The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Another teen fantasy romance series? This one is more gothy than Twilight but not as hopelessly relationship drama based, with a bit more Harry Potter style magical fantasy but none of the great character work or intriguing plot, and like Beautiful Creatures, it has a great cast of British supporting actors but with none of its charm.

What the film has going for it is (and I hate to use this word, so apologies,) edginess. I found the film pretty stock standard, but there were elements that made it stand out from the usual fare. Whoever designed the demons in the film must have been a fan of John Carpenter's The Thing. Some unexpectedly gory horror moments perked my interest. Also new to me in a teen fantasy romance was a homosexual character and the possibility of an incestuous relationship. Those combinations make for some interesting love triangles.

Everyone here seems to be sleepwalking through the film. Not nearly as bad as Twilight, but Robert Sheehan from Misfits was the only one that really made any kind of impression. I saw the film in a cinema filled with teen fangirls, the kind that stood up and cheered when the new Hunger Games teaser played before the film. I've never heard such a vocal reaction of sympathy when he gets put in the friend closet by the heroine.

The film moved through the beats so fast that even for someone who hasn't read the book, it felt very abridged. Huge leaps are constantly made and revelations aren't dwelt on at all. It all feels so surface. And then there's the central romance, which really doesn't work. Perhaps I just don't go for Jamie Campbell Bower. Not that Lily Collins was doing much better. There's some particularly laughable dialogue they have to deliver, scenes that come out of nowhere.

A real mixed bag. But somehow this one already has a sequel on the way. I'd rather a Beautiful Creatures sequel than this but then, I'm hardly the target audience.