Bill Donohue saw “The Da Vinci Code” the day it opened. Here are his comments:
“The movie theater was packed, and at the end of the film there were three or four people who clapped, and three of four who hissed. Most just walked out in a zombie-like fashion, eerily mimicking the characters on the screen.
“This was one of the most inane films I have ever seen. It takes forever to get going, and even when it finally does, it fails to sustain the momentum. Indeed, it somehow manages to revert back to its original slumbering style, delivering one of the most thoroughly anti-climatic endings ever to grace the screen.
“There are too many symbols and too many arcane codes, but the real reason the movie fails is because it lacks suspense, is hopelessly melodramatic, and is way too long. The few times the audience laughed was due to a quip made by one of the characters: these moments were much appreciated—it broke the boredom.
“As for the anti-Catholic nature of the movie, it is a credit to Ron Howard that he softened the edges. To be specific, the conversation about the divinity of Christ, and about religious belief in general, was portrayed with greater sensitivity to Christians than was depicted in the book.
“Had the movie been a success, the effect would have been troubling. But because it fails to persuade, this is one movie practicing Christians have nothing to worry about.”
