Despite a prose style distinguished by its stunning ineptitude, Dan Brown is one of the world’s top-selling authors. Consider the opening sentence of his crypto-religious thriller The Da Vinci Code: “Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery.” Of course it’s important to know that the curator is “renowned” as he staggers through the archway. Or this: “On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.” It’s hard to find writing worse than that.
But what does it matter? The Da Vinci Code sold more than
almost any book in history. Brown’s page-turners are what people
confined on long plane rides praise as “a good read.”
Director Ron Howard’s 2006 Da Vinci Code adaptation relieved
the book of its one saving grace: briskness. Critics panned the movie
as bloated and contrived. Stung by the reviews, Howard rethought his
approach before adapting Brown’s Angels and Demons (which was
published before Da Vinci, but which Howard treats as a sequel).
With writers David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman, he condensed the plot and
made things less stagy, using the handheld cameras he employed in
Frost/Nixon. So, instead of characters standing around
speechifying, they speechify while walking down hallways.
Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard professor Robert Langdon,
who’s summoned to the Vatican to investigate a plot to kill four
cardinals and destroy St. Peter’s Basilica with a stolen anti-matter
device, whose developer, physicist Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), teams
up with Langdon. The villains are said to be the Illuminati, the
Enlightenment secret society that wants revenge for the church’s sins
against science, including the persecution of Galileo (which, in fact,
has been greatly exaggerated).
There’s a lot of dashing about, some ghastly killings, a possibly
murdered pope, ominous pseudo-Carmina Burana choral music and a
visually impressive scene involving an airplane. Hanks seems strangely
detached, even though he’s the central character.
The movie lacks even the frisson of the forbidden: The Vatican isn’t
protesting, like it did The Da Vinci Code, since the story is
more or less pro-church. What fun is that?
This article appears in May 13-19, 2009.
I loved the book! So what if its not historically accurate! It’s entertaining! I can’t wait to see the new movie or the new book by Dan Brown that will be coming out in September. I love Dan Brown’s writing style- It keeps you wanting more.