The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
Directed by Harald Zwart
In New York City, Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary teenager, learns that she is descended from a line of Shadowhunters — half-angel warriors who protect humanity from evil forces. After her mother disappears, Clary joins forces with a group of Shadowhunters and enters Downworld, an alternate realm filled with demons, vampires, and a host of other creatures. Clary and her companions must find and protect an ancient cup that holds the key to her mother's future.
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Director Harald Zwart (2010's " The Karate Kid ") and first-time screenwriter Jessica Postigo go on for what seem like days trying to explain the story and what is going on, and yet viewers who have not read the book will still walk away no more clear about the reasons Valentine wants this holy cup, why it is important, and what he hopes to achieve.
Her mum ( Game of Thrones star Lena Headey) has done a tidy job of concealing the truth about Clary's bloodline, right up until the moment - early on in the film - when those biker dudes come crashing into their apartment and leave her dead, dying, dormant or trapped in another dimension - director Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid) isn't big on the details.
Instead of frontloading City of Bones with one of those expositional voice-overs that explains the movie’s universe to the audience, director Harold Zwart (The Karate Kid remake) and screenwriter Jessica Postigo allow us to gradually discover it through Clary’s eyes.
Which we have with Harald ("The Karate Kid") Zwart's version of the first book, "City of Bones."
First time screenwriter Jessica Postigo has crammed a huge cast of characters and tons of mythology into her adaptation of Cassandra Clare's series starter (the second is already in production), and director Harald Zwart's (2010's "The Karate Kid") thrown it all on screen with some impressive visual effects and teen swoony romance, but at 130 minutes running time, the film felt like it would never end.
There's simply so much to explore, or at least introduce, that even though director Harald Zwart ("The Karate Kid" remake) and screenwriter Jessica Postigo Paquette ("Tarzan 3D") fail to bring much imagination to the table, they keep the action flowing at a steady pace.
Demons, angels, werewolves, oh my! Playing much like bad fan fiction from an immature, lovelorn teenage girl who's seen " Twilight ," " Beastly ," "Star Wars," and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" too many times, "The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones" is interminable gobbledygook.
On the adult side of the equation, Headey is a fiercely watchable presence in her too-brief moments; CCH Pounder and “Mad Men’s” Jared Harris enliven the proceedings as vaguely sinister characters operating on the story’s periphery; and Jonathan Rhys Meyers momentarily jolts the film awake as a louche Shadowhunter who expands the film’s stew of pop-cultural influences to include “Star Wars.”
Take the central love triangle from "Twilight," the quest of "Harry Potter" by way of the Holy Grail then add a dash of "Sleeping Beauty" and some familial mythology from "Star Wars" and you've got "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones."
With its blend of romance, action, magic and bits and pieces of supernatural hoo-ha imported from other sources – the Potterverse and “Twilight,” most obviously, but also “Star Wars,” “Avatar,” “Lord of the Rings” and the “Blade” and “Underworld” series – this initial “Mortal Instruments” picture has the vibe of a straight-to-video release from the mid-‘90s, except with a $60 million budget and considerable special-effects expertise.
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There’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen before — Clare having swiped big hunks of plot from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Twilight” along with a certain well-known shocking revelation from the “Star Wars” saga — but everything chugs along briskly and reasonably entertainingly until running off the rails a bit with a wildly overcomplicated finale.
Blind Side and Mirror Mirror star Lily Collins is overqualified for her role, bringing real gravitas and emotion to a performance that is ultimately doomed by the movie around it.
It hopes you won’t complain so long as werewolves and warlocks are fighting demonic dogs and goth-rock villains who look like the dudes who trashed Ilan Mitchell-Smith’s house near the end of Weird Science.
Visual effects range from passable to surprisingly undistinguished?it's a sad state of affairs when 2013 water CGI doesn't even approach the skill of the similar effects work in 1989's "The Abyss"?rarely, if ever, strong enough to seamlessly blend with the live-action surroundings.
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Like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before her, this should have been a story of female empowerment.
Demons, angels, werewolves, oh my! Playing much like bad fan fiction from an immature, lovelorn teenage girl who's seen " Twilight ," " Beastly ," "Star Wars," and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" too many times, "The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones" is interminable gobbledygook.
If only he had been in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series, Bower would be smack dab at the intersection of the Venn diagram graphing City Of Bones’ major influences.
It’s a lot like a mediocre episode of ‘‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’’
Her mom is abducted, their apartment is left in disarray, and she’s attacked by a dog that’s seen John Carpenter’s The Thing one too many times.