The Da Vinci Code

smiling_time

Has anyone heard any reviews about this film? ive havent read the book but im told im missing out. I heard its out on fri.

charba

the book isvery good, and definately worth reading. Possibly go see the film and then read the book.

the film is released next Friday 19th however I think that most if not all of the cinemas will have had presales and may not have any seats left for the Firday night and possibly the weekend too.

ixoy

There was an article in "The Ticket" supplement with Friday's Irish Times. It says that's there's been no full screenings yet anywhere. Instead some critics have been "treated" to 40mins of the movie and shown selected scenes. The world premiere is this Wednesday in Cannes I believe.

It's apparently slavishly following the original source material so, if you're a fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Seeing as I think it's a load of turgid, poorly-written, bollocks I'll be giving this movie a miss...

Basq

Yeah.. am a bit torn about this. Didn't particularly enjoy the book.. didn't loathe it either. But i like Ron Howard, not as stunning of a director as some people make him out to be but films are usually consistently decent.

But no press screenings? Typically a bad sign but could be the hype that precedes it.

Ruu_Old

I havent read the book but my wife thought it was very good and I think the film will live up to most peoples expectations.

The Black Oil

Haven't read the book myself. This seems quite weak for a review.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/05/12/ndavin112.xml

J.R.HARTLEY

ixoy wrote:

It's apparently slavishly following the original source material so, if you're a fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Seeing as I think it's a load of turgid, poorly-written, bollocks

couldn't agree more about the book.
still kind of interested in seeing the film.

AngryAnderson

I always laugh at how seriously people take themselves. Or how incredibly pretentious they are. Or how they have an ill-found intellectual superiority complex, depending on how you look at it.

"The Da Vinci Code is a load of crap"... "Ron Howard is a crap Director"

Wow. How intelligent and talented we must all be. :rolleyes:

It'll be probably be a good movie and well worth seeing. If you're an idiot with an over-inflated view of him/herself then you'll find many a fault and, ultimately, decry said movie.

*hides under table*

ixoy

AngryAnderson wrote:

I always laugh at how seriously people take themselves. Or how incredibly pretentious they are. Or how they have an ill-found intellectual superiority complex, depending on how you look at it.

"The Da Vinci Code is a load of crap"... "Ron Howard is a crap Director"

Wow. How intelligent and talented we must all be. :rolleyes:

Say what? In case you haven't noticed, this is a discussion forum where we're allowed, y'know, discuss things. That means we'll have opinions which may differ from yours and it doesn't mean we've a "superiority" complex just because we don't agree. I'm not bothered discussing in detail why I disliked the book (it's been said elsewhere) but I did and it's nothing to do with pretension.

It'll be probably be a good movie and well worth seeing. If you're an idiot with an over-inflated view of him/herself then you'll find many a fault and, ultimately, decry said movie.

*hides under table*

By that logic we can't make criticism of any movie, for fear we're being over-inflated or can't ever disagree with any popular consensus. Seriously, don't come around insulting people for their views around here or it'll be a brief stay.

AngryAnderson

ixoy wrote:

Say what? In case you haven't noticed, this is a discussion forum where we're allowed, y'know, discuss things. That means we'll have opinions which may differ from yours and it doesn't mean we've a "superiority" complex just because we don't agree. I'm not bothered discussing in detail why I disliked the book (it's been said elsewhere) but I did and it's nothing to do with pretension.


By that logic we can't make criticism of any movie, for fear we're being over-inflated or can't ever disagree with any popular consensus. Seriously, don't come around insulting people for their views around here or it'll be a brief stay.

No. I'm just saying that anyone that writes off one of the most popular books ever written *might* be slighlty self-perpetuating. I never said whether I liked the book or not nor did I say people weren't entitled to their opinions. I simply pointed out that going against the grain isn't big, hard or clever. In fact, it makes people look like pratts. It's a common trait though so I won't hold it against anyone. :rolleyes:

kaimera

If the soundtrack is anything to go by the movie 'should' be very solid

Sangre

Anyone who has a reading level past Ann and Barry can spot the failings of Dan Brown's book. It is a poorly paced, ill-written novel that happens to have a good storyline.
And you if think sales were nothing to do with the potential controversy of the story then you're quite naieve.

lodgepole

Sangre wrote:

Anyone who has a reading level past Ann and Barry can spot the failings of Dan Brown's book. It is a poorly paced, ill-written novel that happens to have a good storyline.

