My DaVinci Code quest, followed by a brief review

First of all, I'm back y'all; secondly, why has no one posted in the last three weeks? Come on, people! I'm sure I missed out on some good, wholesome entertainment (besides the Oilers games--SQUEEE GO OILERS!). Anyway, despite my jetlag and uncontrollable glee at the Oilers' win yesterday, I went to see The DaVinci Code with some of my fellow editors. It was a nice treat; you see, I sent out an e-mail to them earlier in the week while I was still in France, asking if I had received any passes to the movie, and if I did, that no one better take them lest they want their reproductive organs ripped out. Knowing my rage about these sorts of things, Paul and Scott decided to test their limits. In the mail, I did, indeed, receive a press kit for The DaVinci Code (which included a little booklet hidden within a rosewood box), but no passes, and since they were all going to see the movie Friday night, they bought me a ticket and made me go on a DaVinci Code quest to find it (the deadline being 6pm for obvious reasons). I had to go through a dozen wonderfully rhymed and cleverly written clues that took me through the thick and thin of the office, until I found the ticket taped to the underside of my desk. It was a welcome back present for me. I was soooo touched!

And now for the movie.

In general, it was exactly like the book. It's always hard to turn such a classic novel into a movie (think Pride and Prejudice or Harry Potter), and in my opinion, they did a fairly good job. Most of the casting was fantastic. Ian McKellen was the perfect person to play Sir Leigh Teabing, Audrey Tatou (Sophie Neveu) was charming, and Paul Bettany (Silas) was creepy but extraordinary. The only person I had a problem with was Tom Hanks (Robert Langdon). He was missing some sort of spark, some sort of charm that really pulls you into his character. Most of the time he blended into the background of things, letting Tatou take the reigns most of the time, even though he's supposed to be the main character. Methinks he should stick to doing horrible movies like Castaway.

Plot-wise, there wasn't much (if anything) left out, but there were a few additions that I think took the edge off the movie. A few corny lines/jokes were thrown in here and there, and they really didn't add any comic relief to the film, only a topping of cheese. It could have been much better if they had avoided the unecessary boo-worthy comments.

So there you have it. The movie was good, exciting, entertaining, on-the-mark, you name it, despite my disappointment in Tom Hanks and all the stupid jokes (plus a few exclusions at the end, which I will not name in case not everyone has read the book). And, in my opinion, since everyone tends to butcher films that are made from books, perhaps I should give it more praise than I am.

Also, here's a picture of me at the end of the real Da Vinci Code quest. Even though my camera was dying, I felt that this photo was necessary.