Tom Hanks says Da Vinci Code film is 'a lot of fun'

May 12, 2006, 15:52 GMT

US actor Tom Hanks (L) meets Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (R) at the Prime Minister\'s residence, in Tokyo, Friday 7 April 2006. Hanks is in Tokyo to promote director Ron Howard\'s suspense thriller \'Da Vinci Code\' based on Dan Brown\'s best-seller novel. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON POOL

London - Hollywood actor Tom Hanks Friday dismissed criticism of the film version of Dan Brown's controversial novel The Da Vinci Code, saying it was 'a lot of fun' and should not be taken too seriously.

The actor, who plays a Harvard professor in the film, to be premiered across the world next week, said Ron Howard's film was 'just a good story loaded with hooey and nonsense.'

He told London's Evening Standard newspaper Friday: 'If you are going to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge- budget motion picture like this, you'd be making a very big mistake.'

The film, due to have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next Wednesday, has attracted criticism from religious leaders and organizations.

Dan Brown's core message is that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children, whose secret bloodline had been covered up by the Catholic Church.

Leading figures in the Catholic Church, including in Ireland, have called for a boycott of the film, due for release in Britain on May 19.

But Hanks said the film was 'a lot of fun,' likening it to a 'scavenger hunt.'

'We always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown,' he said.

But he added that it 'never hurts' for a film to provoke 'dialogue' about religious issues and history.