Da Vinci Code


Rated: PG-13
1.5 of 4 Stars

Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jurgen Prochnow  
Directed by: Ron Howard  
Produced by: Dan Brown, Todd Hallowell, Brian Grazer  



I am writing this review based solely on my personal belief in Jesus Christ.  Rarely do I infuse so
much of my personal beliefs in a review, however in this case I feel it very important.  

Leoonardo DaVinci would have been ashamed of what they have done both to the name of Jesus
Christ as well as his own personal name.  The DaVinci Code was literally the most difficult to handle
movie I have ever watched.  Sitting there, my stomach was turning while they demolished everything
a Christian stands for and everything we believe in.  Never in my life have I ever felt like throwing up
in a movie, until now.  

I have pretty thick skin when it comes to Hollywood portraying homosexuality, paganism and even
materialism.  I understand that I cannot judge Hollywood on a Christian level, simply because they
are not Christian.  They do not make movies catered to my particular belief system, nor should
they.  However when my God is attacked personally and purposefully, then I start to take issue.  I
did not know the DaVinci Code was what it is.  I heard the rumors about how the book tries to tell
the reader that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they bore children.  I was willing to
take that as totally wrong but still watch the movie from a film perspective and leave my personal
opinion at the door for the sake of intent.  This was the least of the film's problems.  Jesus being
married is a doctorial issue that really is a nonissue in the true body of Christ and something that
very few will ever believe.  

I am not going to reveal the plot or secrets but I will tell you a few things about what they ram down
your throat.  They do everything in their power to convince you through historical "fact" that Jesus
Christ was not God, that he was instead a man made to be a figurehead for a belief system. There
was a war going on between the Pagans and the Christians so Constantine who was the head of
Rome decided to meld both of them together for the sake of peace.  This was more of a political
decision, rather than a spiritual decision, given the fact that they say that Constantine was a Pagan
himself.  When the decision to blend the religions takes place, both belief systems gather in a room
and the leaders take all of the main points of the beliefs and agree and disagree on what the
church will believe, all to create the illusion of a perfect religion.  They argue about the deity of
Christ and eventually agree to make him an eternal being. They argue about women in ministry and
eventually agree that the church should be run by men alone.  They agree to remove any book of
the Bible that would hurt their personal agenda on either side and keep those that advance their
cause.  They also decide to make Jesus human being and not God, hiding the truth, while  
portraying Jesus to be just a person with no power and someone who was married to Mary
Magdalene.  

The hardest part was not that they said all of this, but the context in which they introduce this
garbage.  For the first hour of the movie, you are really into it and kind of tolerating how boring it is
and accepting the movie for what it is.  Eventually Tom Hanks and his sidekick come across the one
person who is all knowing about history (Ian McKellen).  Ian begins to tell them about all of the
things that the Christian/Catholic church hid from the believers. As with most movies, they just tell
you something and then leave it up to your imagination to fill in the blanks.  In this case they had a
totally off-the-wall question and answer session between Tom Hanks playing the Devil's Advocate
and questioning the validity of what he was being told.  The format in which they handle this was
terrible from a movie making aspect but the fact that they have the Q and A session gives the
listener the opportunity to hear Ian rip apart every single foundation of Christianity.  In any other
movie this may be a 5 minute segment, but in this one it was literally 20 to 30 minutes and then the
rest of the movie is all about the continual thrusting of this doctrine.  This is not subtle at all, but
downright disgusting.  They use the name of Jesus Christ with strength, every time the word is
uttered, while at the same time they tear down his validity.  They treat his name with pagan respect
but they destroy the foundation of the cross and the God Head.  They actually come out on more
than one occasion and say that Jesus Christ is not God, continually laughing and mocking the idea
of Christianity and telling the viewer that true Christianity’s origin was Pagan.  

The DaVinci Code is a story about trying to find the bloodline of Christ and the cover up by the
Opus Dei, an underground rogue movement of the Catholic church who are trying to kill them
before they reveal the "truth."  This story revolves around the Templar Knights trying to keep the
true secret behind the Holy Grail hidden and preserving of the truth that could shatter the Catholic
faith.

