 |
| Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace |
As if the cinema world was clamoring for yet another dark fantasy between good and evil and involving vampires and werewolves comes the new fantasy "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," an energetic but derivative, mediocre action fantasy geared toward the "Twilight" fan base. Lily Collins ("Mirror, Mirror") stars as a young girl named Clary Fray whose life is upended when she realizes that she's part of a long line of demon-slayers known as shadowhunters, who are part human and part angel. With the help of fellow shadowhunter Jace (Jamie Campbell Brower) she battles good and evil to find her mother, also a shadowhunter, and a Mortal Cup with considerable powers. Mildly entertaining but mostly dull and wholly unoriginal, "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" is directed by Harald Zwart ("The Karate Kid") and based on Cassandra Clare's best-selling "Mortal Instruments" young adult novels. It rips off numerous other movies and essentially becomes a goth, urban "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" mixed with "Twilight" and "Underworld," among others. Collins, much like Kristen Stewart, is a decent actress stuck in a mediocre movie franchise (note to Collins: get out while you can, this only the first film). While Collins has some beguiling moments, Bower, ironically seen in three of the "Twilight" films, is miscast as Jace. Bower is a sullen, leaner version of the book character, who is more muscular and rugged, not to mention he and Collins share little chemistry, with their one true romantic scene laughably handled (and one plot twist makes their relationship a tad creepy). With a lack of meaningful direction and a coherent script, the uneven "Mortal Instruments" is overlong and sluggish, slow in places and overloaded with special effects in others. "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" has a few fun moments and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a serviceable villain, but overall this is an unsatisfying adaptation of the novels that may lose some fans in translation. It isn't as terrible as the "Twilight" films, but that may not be saying much. Collins is charming though she needs better material.
Wes's Grade: C
No comments:
Post a Comment