The Da Vinci Code...will it live up to the book?

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Joey D

Joey D

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I'm going to say no, I think they will ruin a perfectly good book by turning it into a movie. I think the only movies I've ever seen that went from a book to a good movie was The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I really don't think this movie will stand up to the hype or the publics expectations.

Also Tom Hanks is in it and I haven't seen a ton of good Tom Hanks movies in the past.
 
Cast Away, Ryan, Catch me if you can, that one 80's comedy.....

and you can't forget...

POLAR EXPRESS baby..
 
Cast Away was bad and so was Catch me if you Can. I'm not sure what Ryan was.
 
Really? You haven't seen a lot of good Tom Hanks movies in the past? I haven't seen very many bad Hanks movies in the past!

Still, I understand what you're saying. This will probably not be as good as the book; the rule of thumb I like to follow is whichever came out first is always superior.

That said, the gadgets will be cool, also I read the book a long time ago and don't really remember the specifics, so this should be a good semi-reminder of the plot...hopefully!
 
Actually the more I think about it the book wasn't the best one I've ever read, I mean it was a decent mystery but I wasn't over enthralled with it. Probabaly because I listened to it on CD. I don't know, maybe I should do it again.
 
Have yet to read the book... I'm expecting big numbers for the movie due to the "controversial" aspect of it, but I think people are just taking the conspiracy aspect way too seriously.

Errh... Castaway kind of... errh... oooh, look! FedEx banners all over the place!

Seriously, I hate any movie that shoves half a dozen product endorsements down my throat before half-time.
 
The book was quite poor, in my view. I therefore expect the film to be much the same. The real problem with it was that it was badly written. Can you imagine how much better it would have been had Frederick Forsyth or Robert Ludlum (The Bourne Identity et al) written it?
 
I am a little over halfway through the book. I just found out the big secret, as if the hundreds of Dateline and 60 Minutes investigations hadn't given it away already.

Anyway, this is only the second Dan Brown book I have ever read and "Angels and Demons" was far better. The only thing that got this book where it is is the controversy it created. The same will go for the movie. My wife has yet to read the book but she can't wait for the movie because "it looks good and everyone talks about the book." That will at least half of your audience right there.

She's Catholic and my small comments about inconsistencies with the Catholic Church make her mad. I will probably enjoy watching her reactions to the claims in the movie more than I will the movie itself.

Now, what scares me is how so many people think it is true. Are people aware that they picked it up in the fiction section and that it even says fiction on the back of the title page, as well as on the spine?

My biggest fear is that the movie will spark the debate anew and new groups of conspiracy nuts will run around trying to upset Christians. If you haven't shaken their faith by now a fictional story won't either.

As for the movie being as good as the book: Dan Brown writes like he expects it to become a movie. He will describe a flashback, but hide details from the reader or he will jump between scenes just in time to hide important details in the conversation from the reader. He even leads up to tense situations the same way a movie does by letting you know it is coming but then, surprise, our protagonist isn't where he should be. Then cut to the protagonist and whoever he is with is describing how they escaped, but in the form of a question.

The way he writes books he could have been making the book off of a movie. I imagine that it will be easy to stay true to the book with only a few minor realistic details to take into account, but nothing to dramatically make changes that will stick out in the viewer's minds.

I imagine an average book = an average movie.
 
Will it live up to the book?

Well, considering that the book was excrementally bad, it won't take much.
 
The book was ok, nothing special though, I've read better books.
 
Even though you said you never actually read it, you just listened to it. Sorry, but that's not "reading a book". Then again, your mentions of "bad Tom Hanks films" also tells me your idea of a "good film" is very different than mine.

I thought the book was pretty decent. Not the best thing I've ever read, but definitely not the worst.

Whether the movie is "good" isn't so much the point.. the question is how faithful it will be. How much they change for the film. The reason films like LOTR and Harry Potter (particularly the first two) have been so good is because they stick very close to the source material.. it's only when they deviate that the movie becomes teh suck.

So, we'll just have to wait and see.
 
Listening to a book is the same thing as reading the book, it's just on a CD that I can put in the truck while I'm driving. I have a membership at a audio book rental place, they are actually quite good.

