Da Vinci Code 2

UPDATE: I knocked this flick down a star when I watched it on cable. The small screen really demonstrates how goofy, in fact imbecilic, was this offering.

ORIGINAL COMMENT: You know, this has been the biggest buildup of any book-film combo since Jonathon Livingston Seagull around 1970. Remember that dud? Well you really can't do much with an existential seagull.

The hype around DVC has been enormous. This is supposed to be a cultural changing event, a blow to organized religion, etc.

Martha and I went to the flick on its release. I was pleasantly surprised to see a more up-scale crew of watchers in lieu of the usual slack-jawed gaggle of mouth-breathers who interrupted their wacking off or maybe video games to come see the latest block-buster.

First of all, it was loooong, according to my watch over 2 1/2 hours. I can't sit that long and had to make a couple of bathroom breaks.

I hardly recognized Tom Hanks at first, but he did alright and the other cast members were o.k. also.

If you are a Christian and particularly a member of the Catholic Church, relax. This flick is going to do absolutely nothing. It is a glorified Mission Impossible.

It starts off with a bang with the murder in the Louvre, but then every fifteen minutes or so it stops to update you on what is happening. If you haven't read the book, you are gonna be lost. It reminds me of the "Dune" movie about 20 years ago.

Basically here we are supposed to have the greatest secret in human history, but then Leonardo gets it in his noggin to stick some clues out there so some 21st Century mopes can figure it all out. Yeah, sure.

The book was fine as fiction but laughable as fact. I am a historian and religion is one of my history beats. Brown cribbed a bunch of materials from various spurious Gnostic Gospels that were rejected 1800 years ago and sells it as fact. A total joke, but the ignoramus weak-minded will probably lap it up and have done so.

Of course a lot of anti-Christians and anti-Catholics out there provide a ready market.

The movie is worth seeing but is maybe a 3 1/2 knocked down to three for the disappointment with pouring 250 million dollars down this rat hole.

The critics here and abroad have been yucking it up and savaging this flick and I can see why!