# The Movie: The DaVinci Code - Intend On Seeing It? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011 "2006-05-16T18:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/41 "2006-05-17T10:42:38Z")
Read the book, which I enjoyed in a “this is a badly written bestseller” sort of way. Zero interest in the movie. No hostility or anything, just zero interest. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/42 "2006-05-17T11:34:53Z")
I did not read the book, mainly because most Dopers were saying it was stupid and badly written, and I didn’t want to waste my time. Now some Dopers are ‘coming out’ and saying they read it and thought it was fun—so I may spend a few bucks and get it. Or figure out where my local library is and check it out (although a copy is probably not available due to the fervor). I’ll probably see the movie but wait for the DVD. Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, and he’s the only reason I would see the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/43 "2006-05-17T11:56:37Z")
1. I tried to read the book. It was too poorly written for me to get into it, so I put it down. I think the breaking point was when Dan Brown described his main character as “Harrison Ford in a tweed suit.” That’s when it became painfully clear that I was dealing with a hack writer. Also, the masochistic albino fundamentalist murderer was just too bizarre to take seriously. 2. Nope. 3. Partly it’s just lack of interest, but also because I’m Catholic and I don’t care for movies that slander the Church. (For the record, Opus Dei was founded in 1928, and aims to promote holiness in daily life [not just in Church]. They’re not some secret cult stretching back centuries.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/44 "2006-05-17T12:59:31Z")
I have not read the book and don’t plan to. I’m sure I’ll see the movie but I don’t know if it will be in the theater or from Netflix. We don’t get to see very many movies in the theater anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/45 "2006-05-17T14:08:27Z")
I haven’t read the book and probably won’t. It just isn’t really in my usual line of reading material–I seem to be stuck on series mysteries at the moment. I probably will see the movie, but not until it comes out on DVD–I almost never see movies in theaters. I do think that a couple of hours watching the movie is a better way to get slightly more acquainted with something this popular than the hours I’d spend reading the book, and I’d kind of like to have read the book, I just don’t want to read it(I’ve read plenty about it, in TIME magazine, etc. I just haven’t read the actual book and don’t much want to. I’m not sure I can explain why.) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/46 "2006-05-17T14:18:04Z")
According to [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/17/da.vinci/index.html), the movie did not get a great reception at Cannes yesterday. > [@CNN](#): > > At Cannes, one scene during the film, meant to be serious, elicited prolonged laughter from the audience, and when the credits rolled, there was no applause, only a few catcalls and hisses. Things were no better Stateside, where the film screened for critics in New York. > > The Hollywood Reporter headlined its review, " ‘Da Vinci Code’ an unwieldy, bloated puzzle." ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/47 "2006-05-17T14:47:52Z")
Haven’t yet read the book, tho I have the original hb & the illustrated edition. I’ve read HOLY BLOOD… and several other similar books plus two recent ones which totally refute DVC (even I was disappointed to find the “ancient” Priory of Sion is about 60 years old). I will see the movie but not on opening weekend. I really don’t have the time but if I’d see any movie this weekend, it would be Over the Hedge. (Yes, that is because I don’t want to contribute to making DVC a first-weekend hit). The idea of JC being a family man is not the actual offense to C’nity, Catholic or otherwise. The offense is the fallacy that the Constantinian Church invented the doctrine of Jesus’s Divinity, that until Nicea all Christians regarded Christ as a Divinely-inspired man but nothing more. Even Arius believed Jesus was the pre-existent Word, the “second god” created by & in loving obedience to Father God. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/48 "2006-05-17T15:06:58Z")
1. Yes. It was recommended to me by my sister. It was a fun little read, something I tend to enjoy in the summer. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, though some obviously think that’s a sin. It’s no worse than reading Stephen King, who some here are quite quick to defend, IMO. 2. Yes. As with the book, I think it will be a fun little movie. The actors are good, the director is good, so it can’t be all bad, right? Right? Well, either way I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/49 "2006-05-17T15:09:51Z")
I read the first two chapters of the book. It was so badly written it amazed me that it got published. Utterly artless prose. I have been forced to listen to an endless amount of prattle from people who “learned” religious history from this book and I’m really sick of it. I left the church a long time ago. I have no faith in it. Yet it still bugs me to see it slandered in this way, because this stuff just isn’t true. It also seems to reduce art to the level of cereal box gimmickry. No chance I’ll sit through the film. The bigger question to me is how big will this thing open? The reviews that have trickled out have been terrible. I know this flick should be critic-proof, but what I have seen is pretty damning. I’m thinking of putting some coin on a (relatively) bad opening for this puppy. It doesn’t seem like it would attract too many teens who are the driving force behind summer box-office bonanzas. Older folks are less in a rush to get to the googleplex on opening day. Additionally, Over The Hedge opens on the same day which will cause many moms and dads to take jr. to see that. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/50 "2006-05-17T15:13:36Z")
I got as far as the first couple of pages and then gave up. The final straw was the statement that Interpol knows the whereabouts of every tourist in every hotel room in Europe. I thought, if he is wrong on that fact, what other simple errors has he made ? ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/51 "2006-05-17T16:11:28Z")
