MY THOUGHTS: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Synopsis

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 calld Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series, The Mortal Instruments. 

Film Rating:
PG-13 
Parents Strongly Cautioned
Intense Sequences of Fantasy Violence and Action,
and Some Suggestive Content.

Directed by:

Harald Zwart

Screenplay by:

Jessica Postigo Paquette

Based on the Novel by:

Cassandra Clare

Cast:

Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Lena Headey, Aiden Turner, Godrey Gao, Kevin Durand with CCH Pounder, Jared Harris and Jonathan Rhys Meyers

For full cast and crew, go to: IMDB

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NOTE: This review has no spoilers

My thoughts

First off, we have to remember that this is an adaptation/interpretation of the book, so changes will be expected. Like any novel to film adaptations, it never is EXACTLY like the book. It can be frustrating when a film adaptation is completely nothing like the book; but, yet, claims that it is based on the book!  So, I would suggest to fans of the book series to watch the movie with an open mind...and remember it's an interpretation of the story.

After the excitement at the fan barricade, Mariah and I made a mad dash into the theater, grabbed some free drinks and popcorn and settled into our seats...just minutes before the movie started. Yes! We were able to watch the movie at the premiere after winning a couple of tickets from Fangirlish. I was somewhat "holding my breath" as the movie started since I have been disappointed before with bad novel to film adaptations. I didn't want to have too high of an expectation for this film, so that I wouldn't come crumbling down with disappointment after watching it. I also refrained from watching too many trailers, clips and featurettes, because I wanted to maintain that element of surprise and awe for when I actually watched the entire film. However, I did watch the five-minute clip that was released just days before...with that, I got even more excited.

As the movie started, it was as if I was opening the book. Although there were changes, it worked! In different parts of the movie, I could "see" what part of the book it was, but, of course, with some changes. Despite the changes, the entire film worked! The story flowed and connected. The characters were well established throughout the film as we watched each character develop from beginning to end. I also noticed that there was a balance among the characters as they grew throughout the film. The characters were well developed. Considering the changes and the entire film overall, I enjoyed the film immensely! I absolutely loved it! This film captured the "feels" that I felt when I read the book! In essence, the film captured the "heart" of the book, and told the story beautifully.

Harald Zwart, the director, did an AMAZING job at bringing the characters to life with cast they had chosen. I loved that fact that he would constantly seek Cassandra Clare's advice/opinion...whatever it was, Harald kept Cassandra close during filming. How awesome was that! Just have to love him and the crew to death for putting all their heart and efforts in making the film and staying true to the book. Have to admire the guy for reading the book and becoming a fan himself...haha! Gotta love it!

As for Jessica Postigo Paquette, she did a wonderful job writing a screenplay that works...it maintained the essence of the Shadowhunter world that Cassandra Clare created in her novels. Just by watching the movie, it was apparently clear that Jessica didn't just write a screenplay; she read the book thoroughly then wrote the screenplay. She took great care to maintain the heart of the story and characters. I absolutely love her for putting all her heart into writing the screenplay, and maintaining the essence of each character.

In regards to the cast, I believe that each actor and actress embodied each character perfectly. Everyone will always have their own image of what each character looks like...they are not going to please everyone's imagination. But, for me, each cast member played their parts well...to the point that Lily Collins is Clary, Jamie Campbell Bower is Jace, Jemima West is Isabelle Lightwood, Kevin Zegers is Alec Lightwood, Robert Sheehan is Simon Lewis...so on and so forth for every cast member. It's true that some of the cast is not what individual fans imagined, but this cast works! I loved the cast! 

Overall, we loved the movie! We couldn't stop gushing about it! This is one of the best novel to film adaptations I have watched! This is definitely a movie that everyone will enjoy! It is definitely an action-filled movie with a little teen romance. But, it definitely maintained the balance of suspense, thrills, drama, action and romance that we are familiar with in the book. 

Let's put it this way, my daughter loved and enjoyed the movie so much so that she didn't want to leave the theater!! We can definitely watch this movie over and over again....hahaha!!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
In Theaters August 21, 2013