Thursday, January 29, 2009
Inkheart is a movie made for and to be enjoyed by children. Based on a popular children’s book by Cornelia Funke, it’s a good-looking film with a neat premise and a promising first half. Unfortunately, it gets bogged down by poor planning and sentimentality, especially in its last act.
The movie tells the tale of Mo (Brendan Fraser) and Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) a father and daughter with a unique talent: When they read aloud, objects and characters from the text are ripped from their fictional world and into the real world. The consequence is that when this happens, someone else is placed into the world of the book. Such was the case with Meggie’s mother (Sienna Guillory), who was sucked into the world of the titular book when Mo read it aloud to the then-infant Meggie, unaware of his powers.
Mo’s reading also materializes several characters: the evil Capricorn (a scenery-chewing Andy Serkis) and his henchman (Jamie Foreman), and Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) a fire-juggler with a conflicted conscience who would like nothing more than to go back home. He tracks down Mo for help, but runs into problems when Capricorn captures Mo and Meggie to exploit their talents for his own benefit.
Sounds like a great story, huh? Well, it is. The problem comes in the progression of the plot, which has enough holes to resemble Swiss cheese, and the characters’ development, which could use some major overhauling. Dustfinger is easily the most interesting character. His background is described well, and although his actions aren’t always admirable, his motivations are understandable. Most of the other characters only seem to do what they do because the story requires them to, rather than coming from a direction the audience “gets.”
These are all niggling little problems that a younger audience will probably overlook pretty quickly. In fact, with the great visuals the movie offers, and the intriguing idea at its heart, kids will probably love it. But older, more critical moviegoers may have a harder time suspending their disbelief to the level Inkheart requires.
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