The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
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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.
What critics thought
Critics near-universally panned the film as a derivative, incoherent mess that cannibalizes better fantasy franchises without understanding what made them work. The chief complaints were a plot too tangled to follow, CGI spectacle masking an absence of genuine imagination, and a tone that director Harald Zwart couldn't stabilize — though a small minority found it a campy, self-aware step above the Twilight films it so visibly mimics. Audiences, particularly young women, were considerably warmer than critics.
“the plot is an incomprehensible tangle of dead ends and recaps, and afterwards you realise only two things have stuck: the story's countless unsubtle borrowings from very recent pop culture... and a brief aside in which we learn one of the earliest demon-hunters was Johann Sebastian Bach.”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“Despite an avalanche of back story, the film is merely an excuse to hop from one spookily dressed set to another. Alas, the titular City of Bones is more of a basement. Other than a gag about a cache of weapons beneath every church altar, there's hardly a moment of levity or imagination. For a film that is wall-to-wall fantasy, you've seen all of this before, in much better movies.”
Jordan Hoffman·New York Daily News
“City of Bones is so overwhelmed by CGI effects that it amounts to white noise for the eyes. Far worse is the way director Harald Zwart can't establish a mature tone to support some of the story's genuinely bold and challenging elements, especially a forbidden-love theme that deserves a more serious context”
Tom Keogh·The Seattle Times
“The Mortal Instruments more than lives up to its hype of 'The New Twilight'. The special effects are impressive, the battle scenes enthralling and there is solid acting from all members of the cast. The film's main strength is that it perfectly hits the right balance between drama and comedy.”
Venetia Falconer·MTV News
Genres
Fantasy, Action, Mystery
Cast & Crew
Lily CollinsClary Fray
Jamie Campbell BowerJace Wayland
Robert SheehanSimon Lewis
Kevin ZegersAlec Lightwood
Jemima WestIsabelle Lightwood
Lena HeadeyJocelyn Fray
Aidan TurnerLuke Garroway
Jared HarrisHodge Starkweather
Jonathan Rhys MeyersValentine
Kevin DurandPangborn
Harry Van GorkumAlaric
Godfrey GaoMagnus Bane
Atli ÖrvarssonComposer
I. Marlene KingWriter
Cassandra ClareWriterThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
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.
What critics thought
Critics near-universally panned the film as a derivative, incoherent mess that cannibalizes better fantasy franchises without understanding what made them work. The chief complaints were a plot too tangled to follow, CGI spectacle masking an absence of genuine imagination, and a tone that director Harald Zwart couldn't stabilize — though a small minority found it a campy, self-aware step above the Twilight films it so visibly mimics. Audiences, particularly young women, were considerably warmer than critics.
“the plot is an incomprehensible tangle of dead ends and recaps, and afterwards you realise only two things have stuck: the story's countless unsubtle borrowings from very recent pop culture... and a brief aside in which we learn one of the earliest demon-hunters was Johann Sebastian Bach.”
Robbie Collin·The Telegraph
“Despite an avalanche of back story, the film is merely an excuse to hop from one spookily dressed set to another. Alas, the titular City of Bones is more of a basement. Other than a gag about a cache of weapons beneath every church altar, there's hardly a moment of levity or imagination. For a film that is wall-to-wall fantasy, you've seen all of this before, in much better movies.”
Jordan Hoffman·New York Daily News
“City of Bones is so overwhelmed by CGI effects that it amounts to white noise for the eyes. Far worse is the way director Harald Zwart can't establish a mature tone to support some of the story's genuinely bold and challenging elements, especially a forbidden-love theme that deserves a more serious context”
Tom Keogh·The Seattle Times
“The Mortal Instruments more than lives up to its hype of 'The New Twilight'. The special effects are impressive, the battle scenes enthralling and there is solid acting from all members of the cast. The film's main strength is that it perfectly hits the right balance between drama and comedy.”
Venetia Falconer·MTV News
Genres
Fantasy, Action, Mystery
Cast & Crew
Lily CollinsClary FrayJamie Campbell BowerJace WaylandRobert SheehanSimon LewisKevin ZegersAlec LightwoodJemima WestIsabelle LightwoodLena HeadeyJocelyn FrayAidan TurnerLuke GarrowayJared HarrisHodge StarkweatherJonathan Rhys MeyersValentineKevin DurandPangbornHarry Van GorkumAlaricGodfrey GaoMagnus BaneAtli ÖrvarssonComposerI. Marlene KingWriterCassandra ClareWriterStream
Rent & Buy