Based on the novel by Dan Brown, the film deals with secret societies as well as a conspiracy within the Catholic Church and the origins of Christianity. 

The movie is based on the assumption that Jesus Christ was mortal and Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and has descendants. The movie starts with the story of Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a Harvard professor of "Religious symbology", who is in Paris for a lecture. He is called to the Louvre to view the body of the curator, Jacques Sauniere (Jean-Pierre Marielle) who was found murdered. The French police suspected that Langdon is involved in the murder mainly because the deceased man was supposed to meet Langdon the very next day and a pentagram was painted on his naked body. There were additional clues like mysterious messages hidden in the art works of the museum.

A young police cryptographer Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) from Paris who happens to be Sauniere's granddaughter, gets involved with the case. She finds that Langdon has nothing to do with the murder. Sophie and Robert decided to team up and solve the murder mystery and find the real killer. They found out that the mysterious messages surrounding the dead body had some greater meaning and pointed towards the legend of the "Holy Grail", as well as Jesus and the beliefs of the Catholic Church. In their search for truth, they have to face immense problems involving members and promoters of 'Opus Dei', a powerful and conservative Catholic Church organization that protects the Church from scandals and religious attacks.

Robert and Sophie manages to contact Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), a wealthy man who makes a strong case against the Catholic Church's alleged suppression of women and protection of Church's traditional teachings and values. The trio travelled to London where they visited the Temple Church built by the Knights Templar, and the Westminster Abbey, as well as the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton. Find out more about this religious thriller.

Director Ron Howard's screen adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller novel is a total failure. He explores many mysteries that surrounds the Catholic Church for centuries. In this dangerous age of strong religious sensitivity and possible uproar, it was irresponsible on his part to direct a film that questions the fundamental believes of the Roman Catholic Church.

Talented actor Tom Hanks presents a mediocre performance. Audrey Tautou as Sophie also gives an uninspiring performance.

Dan Brown's book of the same name was read by millions around the world with great interest and pleasure. Brown deals with a variety of situations to build up the suspense in his imaginary tale about the life of Jesus Christ which keep the readers wondering what will happen next and make them read page to page without putting the book down. Even though in his book, Brown has made many unfounded claims, as a fiction it was interesting. It is morally wrong on anybody's part to make up imaginary tales about any religion which can hurt the feelings of the followers traditional beliefs, all around the world. In this dangerous world that we live, criticizing any religion can create chaotic situations anywhere. So it is the responsibility of each and every world citizen not to  provoke others with a religious criticism.

As a movie, "The Da Vinci Code", fails in every way that the book succeeded. Even with great stars, the film is not an entertainer. Some people will argue that the movie will open people's mind and make them think in a novel way. Even though people loves conspiracy tales, it is wrong to promote theories rather than facts to just create sensationalism in the public. The film invites people to "Seek the truth" but the "Truth" is that there is no truth at all in the movie. Last but not the least, about the life of Jesus, Langdon himself declares that "What matters is what you believe". So, it is finally up to the audience to draw any conclusion about this controversial film.

We rate this movie BELOW AVERAGE.