dissing Da Vinci

"The Da Vinci Code" is getting panned, and for anyone who read the book, it wasn't hard to see this coming. Granted, Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind" and "Cindarella Man") is probably a more talented screenwriter than I am. But this is a rambling page-turner of a book that is fascinating in part for its historical tangents, and in part for its puzzles that wouldn't seem to translate effectively to the big screen.

Right now, on rottentomatoes.com—a site that compiles reviews from other sources—Da Vinci has a lower composite rating (21% of critics like it) than (gulp) "Poseidon" or "RV."

Here's A.O. Scott, writing for the N.Y. Times, describing the film:

"The Da Vinci Code"... is one of the few screen versions of a book that may take longer to watch than to read.

But you know what? Sadly, I'll probably still go see it—even at the nearly $11 it costs to sit in a theater in New York City.