Actually it's an excellently paced, ill-written novel that happens to have a good storyline.

I won't be going back to the book any time soon but it kept me entertained for five days last spring and if the movie does the same for two hours next week i'll be quite happy. Not all literature needs to have the same level of depth or artisticness. I know people who will mock The Da Vinci Code (with Ann & Barry type comments) and get stuck into Tom Clancy or some fantasy muck that evening.

Zapp Brannigan

Lodgepole wrote:

Actually it's an excellently paced, ill-written novel that happens to have a good storyline.

Hit the nail on the head.

I'll be going to see it on friday for a few reasons. I like the cast. Audrey Tatou was great in Amelie and Ian McKellen is always good.

DeVore

Wasnt the book originally released as a work of fact and only later the author proclaimed it fiction? I´m not sure I like the idea of fact and fiction being blurred, the line isnt clear and then dumb people think its all true etc.

DeV.

ixoy

Rightio, enough bitching/criticising the book itself (including myself) - Save that for the Literature forum. We'll leave this thread open to praise/vent about the movie when it gets seen.

lodgepole

The other reason i'm looking forward to it is that Ron Howard hasn't made a film that i've been interested in since 1995 and i'm keen to see if his talent coupled with an interesting story make for good cinema.

Basq

The Church respond aggressively to 'The Da Vinci Code' movie

legologic

Slurms wrote:

I'll be going to see it on friday for a few reasons. I like the cast. Audrey Tatou was great in Amelie and Ian McKellen is always good.

Yeah... true story. Going by the book I think Ian McKellan was miscast as Teabing but a fine actor nonetheless. Also Jean Reno is an actor I quite like and I think he'll make an excellent Bezu Fache.

basquille wrote:

The Church respond aggressively to 'The Da Vinci Code' movie

Never seen that coming *yawn*

J.R.HARTLEY

AngryAnderson wrote:

No. I'm just saying that anyone that writes off one of the most popular books ever written *might* be slighlty self-perpetuating. I never said whether I liked the book or not nor did I say people weren't entitled to their opinions. I simply pointed out that going against the grain isn't big, hard or clever. In fact, it makes people look like pratts. It's a common trait though so I won't hold it against anyone. :rolleyes:

has it occured to you though while you're condeming those that dislike the book that they might have a reason, that because you and a lot of other people liked it doesn't make it a good book, there are a lot of books and movies out there that are not good that still made a lot of monry, to be honest until recently i thought i was the only peron who'd read the book and didn't like it, i was quite surprised to hear barry norman call it crap on radio for the same reasons that i disliked it, formulaic and lazy, it's different strokes for different folks.

Drapper

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054932255

want a good laugh?

J.R.HARTLEY

critic from the times lambasted it, won't stop me from going, i didn't think the book was any good but i still wan't to see what ron howard does, it may not be up to tthe times standard but it may be alright by me

nialldinho

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

critic from the times lambasted it, won't stop me from going, i didn't think the book was any good but i still wan't to see what ron howard does, it may not be up to tthe times standard but it may be alright by me

Yeah, just heard Donald Clarke (?) from the Times on Morning Ireland. He wasn't impressed at all. Said he'd give it one star. He thought it was as "turgid as the book" though so he's obviously not a fan. Said there was an icy silence at the end of the screening where there would usually be appreciative applause. Also, the audience laughing at key plot reveals.

mike65

I reckon this film will have a huge opening weekend and will then drop like a stone.

Mike.

J.R.HARTLEY

mike65 wrote:

I reckon this film will have a huge opening weekend and will then drop like a stone.

Mike.

i don't know about the dropping like a stone bit but it'll definitely have a huge opening weekend, after all the hype, could revenge of the siths total for this time last year be passed, 102 million, it's not the record but it'd be a great opening

Talliesin

The book is painfully bad. Now we've got Tom Hanks in the mix. Magic 8-ball say: "Outlook not so good".

gracehopper

I enjoyed the book for what it was. Fast paced Fiction. I suspect the film will be decent enough entertainment. I read books and watch movies for fun or recreation or just to keep myself out of the pub on a friday night. Box office releases have been really below par of late so i suppose i am looking forward to it

Mc-BigE

Read the book, enjoyed all of it, was looking forward to it until i saw a documentary about the Priory of Sion last week
Do a google for the "priory of sion" and see how many times they mention "Hoax" and "Fiction"

not very good reports coming out of Canne at the moment!

still wont stop me from seeing the Movie and making up my own mind.

