The Da Vinci Code

I watched Da Vinci code on the very day of its release. I don't remember waiting for any other movie so eagerly. Incidently, this is the first English movie I watched in a theatre since I came to the US almost two years ago. I'm not going to write a review of the movie since you can find it from numerous sources. I'm only going to express my interpretations and thoughts on the movie. The director, Ron Howard, did a commendable job of not meandering away from the actual story. It is very difficult to condense a book into a two and a half hour movie. It was interesting to note how Ron interspersed several sub-plots when in actuality, they are separate events in the book. I read the book more than a year ago and hence do no recall each and every incident. Suffice it to say, many incidents from the story were conveniently deleted and I was able to detect two 'artistic liberties'. One was at the very beginning of the movie where the symbologist Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks) presents some cultural misinterpretations of very common symbols. The second was near the end of the movie where Langdon browses the internet using a cell phone instead of going to the library and searching for some information required to solve a riddle. Thankfully, no chemistry was shown between the two protagonists.
As far as acting goes, Tom Hanks' array of emotional skills were grossly under-utilized. Audrey Tautou, playing Sophie Neveu, as his accomplice on the run was adorable. Paul Bettany as the albino monk Silas was really scary and portrayed his character to the hilt. I read in one of the websites that his might be the first character which speaks Latin into a cell phone. The icing on the cake, however, was the character of Sir Leigh Teabing played by Ian McKellen. He was hilarious at times and a raging lunatic at others.
Ofcourse, its just exhilerating to watch the sites of Europe with the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, the many churches, chateaus and the beutiful landscape.
Even though many who have read the novel would be disappointed, it is an absolute thriller for those who haven't. All in all, it is worth a watch.