The Da Vinci Code

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Tom Hanks)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

Tonight in a sold out theater I went to go see The Da Vinci Code. I have been waiting to see the movie for a while now. I first read the book a few years ago before it was really popular and by read I mean listen to the audio book on a long road trip home from Indiana. It was a really interesting read, (um I mean hear) and the more I listened to it, I laughed. I was about eighteen or nineteen and so when I first came upon the “Shocking Details” I was humored by it all. Kind of like the way you see a small child tell a joke and then pat him on the head and say “isn’t that cute?” and then get on with your life.

Then The Da Vinci Code got big. It became an issue, and I already forgot most of the books details, however I never forgot the gist of the novel. Jesus was only a man; he was married and had kids.

When I first heard that the movie was coming out, I didn’t think about people watching it and believing it, because I didn’t think of it as a serious problem. I mean the general public was smart enough to understand that in order to buy the book you have to find it in the fiction section at Barnes and Noble right?

My main fear was and still is not about the reaction of the Non-Christians but the reaction of the Christians that see this movie. How will Christians who watch the movie, or engage in the controversy and discussions react to the film, to the story, and to the people they come across?

The power of The Da Vinci Code lies not on secular ears, but on Christian’s action. In the theater I was tempted to snicker out loud and moan and groan at the “Dejesusfying” parts. I wanted badly to stand up to the screen and yell blasphemy and throw the over priced popcorn at Leigh Teabing. But doing that wouldn’t help anything. In fact it would make the negative image of Christianity the movie tries to present perfectly accurate. I was reminded of Peter…

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Being confident in what you believe in is not displayed when your yelling or throwing stones, in fact it makes you look weak and intimidated, scared that your mind can be changed. Peter knew that strong faith wasn’t displayed by childlike name calling or hunger strikes. True faith is shown in people that stand up in conflict with bold confidence listening to the other side, and learning from them. This is what shows faith and courage in the midst of persecution.

So in the upcoming days will angry fire breathing Christians rage against movie goers with wrath and picket signs, in an attempt to get their message heard. Will Christians watch the movie or be frightened due to a lack of a strong biblical foundation. These are questions we will see answered…

Finally I was worried about biased opinions of the film. Christians claiming a movie with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks was terrible just because of the underlying message. For Example…

Non-Christian: So what did you thing of The Da Vinci Code? Wasn’t it a good movie?

Christian: That movie was garbage, it was full of lies and tried to make a joke about my lord and savior. You should see a real movie like Left Behind.

Non Christian turns and walks away never talking to a Christian about anything artistic ever again.

I was worried that Christians wouldn’t give credit where credit is due. Critics gave The Passion some wonderful reviews even though they didn’t agree with the story; Christians should do the same for The Da Vinci Code.

Except for one minor detail, The Da Vinci Code was not a good movie. It was boring and tedious, and felt like a PBS-kids NASA documentary. You know the ones where the kids are trying to solve a puzzle and they have to talk each others ears off with boring “Facts” until they get enough clues to find out how Jupiter got so big. The only difference is that The Da Vinci Code wasn’t 15 minutes long, it was two and half hours long. Two hours and twenty minutes of non stop CBS’ CSI interrogating dialogue, scattered with ten minutes of less then amazing action and suspense.

Don’t get me wrong the acting was wonderful, (Tom Hanks is my favorite actor ever!) some of the special effects were pretty cool as well, I have been really excited over the past few weeks waiting to see a great movie, but over all it just seemed like a boring documentary. Maybe it was because I know the ending. Maybe it’s not amazing because everyone knows the ending, and the book is a keep going till you find out what’s at the end mystery. The problem with the movie is that it was written exactly like the book everyone read. The draw of the book was the mystery, but when the mystery is shouted over and over on Larry King, Fox News, and Matt Lauer Live in Paris on the Today Show, you wind up not wondering what happens next, but when is it going to end.

Maybe Ron Howard should have taken some lessons on how to entertain an audience who already knows the ending from the guys who made United 93.

— Overview