The Da Vinci Rip-off
Charles H. Levenson | new jersey | 02/12/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"The Da Vinci Treasure is an awful,horrible,badly made attempted rip-off of a film...That anyone would bank-roll this dud boggles the mind..C.Thomas Howell,looking like he is suffering from some wasting illness,plays the lead,an adventurer seeking a "Di Medici"treasure trove alledgedly to be found following "hints"and "clues"to be found in items associated with Leonardo Da Vinci..Any similarity with the more popular"Da Vinci Code" book and film ends here..Instead one gets tongue-in-cheek jokes being told by Howell and the busty female lead while simultaneously they are being shot at,or otherwise menaced,usually by the rather over-the-top arch-villian,played by Lance Hendriksen..There is no real rhyme or reason to anything that goes on in this movie...The Shroud of Turin is stolen,a cardinal is shot,several chase scenes occur in Italy during rush hour,complete with AK47 gunfire,a secret chamber is found in Afganistan,ect...None of these sequences really add to the flimsy plotline,but do take up time...Without these elements this badly scripted story would probably clock in at about fifteen minutes from start to finish...Truly a grade "Z" production,made probably so that someone with bucks could claim a major tax write-off rather than as entertainment."