It’s never an easy feat for any fantasy film to precede box office hits like Harry Potter and Twilight Saga. But surprisingly, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a happy medium to mythological creatures, climatic suspense and complicated teen romance many expect to see in this type of genre.
The film is set in New York, where Clary Fray (Lily Collins), the auburn-haired teen heroine, is about to get a dose of reality as she witnesses a group of teenagers kill someone in a club called Pandemonium. An event, everyone including her best friend, Simon (Robert Sheehan), is oblivious to. But Clary is unaware of her own mother’s ties this invisible world. But after her mother, Jocelyn (Lena Headey), is kidnapped, she begins to unravel all the mysteries her mother fought to protect her from.
To get her mom back, Clary has to team up with Simon and Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower), the half angel, half human shadow hunter. With the help of his fighting team, Isabella (Jemima West) and Alec (Kevin Zegers), Jace helps Clary look for the mortal cup—said to have the ability to save or destroy humanity. Not an easy task, considering they have no clue where to start. Having hidden the cup away from her evil husband Valentine (Jonathan Rhys Meyer), Jocelyn would be a big help right now, but since she’s in a self-inflicted coma, there’s no luck there. Fortunately, Jocelyn isn’t the only who knows the location. Clary is the map, she just has to unlock all the memories her mother had powerful warlock, Magnus Bane (Godfrey Gao) block.
Amidst all the convoluted plot of werewolves, witches and demons, is Jace and Clary’s budding romance. Like most films with romance, there’s usually a love triangle or complications. In Mortal Instruments, you have both Of course, with a little cheesiness to add to the mix. Simon, the loyal best bud, wants to leave the friend zone with Clary, but things just aren’t panning well with Jace in the scene. It’s never easy for two people vying for the same girl, so we felt for Jace and Simon, especially since they both have their share of heartbreak in the movie. But the heartbreak that tops it all is Clary and Jace’s relationship, which has just gotten really complicated by the second. But before we give out a big spoiler, let’s just say they get the rug pulled right from under them by daddy dearest.
One of our favorite parts of the film was how strong the female character is. It’s refreshing to see stronger heroines in books and films. And Clary is no exception. It would have been easy for Clary to have adopted an “oh woe is me” attitude or stayed love struck throughout the entire movie. