Movie Talk: City of Bones

Okay, so I have been a huge fan of The Mortal Instruments for quite a few years now and I, like other fans, have waited a long, long time for this movie. After the casting was completed, I had such high expectations for the movie because of how perfect the cast was. Then after seeing all of the trailer, I was even more excited because the were edited so beautifully. Then, the night before the film was released, the critics reviews started being released. And boy were they harsh. But I never let a critic put me off, so on opening day I got all runed up and headed to the cinema. 

Right, I am an honest blogger. I’m not going to defend everything single thing about something I love, just because I love it. Like The Hunger Games, I’m a huge fan, but could admit when the movie made some mistakes. So I’m not going to say that EVERYTHING about the film was out of this world.

However, the first thing I must say is that I will not hear a bad word about our cast. Every single cast member was absolutely fantastic and I cannot fault any of them. I have to say, Jared Harris really surprised me as Hodge! He was so amazing, especially at the end!

What I will say is that I didn’t like how they went about the whole brother and sister thing. I understand why they made those changes, but it was a bit anticlimactic to have Hodge tell Valentine to lie to them about being related. I also wasn’t sure about the last half an hour in general. There are so many changes with Valentine, the cup and the ending in general. I’m also worried for how these changes are going to affect City of Ashes. It went quite quickly and things seemed a bit unclear. It makes me wonder how well non-readers will cope understanding the plot.

I also think that Magnus’s party was far too cut down. To me and a lot of fans, that chapter about his party is one of the key moments in the book and I just felt like it was very rushed in the film. I do, however, ADORE the fact that they showed Magnus healing Alec. I’ve also heard quite a few negative reviews about Godfrey and I’m really confused by that because I thought he was perfect, his acting as well as his looks. What I didn’t like was the voice dubbing. Who on earth made this decision?? Godfrey speaks clear English and I really hope we get an explanation as to why they felt this was necessary.

Kevin and Jemima – I just have too much love for both of them. They owned the screen as Alec and Izzy. They were exactly how I imagined the characters and Alec’s jealousy is so well done. His sassy lines to Clary were one of the highlights for me. Oh and Aidan. Aidan Turner, just marry me already. He was a great choice for Luke. Lena and Jonathan, once again, I cannot express how great they were.

Of course, I have to also express my love for Jamie and Lily. Jamie, Oh My God. I’ve supported him as Jace from the moment he was rumoured to be getting the part and he did not disappoint me. HE IS JACE. Lily and he are fantastic. The greenhouse scene was something I was torn on though. It was a great scene, but I don’t think they should have played Heart by Heart during it. It should have been one of the gorgeous and epic pieces from our wonderful composer, because his music was perfect and it would have been better for the atmosphere. The aftermath of the kiss though, when Simon finds them? I LOVED IT.

Okay, so do you have a week or 30 to talk about how much I love Robert Sheehan as Simon? I don’t even have words to describe how perfect he is. He captures Simon’s humor PERFECTLY. The funny tension between him and Jace is fabulous!

The humor is another thing that I’m extremely pleased with. They kept so many of Cassie’s classic dialogue in the book and there were so many hilarious moments. I don’t know why, but Simon drawing horns and a mustache on Clary’s drawing of Jace cracked me up for ages. I was actually crying with laughter over that tiny part.

Let’s talk about Valentine’s henchmen. Now, I was expecting them to be evil and scary, but making them quite funny was a brilliant move. The fact that they were losers was hilarious.

Other pointers I liked: EFFECTS WERE AMAZING. Also, the Pandemonium scene was actual perfection. The Hotel Dumort scene was also perfect.

Other points I wasn’t happy about: Lack of backstory between Valentine and Luke. This was one thing that I really thing the film needed to show. Also, Jocelyn being hidden at the institute, whaaaat?

So, overall I really REALLY loved the first half of this film. I do think that things went a bit wild during the last half though. However the characters are exactly as they should be and I’m extremely pleased with our amazing cast. We are so incredibly lucky to have had a film adaptation of our favorite series, so keep that in mind if you don’t like any of the changes in the film. I think critics have been very harsh on the film, because as a whole, it was what I hoped for and was a great film that was well worth the wait. 

Have you seen the film? What were your thoughts? Let me know!