Da Vinci Code - Film Review

I entered the cinema thinking I would hate the movie, expecting to dislike Tom Hanks. In short, I was ready to be disappointed.

I feared that my dad, mum and bro, never having read the book, would not comprehend the film. As a 'safety net', I told them we could watch 'Over The Hedge' afterwards if they didn't like it.

The show began. As I saw scenes from my favourite novel live before my eyes, aided by complete sensory technology, I felt my love for the novel deepen and extend to the film. I let my guard down and joyfully got ready for the ride. The joy, for me, never ended.

I never did use that safety net.

After the movie ended, my family barraged me with a series of questions, and I inadvertently became their guide on the novel and (pseudo-)Christianity. I have never seen my family enjoy a film so much. Ever.

I'm also forced to backtrack from my previous comment: Robert Langdon could not be portrayed better in any other way. Tom Hanks' cool and "wooden" interpretation of the professor, unexpectedly fit in perfectly with the movie.

Nevertheless, the movie version does hold some differences from the novel. Among the most obvious are:
** [Warning: Movie spoilers ahead] **

1. In the novel, Sophie uses the Virgin on the Rocks drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci as a shield from the police. (Dan Brown renames the drawing Madonna of the Rocks to fit his anagram.)

In actual fact, the drawing is huge, about six feet tall, and Sophie could not have easily peeled it from wall and moved it around. To compensate for this discrepancy, the movie shows Langdon and Sophie escape before the police arrived.

2. A factual error in which Langdon says Buddha was born from a lotus flower was omitted.

Instead, one of the early scenes of the movie shows Langdon, during his lecture, relating the German Nazi logo to the Buddhist Swastika symbol. Two wrongs don't make a right.

3. An additional scene in the movie reveals that The Last Supper drawing, when graphically altered, shows Mary Magdalene resting her head on Jesus' shoulder.

4. In the novel, the Teacher speaks to his minions over the phone in English with a French accent.

In the movie, the Teacher speaks to his minions over the phone in French. They call him 'Rektor'. [corrected]

5. According to the novel, after Silas finds the 'keystone' at St Sulpice Church, he reads Job 38:11 from a Bible located nearby. Then he searches for the nun (Sister Sandrine).

In the movie, Sister Sandrine tells Silas the Job 38:11 verse when he finds her.

6. All the puzzles are meticulously solved after much deliberation by the lead characters in the novel. Understandably, the movie requires speeding up that process. Sometimes this is overtly done.
By far, the most illogical plot change is when Sophie and Langdon are at the Bank of Zurich figuring out Sauniere's bank account number. In the novel, they consider the "scrambled" Fibonacci sequence before deciding it was too random, then they considered the "unscrambled" version.

In the movie, Langdon instantly asks Sophie, "Scrambled or unscrambled?" as if asking her how she wanted her eggs done.

7. The novel explicitly describes a sex ritual which Sophie accidentally sees when she was younger.

The movie, obviously, tones down the details and the sexual act is implied for a mere one second.

8. According to the novel, a young Sophie runs away and cuts correspondence with her grandfather after unintentionally walking in on the sex ritual.

In the movie, a young Sophie runs away and cuts correspondence with her grandfather after he scolds her for wanting to know more about her family. (How unbelievable!)

9. Novel: In the Palace of the Knights Templar, after Silas grabs Sophie, Langdon holds the keystone up and threatens to smash it. Seeing this, Remy panics and reveals himself.

Movie: Langdon never threatens to smash the keystone. After Silas grabs Sophie, Remy panics and runs into the scene for no reason. (Plot hole)

10. In the novel, after Aringarosa and Silas are shot, Aringarosa is hospitalized. Silas limps to a park and, in a kneeling position, exclaims "I am a ghost!" and dies.

In the movie, after Aringarosa and Silas are shot, Silas exclaims "I am a ghost!" and dies. Aringarosa survives and is hospitalized.

11. Some additional dialogues in the movie are unintentionally funny. Example:

Langdon: (to Sophie) I need to find a library. Fast!

12. In the novel, Langdon and Sophie use a physical library to search for information, with the help of a librarian.

In the movie, they use a guy's phone to access an online library. Prior to that, Sophie seduces the guy.

13. In the novel, the Teacher leaves a note on Newton's tomb to lure Langdon and Sophie to an isolated hall. There, they meet the Teacher.

In the movie, Sophie discovers the Teacher's footprints heading away from Newton's tomb. Langdon and Sophie meet the Teacher at Newton's tomb and the Teacher brings them to an isolated hall at gunpoint.

14. In the novel, Teabing hands the keystone to Langdon to solve and holds Sophie at gunpoint.

In the movie, Teabing hands the keystone to Sophie to solve, with Langdon at gunpoint. Sophie then desperately cries "I don't know!" again and again before Langdon says, "Give me a moment". Langdon takes the keystone and Teabing shifts his gunpoint to Sophie. [corrected]

15. When Langdon ponders the final answer to open the keystone containing the location of the Holy Grail, he looks out a window to an apple tree. He then throws up the keystone, which Teabing leaps to catch but accidentally smashes it on the ground. The answer A-P-P-L-E is revealed when Teabing looks at the smashed keystone.

In the movie, Langdon ponders the final answer by recalling Newton's tomb. (Langdon is given an incredible photographic memory in the movie.) By recalling Newton's empty outstretched hand, he solves the puzzle. The answer is not revealed until after Teabing is arrested, when Langdon explains it to Sophie as A-P-P-L-E.

16. In one of the final scenes of the movie, Langdon tells Sophie that even if Christ were a mortal being, and a family man, it could still be possible that he had healing powers. This dialogue is not mentioned in the novel, and could be added to 'dilute' the controversial plot of the movie.

17. In the novel, Silas the albino has red eyes.

The movie has a blue-eyed Silas. Paul Bettany, who plays Silas, says the change was necessary so as not to distract the viewers from the plot.

18. The location of Mary Magdalene's sarcophagus (remains) stays mostly implied throughout the novel.

The movie instead decides to show explicitly the location of the sarcophagus.

19. In the novel, Sophie meets her long-lost brother before she meets her grandmother.

In the movie, Sophie's grandmother introduces herself to Sophie. Her brother is never seen.

20. One of the ending parts of the novel tells of Langdon hugging Sophie and arranging a date with her.

The movie stops at Langdon hugging Sophie. They didn't arrange to meet again. Pity. [corrected]

The greatest mystery, however, is the large chunk of dialogue in the first third of the film which is conducted not in English, but in French -- with no translations whatsoever! I was baffled and wondered whether I was watching the correct version of the movie. This left two options, either to read the Malay subtitles to understand what was being said, or to try comprehend the French. Naturally, I opted for the Malay subtitles.

So, were there supposed to be subtitles, or is the general viewer expected to understand all that French? I have yet to solve this puzzle.

In conclusion, my initial misgivings for the film were unfounded. As mentioned earlier, my family and I enjoyed Da Vinci Code very much -- although it's not very much a family film! In fact, I would watch it again, if just to recapture the parts I missed... and to understand what Bezu Fache was saying.

Rating: A- (minus for the illogical plot changes)

On second viewing: I entered the cinema, now expecting to like the movie. And I did, a lot. The excitement was heightened as I now had more time to appreciate each scene.

This is my favourite dialogue from the movie:

At an isolated hall... Teabing points a gun at Sophie and Langdon.

Teabing: Do it!

Sophie & Langdon: (glance at each other, slightly embarrassed)

Teabing: I mean, down!

Sophie & Langdon: (raise hands and kneel down)