The Mortal Instruments City Of Bones

Title: The Mortal Instruments City Of Bones (12)

Year: 2013

Running Time: 124 minutes

Director: Harold Zwart

Cast: Lily Collins (Clary), Jamie Campbell Bower (Jace), Robert Sheehan (Simon)

Notes: Won six awards.

Rating: 4

Thoughts:   In modern New York Clary discovers she is a Shadowhunter, a half-angel warrior on earth to defend it from demons. When her mother disappears she enters an alternative New York.

As with so many adaptations of books aimed at young adults, this film has been largely panned by fans.

But it's near impossible to translate a complex narrative into a meaningful film and I haven't read it, so need to just judge the film. I have to say that the script is a little plodding and predictable.

Half the time you can almost guess what a character will say in response to one of the cheesier lines. Probably as a result the characters don't seem to have much depth.

The backdrop is quite well done but too many of the (presumably) elements of the book are dropped in without context or explanation. There are words and phrases that clearly mean more than the simple word.

The character's kit just more or less does whatever is needed as and when a problem pops up, in a very Knight Rider  sort of way. It's a shame as the premise, the one part of the book definitely left behind, is clearly a strong one.

The lead actors no doubt have talent but just aren't allowed to display it. In the end, it is a letdown of a film, with no depth, superficial and overlong fights, and too little to actually care about.