The Da Vinci Code

After getting the cat I have been quite slack on movie posts. This situation will improve, if she continues to bite me regularly. I am confining her to jail in the living room and lock myself in my bedroom with the computer. (Who is the prisoner? Me or her?) Back to topic.

The Book

I borrowed a copy of the book from a friend and finished it in 4 days. Not because it was that good, but because I wanted to complete the book before going for the movie. No it was not bad. In the first half before Langdon & Co. went to London it was rather nice, but after that it decayed into a poor imitation of a spy novel. There is one thing I really hate: creating myth that looks like fact. Dan Brown kept throwing lots of unrelated information at us and try showing us how they are related, but he did not really do his research carefully. It really helps to provide a small section of clarifation, like Chevalier's historical fictions.

The Movie with minor spoiler alert

I have repeatedly seen negative reviews from those who have read and loved the book, because it turned a suspense story into an action flick, because it changed the story too much, because they picked Tom Hanks to play Robert Langdon...

It was not as bad as I thought. Lots were changed in the movie but many of them are good changes. In the novel, there is only one bad guy. Sir Teabing the crazy, fanatic supporter of the sacred feminine. Captain Fache was a good guy from beginning to end; Bishop Aringarosa was simply tricked into believing what he should not and was trying to correct his mistakes by confessing to Fache; Silas the albino was a misguided "angel"; The Church paid Opus Dei only for a peaceful "divorce". In the movie the roles have been changed: The Church and the Bishop were conspiring to destroy the Priory of Sion, with the Church supplying cash and Aringarosa supplying the soldier, only to find themselves cheated by Leabing. Fache was a poor stupid cop who believed the lies of Aringarosa. I believe this story made more sense than the original.

There is, however, something terribly wrong with the ending. 2000 years of document lying in the Rosslyn Chapel? Believers rushing out of nowhere to see the last descendant of Jesus Christ? DNA analysis ruined because the body could not be found? They should have used the more opaque ending from the novel: An old woman, a young man and old photos. Nice family gatherings. Words that they chose to trust with faith.

Impressions on The Da Vinci Code: 5/10, because I hate how the ending was mangled.

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The Boardgame

Da Vinci Code is the German edition of the 2-4 player deduction game CODA. In this Japanese designed game there are 26 tiles of 2 colours, out of which 2 special tiles are reserved for the advanced game only. Before game begins, you pick 3 to 4 tiles randomly and order them facing you in ascending numeric order, where black tiles are placed before whites in case of a tie. When your turn comes, you pick up one of the remaining tiles, then try to guess ("attack") the number on one of another players' tiles. If you guessed correctly, the "defending" player turns that tile around for everyone to see and you make attack again. If you were wrong, you turn your tile over and your turn ends immediately. The game ends when only one player has any unrevealed tiles, who is declared the winner.

Is it any good? I am not really a fan of deduction games, but I still find it entertaining. Unlike the more American styled games such as Clue, it is simple, easy to explain and short. I have not played it enough to like it, but I will be willing to play it again if given the opportunity.


P.S. I completed Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring in 2 days. It was that good.