Blogcritics Comments on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Comment by -E on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Tue, 30 May 2006 04:09:01 EDT

I liked the movie just fine. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't the worst either. It was entertaining. And the vfx didn't bother me. But then, I didn't mind them in A Beautiful Mind either. ]]>

Comment by Chelsea Snyder on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 23:08:12 EDT

Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene - or anyone, for that matter? I don't know. What a lot of people should do is approach TDC for what it is -- a book. A piece of fiction, with ambiguous facts (that is, they can be debated from a number of sources and standpoints) strung together to create a story line. If Christians, Catholics, WHOMEVER, want to read this book and let it strengthen what they believe, more power to them. If it changes your mind, then maybe your faith wasn't so strong to begin with. Like Tom Hanks said in the movie, people believe what they want to believe. No more, no less. But that's just my agnostic take on things. ]]>

Comment by El Bicho on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 20:45:07 EDT

Thanks for the compliment, Jewels. CT, I had blocked out "A Beatiful Mind" so I forgot the code-breaking effects. Still, I don't mind it because it is a good way to show the activity of the mind working. CS, considering that people are calling for boycotts, which according to the numbers I'm seeing have failed miserably, and they are worried that when the second coming of Jesus occurs, he will confess that the Da Vinci Code is true, common sense appears to be in short supply. Hanks speech is needed although if I don't know if I would call it PC since the entire film isn't. "Dan Brown gets a lot of stuff wrong: especially the marriage of Jesus with Mary Magdalene." Heloise, it's a fiction film, not a documentary. I'm not sure why the clarification is needed, but thanks for illustrating my point to Chelsea. The 3rd and 4th Batman films, which Akiva wrote, were much worse than the first. A Beatiful Mind was terrible. reggie ixnay on the encouragementay. ]]>

Comment by Heloise on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 18:49:37 EDT

Hmmm, I think you've got something. Because I would have to say that the original Batman movie goes down in my books as the singlularly worse movie I never sat through. I actually walked out and it was at a DOllar movie. So, you would think that someone who bombed would have never gotten his grubby hands on another script. A Beautiful Mind was okay, and much better than Batman, but since it is this Akiva the movie killer who wrote TDC, I think I will wait until I can get it free from the Public library. Heloise ]]>

Comment by Heloise on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 18:45:05 EDT

Dan Brown gets a lot of stuff wrong: especially the marriage of Jesus with Mary Magdalene. WHY JESUS WAS NOT MARRIED TO MARY MAGDALENE First of all, if Jesus had been a Jewish raboni or teacher--rabbi, he would have been expected to be married. That was like Jewish law. But marriage at that time was not based on two people seeing each other and falling in love and getting married just because that is what they wanted to do. That is modern America not ancient Judea. If Jesus had been married he would have married at a younger age because people did not live long back then and would surely have been a married man by the age of 20 or so. But according to the Gospels he was in his thirties when he died. If he met Mary Magdalene when he was 30 then he should have already been married to someone else!! If he did kiss her on the mouth it may have been shocking because he was married to someone else, not because he was married to her or kissing a woman when he was thought to be celibate. Okay, if he married at the wedding at Cana then no more was said of his wife or of his married life. Why? Well, who talked about their married life in the Gospels? No one that we know of. Was Judas married? It seems that being married was arranged between suitable families especially if they were at least middle class people. There is no reason to suppose that he was other than a middle class man. Therefore his parents would have arranged a marriage for him and he would have followed their advice. When he meets Mary, who is really a virtuous woman, they become fast friends. She is his disciple and that is the end of the story I believe. What if he was celibate all his life? If he was a celibate when he met Mary then he would not have broken it for her. He would have remained a celibate. But now there is controversy over whether or not he was of the Jewish religion, or if he was even Jewish. Alice Bailey states that he was Jewish. But he could easily have been influenced by the religion of Egpyt as well as the Greek mystery schools such as Plato. So, as interesting as the Da Vinci Code may be, it has no bearing on how the lineage of Jesus was continued. It was continued but through the magic of rebirth. It was a part of the French royal family, but not the Merovingean family but from the De Valois family. Finally, I believe that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a young virgin by the name of Mary. She later married Joseph and they had children together. He also had children from another family. So Jesus in a sense was an only child because he was the ONLY child from that unknown father...whom someone claimed was God. Jesus's mother married into a middle class family and Jesus was able to become a teacher which implies education of some sort. He would surely have wanted marriage for himself because he was used to having people around him and that was expected of him. End of story. Heloise ]]>

Comment by reggie von woic on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 13:52:01 EDT

Lol @ Matthew. It's spent over 160 weeks (and counting) on the Newyork's Bestseller top ten list...So yes, its was a book. Personally, i'm not too eager to watch it right away. All the euphoria from reading the book hasn't died out yet, plus its reviews aren't as good as i wanted them to be. So unless someone comes up to me with free tickets, the DVD is only a few months away. Ya! ]]>

Comment by Matthew T. Sussman on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 02:09:16 EDT

It was a book? ]]>

Comment by Chelsea Snyder on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sun, 21 May 2006 01:58:16 EDT

I read the book -- twice -- and I hated the movie. Hated it. Hated it. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, hoping the movie to be exactly like the book, and that's why I was so let down. Had I gone into the movie with no expectations, I'm sure I probably would have enjoyed it. But rather, I spent the last half hour or so sitting and getting more and more pissed at how contorted it was from the original ending. I was also a little annoyed with Tom Hanks' soliloquy about how we believe what we want to believe, not any other source. A politically correct public service announcement? I guess it needed to be stated SOMEWHERE before people got even more pissed off, but at the same time, I guess I'm one of those people with common sense who knew that all along. Overall, if you've read the book, don't go into the movie with high expectations. Ignorance is bliss, as is the case with most books-to-movies. If I would have just sat back and enjoyed the ride, it wouldn't have been a bad film, necessarily. But I guess I'm just too much of a purist, and expected the film to follow the actual story. Paul Bettany did a good job as Silas. There. I said something nice. ]]>

Comment by Ken Edwards on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sat, 20 May 2006 15:37:01 EDT

I really enjoyed the film. It was well written, better than the book (but that is no surprise, The Akiva Code or not). What I did not like, as already stated, was the heavy influence by A Beautiful Mind. Other than that, it was quite enjoyable and I do not feel bad for paying to see it. ]]>

Comment by Couch Tato on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sat, 20 May 2006 13:18:13 EDT

oh a thing i also didnt like were those special effects reminiscent of A beautiful mind that also had tha same Howard/Goldsmith/Grazer combination especially when he was crackin ythe anogram i was like "russel crowe is that you?" ]]>

Comment by Couch Tato on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sat, 20 May 2006 13:15:58 EDT

i watched it yesterday and i still think Tom Hanks didnt pull this one of Im now in a dilemma would it have been better not reading the book before or its better having read..casue they were they edited it im wondering if guys will be left behind Besides Ian McKEllan who i cant wait for next week in X3 i think Paul Bettany was excellent as well! ]]>

Comment by Jewels on Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code

Sat, 20 May 2006 11:36:24 EDT

I enjoyed the book, and plan to see the movie. I have heard mainly negative reviews, although Fox News had a decent review. Apparently they share a kindred feeling about Akiva Goldsman. Howard apparently let a part of the movie fall apart - but regained control, it is a complicated novel, and like you pointed out may not translate as well to screen. Especially under the Akiva Code. I have yet to see it as have had a work schedule to kill this week, so will be next weekend before I get to actually view the movie. I read your review as you're usually quite spot-on with your interpretations. ]]>