Negative reviews from the Los Angeles Times and New York Times didn’t keep the crowds from pouring into the theaters for the greatly anticipated The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel made $244 million worldwide in its first weekend in the box office.

The story unravels as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks) is giving a lecture in Paris and is suddenly contacted by Inspector Fache (played by Jean Reno) about the murder in the Louvre. When Langdon arrives at the seen of the crime, he sees the late curator of the Louvre, Jacques Sauniere (played by Jean-Pierre Mariell), lying naked on the floor in the position of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man. However, the mystery becomes more complicated as Langdon discovers that Sauniere left clues on his body and on barquet floors of the museum in his own blood. The cryptic messages lead him to Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a French policewoman who shared a past with the dead man. Not only does Neveu help Langdon discover further clues in the museum one of which is a key to a high-security bank account in Paris, but she also helps him escape from the French police which have Langdon as the prime suspect in the curator’s murder. This adventure leads from Paris to London, as they soon discover that the French police are not the only ones hunting after them and the precious secret they are about to uncover, a secret big enough to shake the foundations of Christianity.

Ron Howard does a good job in making the movie progress without losing the audience in the history of the Knights of Templar and Mary Magdalene. Not taking in account the beginning scene in the lecture hall, the movie closely follows the book; this is a nice change from recent directors who take liberties when adapting books to film, such as Mike Newell with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The movie and the book are unique in that they are based on real facts but with a fictional story line. However, recently Dan Brown has been under attack by historians about the many inaccuracies in his book.

This movie may not be the best for people who are deeply religious or ancient history buffs, but it is an entertaining film, that offers an alternative to the role of Jesus Christ in the Christian religion. Anyone can enjoy this movie with a little stretch of the imagination.