Once this film is taken out of the cloud of mystery, debate and criticism that it was born into as an anticipated cinematic version of a very popular, yet very stigmatised, book, it’s not too bad. I must admit that despite the ethics involved in reviewing films for a public forum, I had my doubts. But as far as dramatic thrillers go, The Da Vinci Code works. Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou get caught up in the secrets of the Catholic church, which leads them on a wild goose chase around Europe trying to avoid the detection of authorities, an evil plotting monk, and the infamous ‘Teacher;’ the leader of a secret society dedicated to protecting the identity of Christ’s living relatives. The film is fast paced, and requires a strong willful suspension of disbelief (’Wait a minute, how does that bishop’s mobile phone work on an airplane? And how did that guy get to point B-wasn’t he just at point A? Do professional academics really have the money to be flying around Europe at a moment’s notice?’ Best not to ask questions-just watch the movie). But ignoring such technical details is necessary for any film within this genre. The Da Vinci Code is no more or less believable than any thriller, but I would venture to say that it is more creative and generally entertaining than others. There is no dragging lull in the middle of the story, no annoyingly repetitive problems the characters have to face, and no point at which you just want the one guy to go do the thing so the movie can finally be over. That of course means there is no good time to go use the toilet or get more popcorn, but honestly, you may not even notice that you need to go or that you’re still hungry; it holds your attention that well. Direction by Ron Howard is of course fantastic, and the casting isn’t bad either. Audrey Tautou is just so cute I want to smack her a little bit, but she’s not the typical ineffectual female lead. Tom Hanks’ character may know all the background information, but Tautou’s character’s no idiot. And even though it’s a little hard to picture betapace a monk driving a shiny car and using a mobile phone, Paul Bettany as the creepy monk is perfect. All in all, even though thrillers are not really my thing, I’d say The Da Vinci Code is pretty good. Definitely worth seeing at least once.

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