Critics Pan DVC--Oops!

After all that hype, it seems that many of the critics who saw the showing of The Da Vinci Code at the Cannes Film Festival DO NOT LIKE IT.
(Hat tip: Ben Witherington III)

These are not Christian film critics, either, just the regular kind.

Here are a few quotes from the rotten tomatoes website linked above:

"..it's not very good--long (2hr.32min.) and mostly inert."
Richard Corliss, TIME magazine.

"There's no code to decipher. Da Vinci is a dud--a dreary, droning, dull-witted adaptation of Dan Brown's religioso detective story..."
Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

"Perhaps an interesting side-piece to those already fanatical about the book, but ultimately a lifeless adaptation that reveals the flaws of its source. So Dark, the Con of Dan Brown."
Joe Utichi, FILMFOCUS

Actually I thought the book had a lot of dreary and droning portions. Guess Ron Howard focused on those when he made the movie! El Jefe and I are going to a private showing of the movie Friday night, sponsored by one of his clients. He's going to have a tough time lasting through a 2 1/2 hour movie.

I have mixed feelings about these reviews. The media attention on the making of the movie really gave Christians many "teachable moments" in conversations with friends and neighbors who read the book or read about its controversial assertions about Jesus and the development of Christianity. If the movie is a dud, then those opportunities will dry up. I've had a great time preparing and teaching a class on the formation of the New Testament canon, women in the early church, the Gnostic Gospels, and the development of early Christian Christology disguised as a class on The Da Vinci Code. There won't be nearly as much interest in these subjects if the movie flops.

On the other hand, it's hard not to be gleeful at the prospect of the movie having a very poor box office once the word about it gets around.

Plus, if the DVC movie looses money, then Portia probably won't be able to sell her story DOG-GONE to Hollywood.