The Da Vinci Code, the book by Dan Brown and the movie directed by Ron Howard, have been the hot topic for this country over the past year or so. I was extremely leery of the book, but after having questions brought up by church members and friends at work, I decided to read it (borrowed it, actually, to avoid giving Dan Brown any money). I found it to be a captivating read, and actually devoured it in less than two days. However, I was very disturbed by the anti-Christian and blasphemous allegations in the book, so I did not advertise that I had read it to my churches or recommend it to family or friends.
When the controversy surrounding the movie started to come out, I revisited my thoughts on this issue. I came to realize that this movie, more than Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, had a great opportunity for evangelism. Non-Christian friends at work, even some who are openly antagonistic towards Christianity, were asking me about the movie and what the church thought about it. I think they were looking for a fight, but it allowed me to openly witness to them about my faith, something that is dangerous ground in a federal workplace. Anyway, I came to the conclusion that, as Christians, we should: 1) Read the book; 2) Investigate and research the claims and prepare well-thought out apologies; 3) Invite friends to see the movie; and, 4) Discuss the truth with our friends after the movie.
That said, we went to see the movie on the second night it opened (Saturday). It was an 8:00 pm show, but the theater was not packed, maybe 2/3 full, which surprised me given the extreme hype this movie has been getting from Hollywood and the media. I don't know how the make-up of the crowd -- how many were Christians and how many might have been non-Christians. I wore a shirt with our church name on the front, just to see if anyone would approach with questions or comments (no one did).
Despite the negative reviews from the major entertainment media, I thought the movie was well done. Very well acted and very believable. Ian McKellen was absolutely breathtaking in his role, and the French actress, Audrey Tautou, was very good as well. Tom Hanks played Langdon fairly well, a little underplayed in my opinion. The only major fault I had was the scene where the armored car driver tries to kill them was not well explained in the movie. It was difficult to understand without having read the book. But, other than that, I really enjoyed the movie and thought Ron Howard did a good job. It was not too dark, but had great moments of suspense and, at one point, the entire audience jumped as the villian catapulted out of the darkness and grabbed the heroine.
Now, what I didn't like: I thought it was too real. In other words, in the scene when Teabing is telling Langdon and Neveu the "truth" about the early church, the Bible, and Jesus' marriage to Mary Magdelene, it was really believable. Even knowing the truth, it was hard not to completely accept what he was saying, it sounded so credible. I was reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible." I felt the movie was so real, it could confuse or deceive Christians, especially those who were not strong in their faith. And, if it had that effect on me, someone who had studied and researched the claims in the book and was secure in my faith, what effect was it having on the non-Christians watching? I had encouraged my church members to see the movie and discuss it with their friends, but I left wondering if I had done the right thing or not.
Bottom-line: The Da Vinci Code is an excellent movie, well-acted and very well directed. It doesn't correspond word-for-word with the book, but very few movies do. However, Ron Howard does a great job capturing the essence of the book and moving the plot along.
Cautions: Be careful of how you interpret this movie and be careful of how non-Christian friends might interpret this movie. Make sure that you are prepared to make a defense of your faith and to give others a credible and easily understandable explanation of why you believe what you do and of the hope that you have in Christ.
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