A fantasy action adventure set in contemporary New York City, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is the film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s first volume in her iconic Shadowhunters series, a movie that fans have been rabidly anticipating for years. Starring the gorgeous Lilly Collins as the latest young ingénue who must step up to the plate, Mortal certainly has a chic edge: everyone is pretty, the magic is edgy and seductive, the lighting and tone is moody. But while The Hunger Games has acts of undeniable bravery mixed with raw human emotion (and Jlaw!), this one seems only to rest on its fashionable laurels instead of delving deeper into what makes Clary, Collins’ unsuspecting heroine-to-be, tick.
For those who (gasp!) have not read the books, the film follows Clary Fray, daughter to Jocelyn (the equally beautiful brunette Lena Heady), as she discovers a world hidden underneath the one she thought she knew: a world populated by demons, vampires, warlocks and more, along with ‘Shadowhunters’ who are charged with hunting and destroying the baddies of the bunch. All too suddenly, Clary learns that her mother, a Shadowhunter, has been kidnapped, while at the same time getting mixed up with Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower, who has enjoyed appearances in two other YA mega-franchises: Harry Potter and Twilight). It’s rather refreshing to see a waifish, blond and decidedly effeminate young man serve as the main love interest here: as delicious as Taylor Lautner and Liam Hemsworth are, it’s nice to change it up once and awhile.
From there, Clary meets a motley crew of creatures both human and magical, while discovering her own latent talents and powers (hint: they get stronger and stronger over time). On top of everything else, another challenge for this film is all the seeds it must plant; at the head of a franchise that may potentially spawn upwards of three sequels as well as at least one spinoff, so many things are left dangling—Clary’s powers, a potentially enticing romance between cute warlock Magnus Bane (Godfrey Gao) and Hunter Alec (Kevin Zegers of Transamerica), along with so much more. While much will be answered in the sequel City of Ashes, which is already locked and loaded to go into production this fall, it all unfortunately contributes to the thin and incomplete feeling to this first installment.
As a side note: look for the brilliant extended cameo by veteran actress CCH Pounder as the downstairs neighbor who is a witch…and then some.