Da Vinci Code's Cannes debute raises some doubts

The juggernaut that is the Da Vinci Code(not the Juggernaut who'll be in X-Men: The Last Stand) film had it's premiere at the Cannes film festival last night and from what I read,the reception to it was not good. Members of the audience were heard to be laughing and making catcalls during certain parts. Most folks seemed to be impatient with the length of the movie(the running time is 2 1/2 hours) and some were reported to have walked out during the closing minutes. No one clapped at the end of the DVC-in fact,there were hisses and whistles.


The NY Times also did a report about the lack of advance screenings for DVC,with the producers saying they wanted to keep a lid on spoilers from bloggers and movie websites. Nonetheless,I did find a review at Rotten Tomatoes(which is linked in the title above). The review is from JoBlo.com(don't let the name put you off,they give pretty good write-ups)and basically says what many of the critics at Cannes said:the movie is real damn long and not that exciting. Ian McKellan is cool and so is Paul Bettany who plays the infamous albino monk.

I didn't read DVC and really don't intend to see the movie but,who knows? A lady is entitled to change her mind and part of me is curious to see what all the hoopla is about. I'm sure this movie is nowhere in the realm of greatness as The Last Temptation of Christ(now that book,I read!) Plus,the fact that the very ideas this fictional story expresses about Jesus and Mary Magdalene have some folks all in an uproar and ready to protest this flick around the world gives me a bit of a rebel yell itch to scratch.

Frankly,I think this movie is pretty much review-proof. Tons of DVC fans are going to hit the theaters this weekend(Tom Cruise and Co. can kiss their box office lead goodbye)and many of the curious will follow. This could be either this year's Dances with Wolves or Battlefield Earth,it's a toss-up. Regardless,your only other new film options are either Over The Hedge or See No Evil. So,you can either check Tom Hanks in Steven Segal hair,cartoon animals who sound like Steve Carell and Bruce Willis or Kane from the WWE getting medievel on a bunch of punk kids. Gotta love the mulitplex sometimes,folks!