I saw The DaVinci Code today. I'd read some bad reviews, but I don't let reviews sway me anymore; if I want to see a film, I see it. And I'd been wanting to see this movie ever since I heard they were making a movie of the book.

And I really liked it. Lots of dialogue, some action, and an all-star cast... though not all of them really got to shine. Jean Reno, who I loved in Léon, seemed sort of like the stereotypical French cop here. (I also had the feeling they left out a scene; I thought Langdon and Fache had some conversation towards the end of the book, but in the movie they don't speak after Fache arrests [the other guy]). My favorite actor, though, had to be Ian McKellen. He has such a fabulous voice. When he speaks, it's as though he's in love with the words; he speaks them with such precision and passion. I'm certain that the success of Lord of the Rings was in no small part due to Ian's fabulous voice. I wish they'd tapped him for the Harry Potter films. Richard Harris (who also had one of those delicious voices) was great as Dumbledore; they needed someone equally great to take over when Richard passed on. Ian would have been perfect, though perhaps there was some fear that he'd be too much like Gandalf and not enough like Dumbledore.... ah well, I digress.

The church, of course, doesn't want people to see The DaVinci Code, or if they do, the church wants to be sure people know that it's fiction. There does seem to be an air of panicked desperation in the church's demands... like they don't want (or trust) people to make up their own minds about the truth of things.

I'll have to re-read the book to compare it to the movie (and see what was left out). The book is more thought-provoking, more informative... but I do think that most folks who enjoyed the book will also enjoy the movie.

"As long as there has been one true God, there has been killing in his name."
The DaVinci Code