Review: City of Bones Movie

"This movie didn't impress me. I would be willing to watch the second movie (but not in theaters), and I do want to read the book, but this left me feeling disappointed."

First things first. I haven't read the Mortal Instruments yet. I plan to at least give it a try some day, but that day has not yet arrived. Thus, this is coming from someone that hasn't read the books. I can't compare it to the books, but I have heard that it's pretty inaccurate and that fans were really upset by it. I guess I'll find out eventually...But anyway! Where do I even begin?

I suppose I'll start with the romance. Let me first tell you that I love Simon. I don't know if Clary deserves Simon, but I do love their friendship. But alas, unrequited love is always tough, and my heart goes out to Simon. Then there's Jace. I felt that Jace's relationship with Clary moved SO quickly. Like WOAH slow down there. It didn't feel natural. I could sort of see why Clary would be drawn to him, but they barely even knew each other! Then, there was that whole awkward scene between Simon, Clary, and Jace. If you watch(ed) the movie, I think you'll know which scene it was. Jace pissed me off in that scene, and I sort of wish Simon could have laid off of Clary a little bit (I understood how he felt, but). So far, in the movie at least, I am not a fan of this love-triangle. (I do know who Simon (and Magnus) end up with, and there were hints of both in the movie, but.)

Next, there's the plot. It was okay. Didn't keep me on my toes and guessing the entire time, and there were times when I just wasn't into it. I mean, yes, I went into this expecting this exact thing, but I was subconsciously hoping it would surprise me more. But alas, no. It was good enough to keep me watching the entire time, and I sort of want to watch the next movie, if only to tide me over until I can read the books, but I don't have this dire need to go back into the world of the movie.

Then, of course, there's the characters. I don't feel particularly interested or attached to any of the characters, although I do love Simon, as I mentioned before. I don't care much about Clary, nor do I care much about Jace. I feel like we don't know enough about Isabel and Magnus. I do think Luke (I should double check if this is actually his name) is interesting, and I'd like to learn more about him and his background/back story. Overall, I felt like this movie tried to be mostly plot centric, but the plot itself wasn't that strong anyway. They could have tried harder with the characters at least.

There's also the raging feminist in me and my recent English lecture project...Yup, this movie is not particularly a good one for all the feminists out there. I just wanted to enjoy the movie! But alas, that brain of mine didn't allow me to. *sigh* Female characters that are reliant on male characters? Check. Female characters that don't seem to do much expect to help male characters fight (as secondary heroes)? Check. Females that mainly just talk about the males? Check. Scenes with hypersexualization of women? Check. Yeah, sometimes I cry because of this. Or more accurately, want to pull my hair out and scream. I give up.

In general, this movie didn't impress me. I would be willing to watch the second movie (but not in theaters), and I do want to read the book, but this left me feeling disappointed. There are other movies I would have rather spent this time watching.