Last night we went to see the "Da Vinci Code." It was the first time we had ventured out to a movie since Glenda, my wife, fell and broke her ankle. Events are now classified as either "BF" before the fall, or "AF" after the fall. It's good to get movies back into our AF life.
We go to see movies for entertainment. Going to see a movie for advice on my religious faith is a little like parking my car outside of Congress and expecting an oil change. It's not something I would do, nor I would expect it to be successful.
Church is where we go for spiritual advice, not the movies. Given all of that, both of us had read the Da Vinci Code, and I had also listened to it as a book on tape on one or more of my trips up and down Interstate 81. That meant that we were interested in seeing the movie.
I actually didn't read any of the critics' reviews before the movie since I find that I would rather make up my own mind on something that I'm going to see anyway.
First off I think it is a little challenging to pull off a suspenseful movie based on a book that practically the whole universe has read. There were points in the movie where I thought it was a little slow, but I certainly wasn't bored. As the movie progressed, I got to the point of thinking that the movie was moving pretty quickly.
It was enjoyable to have the plot line and twists of the book come back to me in a little pieces. Overall I thought the movie did a very good job of staying close to the book, and I think the movie finished well.
There was no magic between the two co-stars. Glenda thought that Tom Hanks was a little too old for the part.
Now the real question is will I buy the movie when it comes out on DVD? Actually I probably will if I can catch it on a deal at Best Buy or Target. It might be a good movie to watch with our young adult kids over the holidays.
What are my thoughts on all the religious debates around the movie? I think the movie (for a movie) does a credible job of presenting both sides of the controversy that some seem determined to have over what is essentially entertainment. For the movie to have gone much farther in this direction would have undermined the book.
Did going to the movie change my faith or my view of the past? There was not a chance of that from the start.
I enjoyed seeing some of the historical sites mentioned in the book. I liked the flash back technique, and it you go, check out the new special effect of allowing the characters to walk through characters from another era. It's very cool. I love the London scene where this was used.
We spent $13.50 on our two tickets and weren't disappointed. It won't be one of those movies that we talk about for days like "Hotel Rwanda," but it was a good evening's entertainment.
If you're looking for a collection of other opinions, I can suggest, "`DaVinci Code': OK, so what did you think?" by Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune.
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