstream Hollywood drama, and I'm happy to say that the producers have resisted the urge to do that. The end atleast, stays true to the book, even if rest of the movie can not.
Direction 9/10
Script 6/10

The Verdict

A wise man once said "Never judge a book by its cover". To those who have'nt read the book, I say Never judge a book by its movie. With the kind of anticipation and excitement that this movie has garnered internationally, I can say that it does not disappoint.

As I said earlier, fans of the book will find a lot of bits and peices missing from the novel, but the movie in itself does not have any plot holes. And if it did, well I didn't notice, which is a good thing. I will not go into the details, as I am keeping in mind that some people may not have read the book, and with all the hype, they are doubly interested to watch the movie. What I will say is that after watching the movie, I felt that this movie will go on to be a very big hit.

However now that i've been sitting here typing this review, I am ultimately convinced that people who haven't read the book will enjoy this movie more that people who have. And that is this movie's (or any other movie adapted from a book) only shortcoming. But irrespective of whether you have or have not read the book, go ahead and watch this movie. Its better than 90% of movies relelased in India. Which is why, i give it a very respectable rating of 7.5/10.