FILM REVIEW: The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

August 27, 2013


This film review is going to be SO difficult to write. Especially without spoilers, it's near impossible. Ok maybe not impossible, but this is going to be all over the place. I think all of us were both nervous and excited for the release of the adaption of Cassandra Clare's best selling novel, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Having only finished the last two TMI books this month, I was craving the movie and I needed it to be perfect as did the rest of the massive Shadowhunter fandom. Let me say that the film did have a lot of changes from the book but it was the best book adaption i've seen and it's the freaking best film ever.

To begin I think the cast of this movie couldn't have been better. Believe me, I had my doubts. Especially about Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace. But for me I found the casting to be spot on. Each actor and actress portrayed their character so well which was such a special thing to see after being so devoted to the characters in the novel. To be honest it felt like watching friends. Lily Collins was a awesome Clary. I really have no complaints because to me she was Clary from the beginning and I was really pleased with her performance. I also want to point out that she was stronger in the movie then she was in the book which was good.

Jamie was not whom I originally wanted to be cast as Jace but at the end of the day he was perfect for the role. He's actually my current screensaver because despite my original doubts I really liked him as Jace. He captured the whole dicky but loveable filled with arrogance and humour side of Jace but also did a great job with the vulnerable side of him too. Jace is like my love so to me it was really important to be able to love him as much as I do in the books, in the movie. He achieved that and I'm pretty sure Jace's good looks rubbed off on him because he's pretty darn cute.


The Greenhouse Scene: Clary (Collins) & Jace (Bower)
Simon was just the best. Funny, cute, loyal, geeky and loveable. Being familiar with Robert Sheehan, I knew that it was a case of perfect casting and I never had doubts. He made me laugh but also cry. He just perfected the loyal best friend role and he just absolutely melted my heart.


Isabelle (West)
Alec played by Kevin Zegers was also great. We didn't get to see much of him and he probably only had about 3 real talking scenes and he was either fighting or full of sass as he warned Clary to stay away from his man. He did the whole 'appears to be a spoilt english brat but really is misunderstood act' which is basically how Alec is. So thumbs up Kevin, we love you! Jemima West I had doubts about and I guess it was because I didn't really know who she was. I felt like we got to know the rest of the cast before the movie but with Jemima always absent, it was hard to predict what her side of Isabelle would be. But like Jace she proved me wrong. Because girl she was made for that whip, it was honestly the coolest thing ever!!!

Magnus was also so cool but I really would have loved to see a more eccentric side to him but oh well. City of Bones is a very fast moving movie which is understandable because how else are you supposed to fit 400 pages in. It has a lot of action and basically theres something for everyone. Humour, action, romance, and much more. There were great visuals and it was really cool seeing the magic sorta stuff on the big screen. Even without all the comparisons it still a movie that non readers or anyone for that matter can enjoy. But I would recommend having at least read the first 2 novels before seeing it because there are some spoilers and a lack of information. My mom who hadn't read the book was a bit confused and I do wish they went into more detail when talking about the Shadow world. For example, there was no mention of Parabatai.

Somethings that happen in later books happened in the first movie and one major storyline was spoiled. But I can understand why this was done. Some of the changes irked me but they did the best they could and I enjoyed it so much that i've seen it twice now. It was even a bit scary. But one thing I have to get off my chest is that I just wanted to yank the stupid fake plaits out of Valentine's hair, like what the hell!! And Valentine was really abusive... 

Bottom line: City of Bones is the best movie i've seen and I think they did a amazing job. I want to see it for a third time. Some were disapointed but my reaction at the end was.
ajeskisdgfgdsgdfndfsloopfd THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. LET ME SEE IT AGAIN. OMG OMG OMG

SO GO WATCH IT GUYS.




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17 comments

  1. Great review, I agree with everything you said!

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  2. Completely agree with you - this is the best movie ever! I LOVED IT! It's actually one of my new favourites of all time! ;) It's quite funny how a lot of we teenage girl bloggers are absolutely loving this movie when there are loads of older critics out there! Really does show you that the target audience - teenagers who loved the book - really did love the movie!

