The DaVinci Debacle
I know I'm way behind the times, but I just finished reading "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. If you haven't read the book yet, wait for the movie. I'm not saying a movie is going to be made, but if one were it would be way better than the book was.
I remember when the book had come out and was the greatest thing since sliced bread thinking, "Hmm, I should read that." But just never got around to it for whatever reason. Then someone who's opinion I respect on such things said they attempted to start the book for a book group they are in and just couldn't handle it. Other people were saying I should read it, but I didn't know enough about their opinions to kick me into gear, but while in Portland recently my mother insisted I read it and gave me a copy of the book.
One page in I already had my issues with it. There was just a little bit too much forced convolution to make it really snap. And far too many flashbacks to help fill in unnecessary backstory. However, once I got into the mystery/caper it was interesting. How the clues and symbols linked together, and the characters all tied in. So, for about 3/4 of the book I enjoyed the mystery aspect, but then you get to the end and it seems the author just got bored of writing, or his publisher insisted he keep it below 500 pages, because you get to the BIG MOMENT and the ends all get tied up just a little too easily. But it wasn't HORRIBLE.
The thing that really got my goat is the tangents the author went on to explain himself. Three pages explaining the divine ratio. Not that it isn't interesting knowledge, but it didn't advance the plot any, but just was an opportunity for the author to show how much STUFF he knows. This happens again and again and again throughout the book. It would have been better to write a 50-100 page mystery caper with footnotes or appendices that reference all the arcane knowledge the author needs to prove he knows. Supposedly a lot of it is factual, but I'd get more into the facts of it all if I could separate them from the plot.
And this, my friends, is why a movie would be much better. Within the confines of the visual medium and the time allotment they would have to cut all the crap from the story. And the author must have been imagining his work on the big screen already, because he wrote in the oldest trick in the book. The two main characters are a male and female. There is not a HINT of sexual tension between them during the whole book. They don't even have a flicker of interest between each other at any point in the story. But then the loose ends get tied up and they go jump in the sack. SERIOUSLY!
A young Nicole Kidman would be perfect for the female lead. I'd like Jeff Goldblum to play the male lead, but just because I have a thing for him and he does so well as the geeky scientist type. I could cast the rest of the characters as well, but I don't want to give away all my secrets or some big studio will just steal them from me. 20th Century Fox, give me a call and we can talk.
I remember when the book had come out and was the greatest thing since sliced bread thinking, "Hmm, I should read that." But just never got around to it for whatever reason. Then someone who's opinion I respect on such things said they attempted to start the book for a book group they are in and just couldn't handle it. Other people were saying I should read it, but I didn't know enough about their opinions to kick me into gear, but while in Portland recently my mother insisted I read it and gave me a copy of the book.
One page in I already had my issues with it. There was just a little bit too much forced convolution to make it really snap. And far too many flashbacks to help fill in unnecessary backstory. However, once I got into the mystery/caper it was interesting. How the clues and symbols linked together, and the characters all tied in. So, for about 3/4 of the book I enjoyed the mystery aspect, but then you get to the end and it seems the author just got bored of writing, or his publisher insisted he keep it below 500 pages, because you get to the BIG MOMENT and the ends all get tied up just a little too easily. But it wasn't HORRIBLE.
The thing that really got my goat is the tangents the author went on to explain himself. Three pages explaining the divine ratio. Not that it isn't interesting knowledge, but it didn't advance the plot any, but just was an opportunity for the author to show how much STUFF he knows. This happens again and again and again throughout the book. It would have been better to write a 50-100 page mystery caper with footnotes or appendices that reference all the arcane knowledge the author needs to prove he knows. Supposedly a lot of it is factual, but I'd get more into the facts of it all if I could separate them from the plot.
And this, my friends, is why a movie would be much better. Within the confines of the visual medium and the time allotment they would have to cut all the crap from the story. And the author must have been imagining his work on the big screen already, because he wrote in the oldest trick in the book. The two main characters are a male and female. There is not a HINT of sexual tension between them during the whole book. They don't even have a flicker of interest between each other at any point in the story. But then the loose ends get tied up and they go jump in the sack. SERIOUSLY!
A young Nicole Kidman would be perfect for the female lead. I'd like Jeff Goldblum to play the male lead, but just because I have a thing for him and he does so well as the geeky scientist type. I could cast the rest of the characters as well, but I don't want to give away all my secrets or some big studio will just steal them from me. 20th Century Fox, give me a call and we can talk.
posted by Swankette at 11:28 PM
2 Comments:
That's why Foucault's Pendulum was much better.
Thanks for the recommendation - I'll have to check it out.
I tried to read The Name of the Rose in college, but there was just too much going on for me to get into it. The Amazon review says Focault's Pendulum is more accessible, so maybe I'll start there and tackle The Name of the Rose if the first foray goes well.
Post a Comment
<< Home