The Da Vinci Code is a cracking thriller

The Da Vinci Code

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tauton, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jurgen Prochnow

For all of us who struggled to understand the complexities of Dan Brown’s runaway best-selling novel – and mostly didn’t quite manage it – the film is now ready.

As Hanks says: it’s just a good thriller. As the world’s religious leaders say: it’s an evil and twisted tale aimed at destroying for ever the very faith we hold dear, shaking at least the foundations of Christianity.

You take your pick.

It is certainly a stylish, slick and well-paced mystery thriller with a murder in the Louvre and the paintings of Leonardo leading to a potential scandal being guarded by a secret society for several thousand years.

But it’s still really just a good thriller, with Hanks and the delicious Tauton setting off in search of the clues. We can still all safely go to church on Sunday.

It verges too often, though, on the disappointing. Perhaps all the fuss and hype has given us high expectations, but as good thrillers go it’s worth your attention.

Star Rating: 4/5