The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Eesh. The critics are right this time. This is a hugely boring, talky, badly-written mess. It takes place in a fantasy world where there are absolutely no cameras or security officers guarding precious things. I just wish it would acknowledge this alternate-reality, because Paris and London seem realllllly underpopulated and their police are, apparently, all morons. The woman behind me gasped every time Paul Bettany showed up, so I guess he's scary to someone, but his naked butt shot just reminded me of A Knight's Tale (which is a way better movie. Shut up. You're wrong. It's good). As reviewers have noted, only Sir Ian is having any fun at all, and things pick up for a bit when he shows up, but eventually, he too is done in by the Lucas-ian dialogue. Oh, and the ending after the main ending is freaking terrible. Again, eesh. D

Yeah, there's like 1/5 of the movie that's ok i think, mostly the part with Ian McKellen. <b>C-</b>

I liked it quite a bit. The idea of expository information driving a movie, almost replacing action, fascinated me. I could never do that as a writer. On one hand, that's not the "right" way to do a movie, but the drive of the book and the movie is the story, not really the way it's told. I mean, the writing of the book was pretty pedestrian, what stood out was the story. I think the same is true of the movie. Plus I'm a sucker for Catholic conspiracy movies.

It had me for a couple hours and then it totally lost me, right at the part where (I suspect) Brown stopped lifting his story whole cloth from the work of other writers.

I want to see a Mystery Science Theater 3000 version.

You're a snob now.