Basq

Very poor reviews for the film so far but as i've said before..

.. no advance screenings til a day or two before release typically indicate a downright bad film!

indiehater

I bet that "Scary Movie 5" will take the piss out of the Da Vinci Code.

lodgepole

I won't be paying much attention to the critics before seeing this. It's going to be a popular one to criticise and anybody who thinks the book was awful is of course going to think the same of the film.

I'm looking forward to a good Kermode rant about it next week though.

AngryAnderson

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

has it occured to you though while you're condeming those that dislike the book that they might have a reason, that because you and a lot of other people liked it doesn't make it a good book, there are a lot of books and movies out there that are not good that still made a lot of monry, to be honest until recently i thought i was the only peron who'd read the book and didn't like it, i was quite surprised to hear barry norman call it crap on radio for the same reasons that i disliked it, formulaic and lazy, it's different strokes for different folks.

Hmm, not really. I was really just lambasting those who might criticise the book on the strength of their "intellectual superiority" or "superior tastes". Again, I never said whether I liked it or not.

As it happens, the movie sounds like it's going to be rubbish. Critics at Cannes said it was woeful - as expected possibly. But I heard George Hook and his panel saying it was pretty poor on Newstalk this evening too. Not a good omen.

The Black Oil

George Hook and his guest pretty much took it apart tonight on Newstalk.

LegacyUser

saw it last night in the savoy (it was an "advanced multimedia screening" - whatever that is). cant believe it was shown here before it was shown in cannes!! surely something wrong there?

i really enjoyed it, so did the girlfriend (who has read the book). i have never read the book but i plan on doing so after seeing the film. now im no movie critic, but i know a decent film when i see it. it kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole film - i dont think it was too long at all. everyone in the savoy seemed to enjoy it aswell.

admittedly the line that tom hanks says to sophie near the end of the film

( "you are, without a doubt, a living descendant of jesus christ")

did draw some laughter - i dont know what the writers were thinking when they thought of that one.

loads of real jumpy scenes in it aswell!! paul bethany and ian mckellen stole the show IMO.

Kinetic^

Anybody think this might break box office records with all the controversy surrounding it?

Basq

Keyser Soze 5 wrote:

Anybody think this might break box office records with all the controversy surrounding it?

Yes, quite possibly.. and the slamming from the critics won't hurt it to be honest!

Look at the hammering 'Passion Of The Christ' got from the critics on release.. and it's in the Top 10 Grossing Movies of all time (#10 according to both BoxOfficeMojo and MovieWeb).

Should do very well at the box office.

spacecoyote

I haven't read the book, but prettty much know the ins and outs of it, and it sounds llike the movie might have a little too much to cover in a short space of time.

Was watching Sky NEws last night and they were over for the screening in Cannes. they interviewed a number of people who came out of the screening and the level of disappointment was blatantly obvious. they said they couldn't find one viewer after the show that enjoyed the movie, that it was one of the longest 2.5 hours of their lives, it was a mess and that, as previously mentioned, people were laughing out loud at scenes that they shouldn't have been.

So by the sounds of it, i think i might just wait for the rental to come out. i'm not in any rush to see it anyway (think i'll go for xmen instead!!)

ixoy

I actually thought this might be a "3-star" mid-range movie, despite my dislike of the book. Having said that, in retrospect, it makes some sense. The original novel is extremely sparse in terms of detailed descriptions or character building.

Instead it reads almost like a script, moving from scene to scene to scene. Anyone slavishly following the book would try to cram all this stuff in and, it seems, make a bit of a mess. Still won't stop people seeing it I reckon as critics don't have all that much influence - word-of-mouth will be the more important factor.

J.R.HARTLEY

AngryAnderson wrote:

Hmm, not really. I was really just lambasting those who might criticise the book on the strength of their "intellectual superiority" or "superior tastes". Again, I never said whether I liked it or not.

