Busted blockbuster

The Da Vinci Code proves artistry and story line do matter | Gene Edward Veith

It never occurred to most of us who worried about the impact of The Da Vinci Code that it would turn out to be a really bad movie. We assumed with its Academy Award--winning director and cast that the movie would magnify the novel's anti-Christian message. And yet film critics are panning, even ridiculing, it. Though millions are indeed going to the theaters to watch this twisted tale of how Christianity is a hoax, that the movie is so aesthetically bad makes it less persuasive and may mitigate the harm that it will do.

The website Rotten Tomatoes quantifies what critics are saying about any given movie. According to the site's calculations, The Da Vinci Code received a "rotten" rating, scoring only 17 percent on the quality scale. That means of 106 reviews, only 18 found the movie "fresh," while 88 found it "rotten."