MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES – The Review

Review by Dana Jung

The new film MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES is the latest in the ever-expanding subgenre of Young Adults Discovering Their Secret Destiny. This discovery can be rooted in realism and political divison (HUNGER GAMES), the supernatural (TWILIGHT series), mythology (PERCY JACKSON), or the British education system (HARRY POTTER). The one element common to all these is that they are based on a recent book series. INSTRUMENTS is no different, based on the best-selling novels by Cassandra Clare, introduced to readers barely six years ago. Like many of these series, INSTRUMENTS also involves a young woman basically coming of age, and is to be commended for presenting a strong female heroine. With literary antecedents going back to the Bronte sisters and continuing through Gothic archetypes and on to the Telzey Amberdon stories by James H. Schmitz in the 1960s, the modern “empowered young woman” phase may have begun with a little cinematic heroine named Buffy, created by Joss Whedon over 20 years ago. Interestingly, the lead character’s name in MORTAL INSTRUMENTS is Fray, which is also the name of another Whedon creation—homage or coincidence? You decide.

The film begins with Clary Fray (Lily Collins), a relatively ordinary young woman living with her mother (Lena Headey), starting to see strange things and drawing mysterious symbols everywhere. She soon meets the brooding “shadowhunter” Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower), who starts to fill Clary’s head with stories of angel/human hybrids and a centuries-long battle against the forces of evil. When her mother disappears amid evidence of a struggle, Clary’s rather mundane life changes forever as she is drawn into the conflict and learns her true nature.

Directed by Harald Zwart (KARATE KID), the movie rolls along, piling on witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, assorted demons, and more, with very little logic, explanation, or rules of behavior. Characters come and go, sometimes disappearing for long stretches. Although most of the CGI effects are flawless, the action sequences are sometimes dark or frenetic, making them hard to follow. The cast does what it can with the overburdened script. Headey (300, GAME OF THRONES) brings energy to her limited screen time. Jared Harris (SHERLOCK HOLMES, FRINGE) adds gravity to his role, which is mostly responsible for chunks of exposition. Bower (King Arthur in CAMELOT) fares best as the mercurial Jace, bringing a touch of melancholy to the part, as well as some of the film’s sense of humor–which is sometimes its saving grace. Bower may have also cornered the market on supporting roles, as he also plays characters in both the TWILIGHT and HARRY POTTER series. Collins is all deadly seriousness as Clary, so much so that when she suddenly tries a lighter touch, the effect is jarring.

Admittedly, the target audience for this film is young women who have perhaps read the books and are drawn to the romantic aspects of unrequited love and a life turned topsy turvy by supernatural forces. MORTAL INSTRUMENTS does succeed at times to tap this vein, but even the young adult fan may find this film version more muddled and confusing than heartbreakingly relevant.

2 ½ of 5 stars