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Film Review – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Director: Harald Zwart
Screenplay: Jessica Postig, Cassandra Clare (Book)
Cast: Lily Collins, Lena Heady, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Rating:**
Venue: Ster Kinekor Maerua Mall Cine 3

Rating Score
* – Poor
** – Average
*** – Good
**** – Very Good
***** – Excellent

Now that the Twilight saga has ended and we have nothing new from Harry Potter, movie directors decided to take advantage and came up with ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, a story that appeals to the reigning adolescent craving for innocent supernatural entertainment.
The Mortal Instruments tells the story of Fray (Lily Collins) a typical teenage girl, who 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.
Are you as exhausted as I am already just after trying to get the plot of the film?, I am not exhausted because I am bored, I am exhausted because yet again we are subjected to another Harry Potter/Twilight wannabe film. Demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures are the order of the day and this yet another repetition of the fight between good and evil. Good for moviemakers, boring for the audience, young as they may be.
Anyone who has watched Harry Potter will see that there is a similarity between the school in ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. There is nothing special about this film, it is a standard fantasy adventure that lacks good acting skills and a sensible dialogue. The script is so ridiculous that it is not hard to predict what each character will say next. I am sure that you will predict word for word what the actors will say because the entire dialogue is such a cliché.
I could stay away from the cinema forever if this is all on show because not only is the script pathetic, there is zero character development. It is like the actors did not eat or drink anything during filming, it is as if they sleep walked throughout every scene. The main actress is boring, teenage girls who have no self esteem at school or amongst their peers will feel a lot more empowered about themselves after watching Clary. She simply has no ‘vooma’ no ‘x factor’ or personality as she can not do anything by herself and just relies on the Shadowhunters.
Let me not even get started on the other characters because they are equally insufferable.  It is not hard to see through their paper thin characters and neither is it hard to see that they lack talent. Initially I did not want to watch this film. I only watched it because a friend recommended that I should. Having never read the book I decided I would watch it and not rate it according to the novel adaptation. But became so disappointed, I now loathe the film. Let’s just say that if there was a sequel to this film I would grab the nearest pair of Nikes and run as fast as I can in the opposite direction.
It is nothing new or exciting, it will not leave you on the edge of your seat or begging for more but it should please empty-headed fans of the novels. All the characters could be dead and nobody would care. This movie is rushed, pathetic and untalented.

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