I am thankful that this movie was incredibly boring and that the acting was sub par.  Tom Hanks was
decent in the role, however everyone else in the movie just didn't fit.  Audrey Tautou, who played
the counter part of Tom Hanks, could not deliver her lines well and in many respects what she was
saying seemed forced.  Many times the writer assumed that we would forgive the nonsensical
aspects of what was taking place, but many of the situations that occurred away from the religious
elements just seemed poorly written.  In many circumstances they discuss their own personal pasts
but never give you a good feel for who they really are. They jump around so much that the movie
really lost any true stability.  
Ron Howard did what he could with the directing of this movie, and he did a good job.  However
when the writing is so bad, its hard to really see the fruit of the director's work.  The casting was
terrible as well.  Jean Reno, Audrey Tautou and Ian McKlellen were just completely out of their
element and seemed like they were acting instead of really living their character.  The whole movie
played out like a much more boring rendition of Remington Steele or Hart to Hart which used to
show on TV regularly.

I will give kudos and praise to Paul Bettany who plays the murderer of the line of Christ.  (You find
this out in the opening scene, this is not a secret.)  He plays a man who is hired by the Opus Dei to
kill all who are in the bloodline of Christ, and he is a man who does this by spiritual Catholic
conviction.  He delivers some pretty cheesy lines, but he does an excellent job considering.

You may ask, is this an attack on the Catholic Church or on Christianity.  If you are familiar with
church history, then you understand that for centuries there was only one church.  The Catholic
Church was the foundation of Christianity before Martin Luther.  This movie fiercely attacks the
Catholic Church in the most in your face way, while at the same time also using “Christianity” as its
partner vehicle.  This movie attacks modern day Christians as well because they use the name of
“Jesus Christ” along with horrifyingly false historical claims.  This movie is an equal opportunity
offender of both Catholics and Christians.  
You may try and write this off by using the excuse that this is just a fiction movie.  Then I would say
that you are weak in your faith and I would challenge you to look deeper.  If you can tolerate
watching the name of Jesus hashed in such a disgusting manner and not feel the pain or unease,
then I seriously wonder what you believe.  When you are a Christian and have a personal
relationship with Christ, you hurt feel the pain of watching someone you love be attacked.  That is
exactly what this movie does.  It attacks someone I love so dearly, therefore I act accordingly.  

One positive aspect that can come out of this movie, is that it can prepare you to see what exactly
is being used to attack the name of Jesus.  This movie could propel you into diving deep into true
history and finding out exactly what church history is all about.  It can open your eyes to see how
exactly history is being distorted in movies today, just to sell tickets and it can also prepare you to
be equipped when people ask you questions about your faith.  In fact, I believe that if you so desire,
that you really should brush up why and what you believe.  This movie is going to create so many
discussion points from those who do not believe and anyone who stakes a claim of faith on
something, should be prepared to back it up and fight to the end.  

If you would like some true historical books that have not been scathed by modern the doctrine of
compromise, I suggest reading from one of the greatest Christian Historians of the 19th Century.  A
man named Philip Schaff who dedicated his life to discovering the truth and the way it actually
occurred.  He delves into the Constantian Era and the Medieval Times, including the Templar
Knights and the myths that surround them.  There are also many works from a Catholic named
Saint Augustine who was a mighty man of God but also a true historian.

Recommended Books:

Introduction to Mediaeval Church History
History of the Christian Church 1294 A.D – 1517 A.D
History of the Christian Church 311 A.D – 600 A.D
Creeds of Christiandom
Nicine and Post Nicine Fathers
Century of the Christian Church
St. Augustin the Writings Against the Manicheans and Against the Donatists: Nicene and Post-
Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church Part 4 – By Saint Augustine

Now, leaving my personal opinion aside, the movie does get a wopping 2 stars.  It is way too long,
very boring, overly preachy and the actors just don't fit, not to mention the dialogue is just really
bad.

Warning to Parents:  This movie is not for kids.  It contains mild language, nudity and violence.  
There are some graphic depictions of self-mutilation and violence throughout, and one very fast
sex scene with no nudity and done as a flashback.  
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