Movie Review – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Description: 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. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Writers: Jessica Postigo (screenplay), Cassandra Clare (based on the novel by)

Stars: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan 

Information from IMDB.

 

 

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   Julie’s Review     

As a movie, The City of Bones was really good. It had great effects and did a good job in conveying the overall plot line and story. The actors did a great job and for the most part I believed them in their roles. I thought Isabelle needed to be prettier, taller, and a bit meaner. I also thought Jace needed to be better looking – the actor playing him was a bit creepy looking with his bug eyes. He did an amazing job though, he just wasn’t what I pictured.

As far as the book-to-movie adaptation, there were a few moments that were upsetting. Of course the movies don’t always go by the book, but I thought a few major important moments were left out or changed. It seemed like a few moments from future books got introduced early in this movie, but it worked.

Here is a spoilery list of the differences I noticed (***you’ve been warned about the spoilers***)

• Simon did not get turned into a rat. I was waiting for rat-Simon! While he did get taken by the vampires, the story line about him getting turned will be different since he didn’t end up biting one of the vamps and ingesting their blood.  The movie did show him with vamp bites so it seems they will keep with that story line.
• No demon-bike! What? I was looking forward to the motorcycles that run only in the dark. That was so cool! Ok I can get over this.
• The brother-sister thing that didn’t get resolved for us readers until the THIRD book, got just blurted out basically by a conversation between Hodge and Valentine. Ok so probably it would be a weird item and it might make people uncomfortable if the possible incest thing went on too long, but it was a bit shocking for us readers to have that explained so early. The good news is, Clary and Jace believe it is likely true.
• The mortal cup still being safe at the end. In the movie, Clary tricks Valentine into taking a replica cup. I’m not sure how that story line will progress in the next movie, but that was kind of strange since in the book it was a big deal that Valentine ran off with it.
• Clary being able to draw new runes. That doesn’t come up in the first book! But, I guess to make this movie more interesting they pulled that from the next book. I guess it wasn’t so bad.
• Showing us that Jocelyn took a potion. We do not know in the books that Jocelyn’s coma is due eto a spell. We believe Valentine hurt her. In fact this was a big bombshell moment in the books.

Here is a list of things I thought were done really well:

• The City of Bones and the Silent Brothers – creepy and awesome. I loved it!
• Demons – some pretty cool effects here.
• Fight scenes – well choreographed and interesting.
• Jocelyn hovering over a coffin in a coma state.
• Clary removing the cup from the Tarot card.
• The portal scenes.
• The greenhouse scene! Yes!
• The banter and Jace’s fun quotes.

Overall, the movie was really good and I think set the story line up for following close enough to the next book in the next movie.

 

   Rose’s Review    

I am going to step out on a limb here and say, I liked the movie better than the book.  The books were more indepth of course, as all books are, but for me, the movie was more entertaining.  I think that world building was a bit complicated in the movie and perhaps if you had not read the book, then the movie might be a tad bit hard to follow.  There seemed to be a lot of open ended questions that the movie did not answer. Now, as a reader of the series, I understand this is because there is more to come. However, it seems with a movie that it should always be a stand alone, especially if it is the FIRST movie.  This movie felt incomplete, but it makes sense why in that there are several more books and I am guessing several more movies to come.

Some things were changed in the movie, obviously.  One of the biggest disappointments for me was that there were no demon-motorcycles.  This is one of the biggest things that made Jace attractive to me.  I mean, a guy on a bike is hot, but a guy riding a demon-bike!? SEXY! So I was definitely disappointed about that.  The movie redeemed itself with the regular street bike scene at the end.  I DID like that!  I was not terribly disappointed that Simon did not turn into a rat.  That might have seemed at little cheesy on the big screen.  The whole incest things was blown right out of the water and I was super surprised that it was done they way it was in the movie.  It felt like they were giving away a major secret.  However, after talking to some of our group members from book club (we all went together to see the movie) I realized that not everyone caught it. Some were still traumatized that Clary and Jace were told they were brother and sister, so perhaps that is okay, too.

I thought the Silent Brothers were done amazingly well and they were for sure creepy!!  The fight scenes were fun to watch. Overall this movie was more guy friendly that say, Twilight (which I happen to know quite a few guys enjoyed as well despite what they may say in a crowd!).  I liked the actors/actresses.  Everyone was convincing in their roles except perhaps Isabelle.  I pictured her taller, prettier, more statuesque and definitely sassier.  Perhaps that sass will show itself more in subsequent movies.  Overall, I say that this was a well done book to movie adaptation. I’d watch it again.

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