As it happens, the movie sounds like it's going to be rubbish. Critics at Cannes said it was woeful - as expected possibly. But I heard George Hook and his panel saying it was pretty poor on Newstalk this evening too. Not a good omen.

ah ****e, i was hoping that it was just a critics thing, where it wasn't perfect enough for them, if people like Hookie don't like it, it's in trouble. he's pretty much your average film watcher, i was really hoping it would be good despite my dislike of the book, i've always liked tom hanks movies.

Hugh Hefner

Spogpean wrote:

admittedly the line that tom hanks says to sophie near the end of the film

( "you are, without a doubt, a living descendant of jesus christ")

Lovely. That was a nice ending I-didn't-know-before-seeing-the-film once.


Got my ticket for tomorrow night. Haven't read the book. I don't think the film is going to be that good. The trailer wasn't even that good. But I like the cast and I want to see what all the fuss is about.

Outcast

I reckon it's going to be a huge success, people love a bit of old church bashing and conspiracy theorising. The mistake the church made was that it took the bait. I didn't think it was a great book, I don't think it'll be a great film but this whole "Seek the Truth" business is what draws people in!

mike65

Its on 3,700 screens in the US/Canada alone this weekend and judging by the reviews I've read so far it could be quiet in some of them!

I'll check out Jonathan Ross this weekend it could be fun (if its on).

Mike.

TheDoc

I thought id just but in and actually let you know about the film, its a bloody disgrace in all fairness. For all the hype and buzz surroudning this film, i think it was all jsut part of a grand plot imo.

This film really lacks anything that the book might have envisiged. The acting is mightly bland and poor, Hanks never really lifting himself to the plate and taking the screen, he kinda jsut sits back and lets things roll on doing enough to get by.

The film looks moody and dark but never looks sepctacular, a pity with the amount of marvelous places visited by the film.

And also there is alot of flashback sequences that usually wreck my head and most people, been used just to film up screen time, and also, Hanks sidekick, is so annoying its not even funny, constantly asking questions.

I really dont think there was any motivation for anyone involved with this, i think they had it well planned, make a big buzz worlwide, only show little teasers to the press, and then unleash it to the world and they have to go see it, they knew they would make a fortune of it, regardless of its quality.

Dont expect to go see this and be dazzled and questioning your faith or saying its the best films in years, its definatly not, a very poor attempt.

MI3 still is top of my list of this years best films really, this doesnt come close.

Maybe useful for one cinema viewing, but you wont see it in my dvd collection.

Its gets 1/5 from me, 2/5 pushing it cause of the buzz, but really its that bad a film, i was shocked that i saw what i did tbh....

evad_lhorg

ign.com gave it 1/5 too. think ill give this one a miss.

chump

I've read a few reviews, but christ as soon as they moan about how awful the book was and how they loathed reading it - I have to discount the review.

The book was pulp - fun pacey entertaining pulp. If the movie is along the same lines I'm sure I'll enjoy it - am going tonight.

As for all the book-bashers, lighten up I say. Anything that can give millions of peoples a few hours of brain dead entertainment is an achievement in my eyes... I'm happy being in the lowest common denominator

nesf

AngryAnderson wrote:

I was really just lambasting those who might criticise the book on the strength of their "intellectual superiority" or "superior tastes".

Dan Brown was lucky. He wrote the right book at the right time and made millions. The book didn't make millions because he is a fantastic writer. Read a few other of his books and you'll see he is no different to any other pulp thriller writer. No worse, no better. In fact he's typical of his genre. I don't think there is anything wrong with this, but the books are simply 1-3 day holiday reads that are fast paced and that's about it. I don't get why this automatically makes this into a bad film though. Your standard fast paced thriller, while usually not something that you'll rewatch many times, can be entertaining enough to fill a summer's evening.