    AND JAMIE WAS FREAKING PERFECT/AMAZING/EVERY GOOD WORD YOU CAN THINK OF! Even though the cocky side of him was really toned down, I fell in love with movie Jace just as much as I had book Jace...
    Can't wait to see it again!

    Great review! xD

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  3. Brilliant review, Sunny :D I'm not a fan of the books but I freaking love Robert Sheehan and Kevin Zegers so I'd see the film just for them if nothing else :P So so happy that you loved the adaptation especially since you were looking forward to it so much!

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  4. YES KEVIN WE DO LOVE YOU. *nods head really fast*

    Now that I've gotten that over with...Great review, Sunny! You obviously know my thoughts and just looking at that greenhouse scene picture makes me want to fangirl! EEEEEE!

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  5. I agree, I wasn't that thrilled at first with the casting of Jace but after seeing the movie, I think he's a great Jace, capturing his character perfectly. I didn't like how they changed so much of the book at the end, especially with Jace and Valentine. I'm curious how this will affect future movies because they definitely messed with important plot points from the books. Great review! ~Pam

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  6. I haven't read this blog post because I didn't want to come across any spoilers! You'll be happy to know I have bought the entire series so when they arrive I'll start reading them straight away. :D

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  7. YAAAY so glad you loved the film, Sunny! I agree with you on every aspect. Jamie seriously played Jace SO well--spot on! And I wish we could have seen more Kevin Zegers. I thought that Magnus Bane also should have been more weird and creepy, but that was only a minor flaw. AND OMG THE SPOILER. I can't believe they put it in movie #1!! But I loved the movie too, loved your thoughts!

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  8. I'm currently reading this, as I have basically been forced by temptation and Hawwa. I'll probably see the film when it comes out on DVD as school starts next week!

    Great film review!

    Charli x

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  9. Yes I was also a bit disappointed that Kevin Zegers only got little scenes :( But hopefull we'll get a lot of him in the second movie! AND MAGNUS TOO OMG!! GODFREY GAO!! <33 I was already sure with Lily Collins ability and yes! She made Clary more likable in the movie! (I dislike Clary in the books :/ ) And really, that monster was sooo disgusting! Love Lily, Godfrey, Kevin and Jemima <3 The battle scenes were fantastic as well :D Izzy's whips rule!! :P

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  10. I saw this book the other day and I really liked it. The changes didn't bother me as much as they usually do, but a few other things did. I'm in the middle--I agree with some things that so many fans of the movie have said, but I agree with critics in other areas. It takes a lot for me to absolutely love something on screen lately, so that probably has to do with why I didn't think this was an amazing movie.

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  11. Ah, it's so great to see when fans of the book are happy with the movie. I actually have not read the books, but I do want to see the movie---do you think someone who is going in blind, not at all familiar with the story, will love the movie, too?

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  12. I had some doubts about the casting too, so I'm glad to hear that the actors and actresses actually did a great job. I need to go and see this! I loved the book, but have been avoiding going to watch the movie for some reason. But you have me convinced now. :) Lovely review!

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  13. I agree with everything you said! I really loved the movie, despite all the changes they made, and I had a really fun time watching it. I totally agree with the casting, I thought they were all fab! However, I wonder if I wasn't so attached to the series if I would have loved the movie...

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  14. ASDFGHJKL JACE <3 ASDFGHJKL CITY OF BONES. CAN YOU BELIEVE I HAS NOT ACTUALLY READ THIS BOOK YET?! But Zoe is sending me a copy so I am SAAAAVEEDDD. <3 Great review. :)

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  15. I want to see this so bad, especially now that so many reviews like yours say the casting was a positive. I really was worried about the casting of Jace-he wasn't anything like I thought he would be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the movie!

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  16. I really want to see the movie, but I'll probably wait until it releases. I hear overall from everyone that it was pretty good :)

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  17. I still have to see this. WANT TO RIGHT NOW!!!!

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