This past week I took my girl friend to see The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. She’s been reading the books. I have not. Other than a vague idea that it involved demons and demon hunters I knew nothing about the storyline. Apparently, this was a good thing since a lot of fans of the books are outraged at the changes made. Wait, don’t we go through this fan-rage every time a book gets made into a movie? Harry Potter, Twilight, Eragon (okay that one was really bad) Percy Jackson et cetera and so on.
First off, I enjoyed the movie. The characters were likable, the acting was well done, the settings were by turns beautiful and gritty, and the action was intense. It was also nice to see that the warlock Magnus Bane was cast as an Asian, specifically Godfrey Gao whom I find hideously attractive. He scintillated on screen for the few moments we were privileged with his countenance. Oh, so I have been informed that in the book Magnus is Japanese. Well good on them casting an Asian at least, even if he is Chinese.
Clary’s actress was quite fun to watch and I loved how flippant she was at times. She didn’t succumb to the standard damsel in distress routine even if she spent the first half of the movie in terrified denial. She is pretty, but not blonde. Yay for not blonde pretties! And she’s not afraid to throw a knife at a charging werewolf. Yay for badassery!
Speaking of blond pretties, Jace’s actor was fun to watch. He’s a smartass but somehow his actor made you feel as though it was his way of protecting himself. Interesting layering in his performance that I was not expecting from someone so young…and pretty. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t end up bloodier after the final boss battle. He would be very pretty in red, but that’s my personal er-thing.
The rest of the cast are equally good, no scenes felt contrived or poorly acted. The plot itself was full of tropes, but without being overly predictable. I especially liked where and how the special object was hidden. Having watched it, I am now convinced to go buy the books.
I am rather intrigued by how obsessed we’ve become with the supernatural. While it seems to be a trend, like superhero movies, it covers every genre from books and graphic novels to television shows and movies. It seems the more atheistic our society becomes the more these types of shows and books appeal to our fantasies. That subject might be interesting to explore in another post.
Don’t forget my sci-fi novel Sorrow’s Fall is available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is only $.99!
Related articles
- ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ Family Review: 5 Things Every Parent Should Know About the Teen Fantasy (news.moviefone.com)
- VIDEO: Godfrey Gao Reminiscences On His First Day a Magnus Bane On The ‘MORTAL INSTRUMENTS’ Set! (shadowinked.com)
- The Mortal Insturments: City of Bones Movie Chat (lizziedillabough.wordpress.com)