Has anyone read Da Vinci Code?

[Andrewgosu]

I have. And I have to say I absolutely love that book! I love such adventures and they were told so realistically. The book made me even open up google and find more about fibonacci sequence and about cryptexes and such.

I have to say, that I have also seen the movie. Altough Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, the books still remains better. I suggest everyone to read it! I consumed the +500 page book in a matter of few days.

Any impressions?

 

[Ninva]

I promote the use of ideas and expression in stories but really now. I felt that the story was a bunch of lies trying to corrupt a church body. I honestly think the author is taking control over other's beliefs to make a profit which isn't cool.

 

[SilverHawk]

I promote the use of ideas and expression in stories but really now. I felt that the story was a bunch of lies trying to corrupt a church body. I honestly think the author is taking control over other's beliefs to make a profit which isn't cool.

I believe Dan Brown has stated numerous times that it is simply fiction.

 

[Ninva]

I believe Dan Brown has stated numerous times that it is simply fiction.

Yea, well I just don't know anymore...

 

[Andrewgosu]

Yes, Brown stated that. But it's hard to believe.

 

[Rinpun]

I believe Dan Brown has stated numerous times that it is simply fiction.

Just fyi, as people other here say, I find that difficult to believe in. From the portions I've read of the book (never have read the full thing), it seems more like what Ninva said. A bunch of lies that are so backward and fictional that people are drawn in for the profit, but it's new in that it's a bunch of lies about a religion. I wouldn't agree with any story that downplays a religion with lies that don't fit it. Same reason why I never liked the Crucible all that much.

I didn't really like the DaVinci Code as a movie. The book had enough flaws to not make it a worthwhile movie without good effort, like Harry Potter, which IMO is far better than the books it was based upon. I like Tom Hanks as an actor, but he's been in quite a few crappy ones of late.

 

[SilverHawk]

Same reason why I never liked the Crucible all that much.

Funny you say that. I also enjoyed that (the movie especially).

Side note about The Crucible - the best acting I've seen to date was in that movie, even though said person is a very minor character. For about two seconds, the expressions of Francis Nurse before his wife is about to be hanged is probably one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

Most people will probably disagree with me, but that's fine. Just my opinion.

Back on topic - could someone explain how a lie is not fiction? Fiction and lies are the same thing, but the words themselves have different connotations. Dan Brown has stated numerous times that it's not true, so why is there a debate about it. It's not true; that's a fact. I read somewhere that some of the connections that he drew were inaccurate if one was truly knowledgeable on the subject. It's only those of us (like me) that don't know about the artwork and historical artifacts who think for a minute that it might be true. Dan Brown has even stated that it was intended to entertain, not to undermine or corrupt the Church.

So, again, it's just fiction that has basis in historical fact - nothing more.

 

[Halahan]

like Harry Potter, which IMO is far better than the books it was based upon.

ACTUALLY the Harry Potter books are really great, and the movies suck compared to the books. (I hope this thread doesnt get shut down)

But also (I have never read the book, so I'm basing it off what I read in this thread) if it IS fictitious and he twists things and lies and turns thing backwards wouldn't that be an attractiveness of it, yet just because you read the book doesn't mean its true. It is FICTION. So therefore I support SilverHawk... (i think, he had a very short reply)

 

[Krys A Night]

I have never been a fan of the books that turned into movies, I think that they are just cheap rip offs of the originals.

I've read part of the Da Vinci code, and it was a book that took me some time to read because it was full of so many twists. (I never finished it because it was a 3 day book from the library). But what I read was really good.

Even though Dan Brown didn't mean it to be taken as a real religious book, there was still controversy over it.

 

[InfectedWithDrew]

It is labeled as fiction because it is. It's not evil per se, but people who believe what it says are being foolish; if you read, say, Harry Potter and starting believeng that there was a secret underground society of occult-following magic users that had a complex, powerful society, then you'd be pretty... stupid.

 

[Halahan]

lol ya.

