Our culture has been becoming lazier for quite a while now and it is evident in the fact that people would rather sit and watch a movie based on a book rather than read the book itself. With movies, people don’t have to process as much information, or spend as much time getting through the story as they would with the book. As a result, they miss out on all the tiny intricacies that make reading books far superior than watching their movie counterparts. Case in point- The Da Vinci Code.
The most talked about book since Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code is very well written, expertly paced and has lots of neat little tidbits that were simply intriguing to millions (whether they were true or not). The problem with turning such a book into a movie was that the film could either be lacking in the little things that pressed the mind onward, or it could be overfull of them and drag the movie down. The former turns out to be the case.
Without much of the non-verbal elements in the book, character histories are reduced, and the reasons for their actions are left vague because we don’t know what’s motivating them as much as we would had we read the book. It also doesn’t help that they completely changed the ending! Well, not completely, but it’s leaps and bounds different from the book.
And for all the hoopla that the book and ensuing movie caused amongst hard line religious folk, the movie certainly isn’t going to change anyone’s minds about their faith. At least no thinking people will.
Basically, this movie ultimately served two core audiences- those who are too lazy to read the book, and those who want to get up in arms over the story’s content. Evidently, it’s more socially acceptable to go overboard protesting a movie than it is a book. Anyway, for those who read the book, it’s a fairly decent rendition of a very good story, though it won’t be heralded as superior to its source. While a largely forgettable affair, The Da Vinci Code is still pretty good popcorn entertainment but by no means necessary given the quality of the book.
A unique and, at times, jarring quasi-literal portrayal of the events contained in the Book of Revelation, The Seventh Sign is not for everybody. In fact, only those who are seriously interested in Christian eschatology should bother watching it, because the everyday Christian will think “They got it wrong!” and those who know nothing about Christianity will think “This is what they believe?”
Thusly, only watch the film if you're interested in examining the eschatological elements contained within. A rather low-key budget forces the film to spread itself thin in places, particularly in special effects, but this burden is also a bonus, as it forces the filmmakers to aim for more everyday style effects which, while making it laughably bad for some, makes it a challenge to watch for others. Because of it’s low-key delivery, The Seventh Sign turns out to be one of the more realistic looking End Times films.
Demi Moore stars as a mother-to-be who rents out her garage apartment to a mysterious stranger. Turns out this stranger is an angel of the Apocalypse. The most unique aspect of the film is its questioning whether or not we can delay or interfere with the God-designed apocalypse. Overall, it’s passable, but a good watch for religion scholars.
Our culture has been becoming lazier for quite a while now and it is evident in the fact that people would rather sit and watch a movie based on a book rather than read the book itself. With movies, people don’t have to process as much information, or spend as much time getting through the story as they would with the book. As a result, they miss out on all the tiny intricacies that make reading books far superior than watching their movie counterparts. Case in point- The Da Vinci Code.
