The Da Vinci Code - * * * 1/2

Viewed at the theater.

Mini review:

The Da Vinci code's greatest strength is also its greatest flaw: the Dan Brown novel from which it came. You get the feeling that Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, and everyone else wanted to bring the novel to life so faithfully, that they forgot they're making a movie. It's also why it runs too long.

But my lasting impression of this film is that it's a great story -- one of those stories that transcends time and space and opens up the universe for a short time.