The only good Tom Hanks movie was Saving Private Ryan, and even then not the best war drama I've ever seen...I liked We Were Soliders better. I just don't like Tom Hanks and ever since You've Got Mail I can't take him to serious.
 
BlazinXtreme
Listening to a book is the same thing as reading the book, it's just on a CD that I can put in the truck while I'm driving. I have a membership at a audio book rental place, they are actually quite good.

The only good Tom Hanks movie was Saving Private Ryan, and even then not the best war drama I've ever seen...I liked We Were Soliders better. I just don't like Tom Hanks and ever since You've Got Mail I can't take him to serious.
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You think the only good Tom Hanks movie was Saving Private Ryan? If it were me I'd say Forrest Gump takes it. What a great movie. As for the Davinci code living up to the book. I highly doubt, I have yet seen a book turn movie be as good as the books. Not even the Lord of the Rings movies lived up to the books IMO. Wasn't Forrest Gump a book before a movie? I have yet to read that, and I can't find the book anymore.
 
BlazinXtreme
Listening to a book is the same thing as reading the book, it's just on a CD that I can put in the truck while I'm driving. I have a membership at a audio book rental place, they are actually quite good.
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Meh. That's the problem with you kids these days... can't find the time to actually sit down and read, you've got to try to assimilate via osmosis or something.
 
BlazinXtreme
Listening to a book is the same thing as reading the book, it's just on a CD that I can put in the truck while I'm driving. I have a membership at a audio book rental place, they are actually quite good.
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Listening and reading are defiontely not the same thing. I've done plenty of audiobooks in my life but usually go back and read the books. There are two points to be made here.

1) Unless you only ever listen to unabridged audiobooks, which they don't all come in, you aren't getting everything.
2) Listening while driving allows your focus to wander away from the story and mystery or whatever, and hopefully on to the road. You miss the intricate details in the plot. A story such as "The DaVince Code" would require attention in order to understand all the clues and how the mystery fits together. That is something that you can't, or at least shouldn't, give while driving.


ND4SPD
Wasn't Forrest Gump a book before a movie? I have yet to read that, and I can't find the book anymore.
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Yes, and there is also a sequel which was once rumored to be getting made into a movie, but I don't know what happened to that.



How is it that anyone can say Tom Hanks didn't make a good movie? Have you never seen Joe Versus the Volcano? :sly:
 
Listening and reading are defiontely not the same thing. I've done plenty of audiobooks in my life but usually go back and read the books. There are two points to be made here.

1) Unless you only ever listen to unabridged audiobooks, which they don't all come in, you aren't getting everything.
2) Listening while driving allows your focus to wander away from the story and mystery or whatever, and hopefully on to the road. You miss the intricate details in the plot. A story such as "The DaVince Code" would require attention in order to understand all the clues and how the mystery fits together. That is something that you can't, or at least shouldn't, give while driving.
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For a person like me they are perfect, I don't have the time or desire to sit down and read a book, this way I can get a general idea of the book and have time to hear it. I typically get the unabridged books if at all possible and The Da Vinci Code was indeed unabridged...it was 13 CD's long.
 
GilesGuthrie
The book was quite poor, in my view. I therefore expect the film to be much the same. The real problem with it was that it was badly written. Can you imagine how much better it would have been had Frederick Forsyth or Robert Ludlum (The Bourne Identity et al) written it?
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I agree it wasn't all that well-written, but I did like the ideas and concepts in the book. The movie's worth seeing, and so I'll just have to see how well it does as a movie iverall.
 
Well if you guys like the Da Vinci Code, I suggest reading Templer Legacy...it's pretty much the same thing.
 
ND4SPD
You think the only good Tom Hanks movie was Saving Private Ryan? If it were me I'd say Forrest Gump takes it. What a great movie. As for the Davinci code living up to the book. I highly doubt, I have yet seen a book turn movie be as good as the books. Not even the Lord of the Rings movies lived up to the books IMO. Wasn't Forrest Gump a book before a movie? I have yet to read that, and I can't find the book anymore.
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Saving Private Ryan was awesome, but it wasn't really a Hanks vehicle.

Apollo 13, on the other hand, was also awesome, and was very much about Hanks and his acting.
 
The Shining (film) was okay but i think the book was far, far better. As for this film, i have not read the book so i'm not sure how it will turn out.
 
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