Then, I'm a person who enjoys the odd crap pulp novel (fantasy usually), so I can sympathise with people on this. I don't make the mistake though of thinking of them as being well written. Just entertaining for a short while. Which, again, is not really a bad thing. Sometimes you just want a quick fix rather than a feast.

ixoy

I love Donald's Clarke review for the Irish Time's Ticket. Here's a few choice quotes:

: In recent years, only Crazy Frog has divided critics and the public more than Dan Brown. Pundits in big, clever newspapers such as this have laid waste to whole forests in their efforts to reveal Brown's slapdash attitude to both logic and language. Yet every time we get on a plane we find the heads either side of us inclined towards The Da Vinci Code or one of Brown's other equally dreadful not-quite novels. The message is clear: take that, you elitist scum. We're going to eat this garbage and call it ice cream.

Brilliant! Just the right note of self mockery and bemusement and dislike for the novel.

The review goes on to bash the film in Donald's amusing manner but its conclusion is great:

There ends this elitist's dispatch from the ivory tower.

It sounds like the way many of us, who criticize the novel or film etc, are told we're acting (even when it's got nothing to do with that).

It's probably also indicative of the sometimes line we get between being more passionate about a subject - films and novels here - and those who approach the subject with a bit of a more laissez fare attitude.

As to how this movie will be, there seems to be those who say it's interminally dull and full of dialog to a - handful - saying it's well-paced. Interesting how both sides can be seen. Wonder how the general Dan-reading public will take it then...

ixoy

nesf wrote:

Then, I'm a person who enjoys the odd crap pulp novel (fantasy usually), so I can sympathise with people on this. I don't make the mistake though of thinking of them as being well written. Just entertaining for a short while. Which, again, is not really a bad thing. Sometimes you just want a quick fix rather than a feast.

Perfectly fair. I'm just finishing a rather dreadful fantasy novel that I've only read because ir's part of a series and I wouldn't dare call it good literature or think it's well written (and I would apply that to the bulk of the fantasy genre too).

Most of the time (of a certain bunch) they're entertaining, sometimes intruiging but rarely infuriating as I found Dan's book which made me hurl it against the wall screaming:

It's mirror writing you dumb bastards! It's obviously bloody mirror writing, something anyone with half a minute's knowledge on daVinci would know! GAHHHHH!

then I object to it on additional grounds to being badly written. Other people are clearly more patient and more tolerant than I - which is why you're all banned if you disagree with me from now. Seriously. No not really...

nesf

ixoy wrote:

It sounds like the way many of us, who criticize the novel or film etc, are told we're acting (even when it's got nothing to do with that).

It's very true, though to be fair I think that there are people out there who criticize the novel in a manner that is pretentious and is very much aimed at "seperating themselves from the unwashed poorly read masses". Also, conversly, there are idiots out there who seem to think that Dan Brown is a skilled and talented writer who has put Oscar Wilde in his place. I think it's very similar to the whole division between those who follow chart music, and/or whatever's popular, versus those who "rise above such base tastes".


I think the whole ivory tower thing is actually accurate with some of the crap I've heard people spout. But it is very true that it's been abused by people who seem to believe that anyone who dislikes Dan Brown is looking down on them. Then again, it's a kind of compliment in a way....

Tar.Aldarion

Bah, being dragged to this. I don't hold much hope. Roll on saturday...
Hopefully I will think it is ok. Crap films can be entertaining too, when watching it with the right crowd.
I do like some truly terrible films a lot.

nesf

ixoy wrote:

Perfectly fair. I'm just finishing a rather dreadful fantasy novel that I've only read because ir's part of a series and I wouldn't dare call it good literature or think it's well written (and I would apply that to the bulk of the fantasy genre too).

Fantasy, like most other fiction genres, has huge swathes of authors producing safe formulatic books that fill most mainstream bookstore fantasy sections. There are rare exceptions but finding those generally means reading through all the fluff. Then you've the divisions between authors who admit their only purpose is to tell an entertaining story (Feist et al) and those who weave complicated and involved plots (Erickson, Martin et al) and those who seem to pump out the same small group versus great empire stories over and over in the spirit of Tolkien minus the originality (Goodkind et al).

The difference in fantasy is that a writer with only mediocre talents but a good imagination can produce very entertaining and involving work (similar in sci-fi). This is much different to fiction where, while important, creativity plays a lesser role compared to good writing skills. (I'm thinking of mostly world building here, in that a well crafted world can save an otherwise lacklustre novel) The problem is that you get a lot of mediocre writers minus the creativity who simply pump out formulatic books at rates that put travel pulp fiction writers to shame.