By Jessica Stark
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Friday, May 26, 2006, The OG, arts

As I stumbled into the already dark theater last weekend, I was expecting to be disappointed. All the reviews I'd read had condemned director Ron Howard's “The Da Vinci Code” as slow-moving and inert — a poor adaptation of a poorly written book.

However, as the movie progressed and my eyes slowly adjusted to the blackness of the theater, I was unable to see what critics had been so disgusted by. Sure, it was a little melodramatic and seemed to drag on at some points, but overall I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the movie's quality.

As readers of the book will know, the action begins in medias res when Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre in Paris to try to riddle out the murder of the museum's curator, Jacques Sauniere.

Langdon's involvement in the murder case leads him to discover a religious secret protected by a mythical society that threatens to uproot the entire foundation of Christianity. Langdon and his attractive female counterpart, cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), are led through a series of riddles that reveal more about this religious mystery and the histories of both characters.

As most readers will also note, the book seems to drag at times as the series of puzzles the protagonists have to figure out becomes more and more gratuitious. Unfortunately, the film is no exception. Although the process of working from clue to clue does serve to build anticipation for the climax, this strategy only works up to a certain point. By the time the climax finally came, I found myself somewhat frustrated. Though I was by no means dissatisfied with the ending, I had to ask myself, “Now why couldn't they have told me that a half hour ago?”

The movie seemed to drag even more for me because I was unable to follow some of the “exciting” and “gripping” plot twists. And really, that should have been the interesting part — watching the scavenger hunt unfold and trying to follow the twists and turns that complicated the whole story. However, the explanations for many of these little intrigues were rushed and frantic, which made me question why Howard bothered to make the movie so long (149 minutes) if he didn't intend to let the audience follow along.

The final aspect of the movie that disappointed me were the performances of the two lead actors. Hanks seemed lost in his long, matted hair and lacked his usual charm, while Tautou frequently came off as melodramatic and obnoxious despite her charming French accent.

The character that really saved the movie, in my opinion, was Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), Langdon's longtime friend and fellow history buff. His comical eccentricities and English charm made him a hit with the audience right from his hilarious introduction. Teabing provided a stark contrast to the other character I liked, the religious albino hitman, Silas. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0079273/ >Paul Bettany did an excellent job of portraying an antagonist that the viewer couldn't help but sympathize with.

But one cannot ignore the plot itself. Though most readers would agree that Dan Brown's bestseller is not one of the most well-written books out there, the sheer excitement of the plot and the questions it raises about modern religion are both interesting and thought-provoking.

Brown further makes up for his substandard writing style by creating interesting characters that are developed throughout the course of the story. Howard did an excellent job with this character development by providing numerous flashbacks and anecdotes that reveal the histories of the protagonists.

I walked away from the theater that night unexpectedly satisfied. I had expected to see a disappointing adaptation of an interesting book — a seemingly common theme in the movie industry today. Fortunately, “The Da Vinci Code” far exceeded my expectations. The engaging story coupled with intriguing characters made for an enjoyable movie, despite its length.

“The Da Vinci Code” is showing locally at the Savoy 16 (click here for times) and the Beverly Cinemas (click here for times).