Can You Keep A Secret?Saw
The Da Vinci Code tonight...it was probably the most excited I've been about a movie in a long time. To be honest though I never expected it to be a great movie - minus
Lord of the Rings, most books-turned-movies have gone sour. I was more keen on seeing Ron Howard's interpretation of the novel, ie. how it's different from mine. I also wanted to see the locations described in the book in action & in full glory. So I guess that prevented me from any sort of letdown since I wasn't expecting much substance (lol)...
But really, the movie isn't as horrible as most critics claimed it to be. I went to see it with Keith & his friend Katie (two of us have read the book), & we all came out liking it. Is it the best adaptation?? Absolutely not, but it's definitely not as bad as it's been portrayed. As a movie on its own I think it did its job of entertaining the audience, providing enough drama & action to keep you at bay for 2 & 1/2 hours. Parts of it WERE boring, but they weren't that interesting in the book either, so I blame the material. That though doesn't negate the fact that the movie as a whole could've been better, whether it was the direction or the screenplay itself. I think the reason why most critics are hating it is because they feel that the movie has failed the book, that it didn't translate much of the book's wit. The movie, I must admit, was lackluster in comparison. But that doesn't make it a bad movie.
The first half the movie followed the book quite closely, which led me to believe that the whole movie would be like that. But as it turns out, they did some major changes near the end, many of which I wasn't fond of (arranged in order of increasing annoyance):
Spoiler alert!!1. For some reason they decided to turn Rémy the 50-something servant into a young, sauve Parisian gentleman. Not that big of a deal really, just curious why they did it. What bothered me more though was that they didn't do enough to show how or why he REALLY died. It's one of the subtle things that I really enjoyed in the book.
2. Robert & Sophie did NOT crack the code to Westminster Abbey through a cell phone. What is this, a tribute to modern technology?? Lol I think they just ran out of budget to use the real King's College library. Disappointed 'cause I was so looking forward to seeing it...
3. Both Silas' & Aringarosa's ultimate fates were changed. Silas died at the Opus Dei residence after being shot multiple times...yup, that means the part where Silas first carried Aringarosa to the hospital & then died peacefully at the park is gone. Personally I loved that scene 'cause it made me feel sympathetic towards Silas, even though he was a murderer; now I bet no one has any sympathy for him. As for Aringarosa, he stayed the bad guy since they didn't show him giving the Vatican bonds to the family of those who were murdered. He just wasn't give a chance to redeem himself.
4. Robert & Sophie didn't fall in love in the end. Which in a way was a good thing 'cause Tom Hanks & Audrey Tautou lacked serious chemistry. Still love them both though. =P
5. What the hell happened to Sophie's brother?? She was supposed to reunite with both her grandma AND brother at Rosslyn!! And don't even get me started at the bullshit they made up to show that Sophie is of Jesus' descent. UGH the book did it so much more eloquently.
And the thing that pissed me off the most...
6. They took out one of the cryptexes, so instead of having one inside the other, there was just one. Which means there was only one code to crack, so all that fanfare with the Hebrew letters, GONE. Granted I knew it would be hard to explain that on screen, but they could've at least tried, instead of completely taking it out. It wouldn't have taken more than 5 minutes of screentime. I was very unhappy with this change 'cause it destroyed the momentum the book created by having two cryptexes & two separate codes. Now it seemed all too easy.
(Spoiler ends.)There were other minor changes, some things were taken out, some were added in, but nothing substantial. The biggest problem I've had with the movie is that after all the alterations the story appeared almost chaotic...the flow between events just wasn't smooth. Also the movie didn't do a good job at building up to the climax. It was like sitting in a car with a bad driver who doesn't know how to accelerate at constant pace; there'd be a lot of action for a while & then all of a sudden it comes to a screeching halt. This made the revelation & the conclusion far less exciting & satisfying. Having said that, I was very pleased with the ending. It was exactly the way I pictured it, & it was only more powerful to see it presented on the big screen. I almost cried. xP
All in all, I think everyone should go see the movie, even if just for the hype. Although you might wanna read the book first or at least see it with someone who has, since the storyline can be a bit hard to follow at times.
Now looking forward to
X3...=)
Side story: Having much experience in watching movies on opening night, I arrived at the theater an hour early just to line up. I was the 10th person in line, which guaranteed me some seriously good seats. Mine was just perfect...=D On the other hand, it puzzles me why some people march in 5 minutes before the movie starts & still expect to get seats. Wouldn't hurt to use your common sense for once ya know.
