The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Blu-ray Review

Actors: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey

Director: Harald Zwart

Format: Multiple Formats

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Release Date: December 3, 2013

Run Time: 130 minutes

 

 

        Anytime there is a surprise success in the film world, it is followed up with endless duplicates and imitations. We can expect these to be of lesser quality than the original, and this does not bode well for any of the countless films following the Twilight franchise. Those movies were atrocious, and the first (but, unfortunately, not the last) installment of The Mortal Instruments somehow manages to be even worse.   

 

        The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is based on yet another young adult book franchise which fulfills the popular fantasy and romance elements in a way that is far from inspired. There is a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), who is actually half angel with the ability to see demons others cannot. This narrative is used in nearly every popular young adult novel which has been adapted to film, from Twilight to Ender’s Game, simply infusing an ordinary protagonist with the ability to quickly surpass their elders in every facet. This teen fantasy element is paired with another familiar plot contrivance; the love triangle.

 

        Clary discovers that she is different when she sees a Shadowhunter named Jace (Jamie Campbell) kill a man that is a demon, and it is clear from the beginning that she is following him more than questioning how she has the ability to see things others cannot. At the same time there is an obligatory guy friend (Robert Sheehan) secretly pining after Clary, all while they battle an onslaught of demons, vampires and werewolves.  The narrative becomes a bit confused amidst the constant action sequences, but it was mostly just dull enough that I found myself thinking about other things while watching this film.

 

        The Blu-ray combo pack includes a DVD and digital copy of the film. There are a number of special features exclusive to the Blu-ray disc, including an interactive lineage tracker, and three featurettes about the cast, the production design, and the adaptation of the book to film. Also in the special features are interviews with the cast and filmmakers, a featurette on the stunts, deleted scenes and a music video.

       

Entertainment Value: 4/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 4/10

Historical Significance: 4/10

Disc Features: 7.5/10