Something to Muse About: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Review

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Review

Directed by:

Harald Zwart

Screenplay by:

Jessica Postigo Paquette

Based on the novel by:

Cassandra Clare

Executive Producers:

Martin Moszkowicz, Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne

Starring:

Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, Jared Harris, Aiden Turner, Lena Headey, CCH Pounder, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Rating:

PG-13

Parents Strongly Cautioned

Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13

Synopsis

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series, The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare.

source

My Review

I have watched it twice. My thoughts about it is sill the same. I loved it! I have read the book and the other books in the series, and it is definitely a great read. Cassandra Clare has a knack for creating worlds with such great detail and well developed characters. So, yah, when news of a movie based on the book got out, I got excited! However, like so many failed attempts to adapt a novel to film, it can be a huge disappointment, especially for those that have read the books and are loyal fans to the author. There has been very few successful novel to film adaptations, that I have learned to not compare the film to the book too much. There will always be changes, but how much change is what can make or break the film.

In regards to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, I thought the cast and crew were successful in capturing the heart and essence of Cassandra Clare's novel. The casting was perfect, as in that Lily Collins did embody "Clary Fray," Jamie Campbell Bower IS "Jace Wayland," Robert Sheehan IS "Simon Lewis" and so on and so forth. I enjoyed the fact that Lily Collins is a huge fan of the books, even before she got the part!

Although there were changes, the film still maintained the storyline. The movie was filled with drama, suspense and action...yup, there was definitely some "badassery" by our female cast! I know it's not one of those that would get Oscar "nods," but it does successfully keep within the expectations of the many fans of the book(s).

However, like any film adaptations, there were changes. Yes, there were changes, but I thought these changes were negligible since it made sense in the movie. Moreover, there were minute changes that did not go well with me. For instance, the greenhouse scene, I loved the scene, but I felt it to be "cliché-ish" & "cheesy" when that Demi Lovato song played in the background. I think it would of worked better if it was just the instrumental/score of the song...but, that's just me. For instance, it seemed to me that Godfrey Gao's, who played Magnus Bane, voice was dubbed! Really!!! I heard him speak in a video in which he was speaking....AND, he spoke well - in English! Magnus just didn't seem real enough for me, because of the dub of his voice. C'mon! He's supposed to be exotic! In addition to that, Magnus didn't seem flamboyant enough on screen.

Overall, I loved the movie. The cast had "chemistry" and the direction was beautiful! Jessica Postigo Paquette did an amazing job with the screenplay! She maintained that essence of the story while compressing it into a 130 minute movie. Although critics (who haven't read the book ) gave The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones bad reviews, I think the fans of the books would be more harsher in criticizing the movie. And, as far as I know, every fan that have watched it, loved it...including me and my daughter! I have learned to NOT listen or read any of those "critics."

A reminder...it is NOT Twilight! Many critics are comparing all these YA novel to film adaptations to the Twilight phenomenon; hence, it doesn't give these other films a FAIR chance. I am also a fan of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, I'm not obsessed, but I did enjoy the books.

I rated it: 4.75 out of 5 stars