I was probably going to see it, or at least rent the video. Reading the paper this morning, however, I find that some group with the usual smattering of family and values in its name is planning to stage vigils outside theaters across the country, apparently protesting blasphemy or some such thing. Local churches are holding sessions debunking the book. And, in news from overseas, the Indian government has delayed the release in response to protest from Catholics, some of whom seem to be willing to starve themselves over this movie. :rolleyes: Now, of course, I’m positively determined to go see it in the theater. The movie may be schlock built on a silly, badly written book, but I have to do my tiny part to stand up for freedom of expression and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/52 "2006-05-17T16:29:53Z")
1. No. 2. No, unless it turns out that the reviews are much better than current buzz would lead one to believe. 3. Because it sounds like it’s a hunk of garbage. I’m tempted to see it, just to support a movie that pisses religious wackos off, but I did that before with less-than-pleasing results, and decided not to do it anymore.\* \*I went to see Showgirls, just because of the controversy. Ach, ach, ach! My brain! My precious brain!!! AarrgGnnnnnnarrrrrwrrrr … _brain melts_ ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/53 "2006-05-17T16:32:30Z")
> [@rivulus](#): > > Now, of course, I’m positively determined to go see it in the theater. The movie may be schlock built on a silly, badly written book, but I have to do my tiny part to stand up for freedom of expression and all that. Hey, now. Nobody’s trying to infringe on Dan Brown’s right to freedom of expression. They just want to set the record straight. It seems to me that if Dan Brown makes certain historical claims (and he does, even though the main storyline is fictional), then it’s perfectly reasonable for other people to take a stand and fight ignorance. Obviously, the battle is taking longer than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/54 "2006-05-17T17:00:00Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Hey, now. Nobody’s trying to infringe on Dan Brown’s right to freedom of expression. They just want to set the record straight. > > It seems to me that if Dan Brown makes certain historical claims (and he does, even though the main storyline is fictional), then it’s perfectly reasonable for other people to take a stand and fight ignorance. Obviously, the battle is taking longer than we thought. I doubt the primary purpose of vigils and whatnot are to fight ignorance. They smack more of turning molehills into mountains for the political purpose of enacting one side of a similarly fictional War on Christianity based on equally dubious historical claims. From [here](http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=48726): > [@](#): > > “Join prayer vigil in preparation for the blasphemous movie,” states a flier from Mr. Ritchie’s group. > > Mr. Ritchie said he is affiliated with the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. The Hanover-based group of American Catholics was founded in 1973 “to resist, in the realm of ideas, the liberal, socialist and communist trends of the times and proudly affirm the positive values of tradition, family and property,” according to its Web site. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/55 "2006-05-17T17:15:27Z")
Seeing as how this movie is opening on thousands and thousands of screens and will rake in $40 - 100 million in it’s first three days of release, I don’t think there’s much need to show your support for free speech by seeing it. I would prefer to patronize something good that gets overshadowed by the megahype this kind of thing creates. BTW, its current RT rating is 0%. ---
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/56 "2006-05-17T17:20:45Z")
1. No. I got this from my book club(you know the ones- you forget to mail in the card and they ship you books every month). I scanned them a little but in general I don’t care for conspiracy novels, novels about secret international cabals, etc. So I traded them in at [paperbackswap.com](http://paperbackswap.com). 2. No. 3. I don’t watch movies about conspiracies, secret international cabals, etc. I don’t see the appeal at all. The whole idea seems moronic to me. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/57 "2006-05-17T17:23:54Z")
I really have no intention of seeing the movie, unless someone pays me to review it. I’ve already gotten enough entertainment out of _New York Times_ critic A. O. Scott’s [url-[http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/movies/17cnd-code.html?hp&ex=1147924800&en=4275ff17e53f2bc7&ei=5094&partner=homepage](http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/movies/17cnd-code.html?hp&ex=1147924800&en=4275ff17e53f2bc7&ei=5094&partner=homepage)]review (reg. req.), which is probably the best writing I’ve ever seen from him. He didn’t like the movie. Not one bit. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/58 "2006-05-17T17:33:54Z")
From [Variety](http://www.variety.com/VE1117930534.html): > [@](#): > > Enormous public anticipation worldwide will result in explosive B.O. :eek: Haven’t read the book, would like to see the movie. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/59 "2006-05-17T17:38:47Z")
1. No 2. Yes I’ve seen some movies that were liked at Cannes. It seems my tastes can differ, so I’ll take my chances with this one. I generally like Ron Howard films. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, and Jean Reno. I have to admit that the whole “church doesn’t want you to see it” thing gives it some appeal for me too. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011/60 "2006-05-17T17:40:09Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Haven’t read the book, would like to see the movie. One critic I read this morning said that if you read the book, the movie is boring; if you haven’t, it is totally confusing. He added that the woman seated next to him in the theater just went to sleep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-movie-the-davinci-code-intend-on-seeing-it/357011.md?page=4)