But I still love books that were made into movies, but I usually dont like the movies, except for ex. Lord of the Rings, they did a great job with that

 

[KillerH]

If you want more facts and less story, read holy blood holy grail

 

[Hero]

I have. And I have to say I absolutely love that book! I love such adventures and they were told so realistically. The book made me even open up google and find more about fibonacci sequence and about cryptexes and such.

I have to say, that I have also seen the movie. Altough Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, the books still remains better. I suggest everyone to read it! I consumed the +500 page book in a matter of few days.

Any impressions?

I am getting it soon

Can't wait to read it all..lol

 

[The Helper]

I am going to read the book but I will probably watch the movie first since it is available.

 

[Wiseman_2]

The Da Vinci Code? Probably the biggest waste of my time. Ever. But adequetley entertaining nevertheless.

I found it to be too overly complex and it didn't really make much sense.

And the movie was one Tom Hanks' biggest mistakes of his career. For all the good stuff he made - Saving private Ryan, Forrest Gump - he had to have at least one steaming pile of dung. And that was The Da Vinci Code.

And on the subject of book-based films, I think that 9 times out of 10 they are crap, or at least inferior to the book on which it is based. Harry Potter books are brilliant, but the films are just average. And nothing more.

And on the other hand, The Lord of the Rings books tend to drift randomly and I can't read them all the way through. The films, on the other hand, are brilliant. But I probably only think that 'cos of the battle scenes.

So you probably all think I've got the attention span of a goldfish 'cos I can't read The Lord of the rings, but I ain't really into that sorta thing.
I prefer the Sherlock Holmes short stories (short enough to read yet written well enough to count as classics) and stuff by Bill Bryson.

I kind of strayed from the topic there... so to sum it up,
Da Vinci Code book = Average
Da Vinci Code film = Big (read: gigantic) mistake.

 

[Duwenbasden]

To quote my ASM prof: "No one has solved the Da Vinci Code for 500 years and an average Joe from nowhere figure it out on a plane in an hour."

 

[SilverHawk]

To quote my ASM prof: "No one has solved the Da Vinci Code for 500 years and an average Joe from nowhere figure it out on a plane in an hour."

Robert Langdon is by no means an "average Joe". He is a world-renowned expert who happens to come by a lot of secret information. That statement is completely false.

 

[Halahan]

Well thats how it always happens isn't it? that would make too long story if it took him twenty years to figure it out, even if they skipped past it all. It makes more sense.

Its my BIRTHDAY!!!

 

[DM Cross]

Its my BIRTHDAY!!!

Stop that. This isn't the "Announce your birthday" forum, and I've seen you add this to five different posts. If ya really want people to notice your birthday, make a thread in GD or something.

 

[Rinpun]

Well thats how it always happens isn't it? that would make too long story if it took him twenty years to figure it out, even if they skipped past it all. It makes more sense.

To be on topic, that's false. I don't get why so many stories feel they need to do this. I've watched, in the past month a rather low budget but nicely done movie called Pi, which is another made up "conspiracy" of sorts that takes a unique and cool twist in the ending. However, it has to do with a really smart guy in the 1960-70s spending a long period of time devoting himself to, most specifically, finding the mysterious number "pattern" to the Stock Market, and it has to do with the number pi. Anyhow, the long period of time is shown in ten minutes, just days going by and messing with his computer, not to mention showing a depiction of him slowly going insane (every scene of a new day shows him talking a handful of pills--and as the movie goes on each handful has two more pills added!)

I won't spoil the ending of Pi, but I basically wanted to point out the best way to spend a realistic amount of time in a short amount of time is using shortcut scenes to allude to something. It's very lame to just snip the plot short by allowing Mr. Know-it-All to figure it out in an hour. All Science was founded on years and years of work. The only reason why we have more technology faster in our period is because we have thousands upon thousands of scientists focusing their hours so we don't have to continuously wait large periods of years for a handful of brilliant minds to come along and discover something for us. There is, in short, a mathematical formula for predicting the rate of technology. It's complicated, and it also explains for why we won't have rocket cars or perfect AI.