Dec 10, 2004 06:57 AM
2346 Views
(Updated Dec 10, 2004 02:36 PM)
One of the best books in recent times has been ''The Da Vinci Code''. Spawning a number of books condemning or supporting its theories, the Code has only scratched the surface of media and public attention.
The key components of the ''Da Vinci Genre''are a professor or intellectual with historic knowledge but is put in Indiana Jones situations, his romantic interest played by a strong female character who plays a very active role and most importantly a secret or treasure of immense historic and financial value which is hidden and can be found by a series of obscure clues.
Jerry Bruckheimer is one of the savviest media moguls today. In a career over 2 decades he has produced such Hollywood blockbusters as ''Pirates of the Caribbean'',''Top Gun'', ''Con Air'', ''Gone in 60 seconds'', ''Armageddon''and the TV series CSI.
Seizing the current public interest in this genre, he has made his version, seeking the Templar and Free Mason treasure with one of the Top actors Nicolas Cage. Like his previous movies, this one too is of the fast food variety.
I've requested a couple of films to be added to MS.com and once thats done I'll complete my Oriental Martial Arts trilogy
The Plot
Ben Gates(Cage) has been in the search of the Templar Treasure,worth billions, since childhood when his grandfather(the eccentric Christopher Plummer) reveals the family's century old obsession with finding the treasure. The black sheep of the family is Ben Gates father(played with dignity by Jon Voight) who believes theres no such treasure. Armed with a lucky clue, Ben and his side-kick Riley Poole, decide to steal the heavily guarded Declaration of Independence before the villains( led by a very angry Sean Bean). They are joined in the treasure hunt, unwillingly by the stunning Abigail Chase( Diane Kruger who played Helen in Troy). All this leads to a treasure hunt of mammoth proportions, while the FBI(with Harvey Keitel) is on the hunt.
My Take
First off, this is a clean family movie with a PG rating and its success in the box-office clearly shows the target audience its aiming for in the holiday season. Its got some good special effects but little violence, though its got some good chase sequences.
The key question is why should you watch this film?
The answer is simple, Time-pass. If you want to watch any masala flick, this one is the best one, it makes no major assumptions as to depth of the plot or character development. The best scene is in the middle, where they steal the declaration of Independence. Pretty innovative techniques and it does not insult your intelligence.
As Ebert mentioned, its got some A-ha moments, where Cage stumbles onto some clues.
''An A-Ha! Moment, you will recall, is that moment at which a movie character suddenly understands something which, if he did not understand it, would bring the entire enterprise to a halt.'' - Roger Ebert
But its also a poor cousin of the Indiana Jones trilogy. That said, this film has got excellent editing and decent performances by the cast so the 2 hours are rather painless to watch.
Watch out for Diane Kruger, she is stunning, her European accent not withstanding.
Cast
Nicolas Cage .... Ben Gates
Diane Kruger .... Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha .... Riley Poole
Sean Bean .... Ian Howe
Jon Voight .... Patrick Gates
Harvey Keitel .... Sadusky
Christopher Plummer .... John Adams Gates
Final Words
For all those Da Vinci fans, the book is being made into a film, as you might know, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard(Beautiful Mind), should be out in 2006 summer.
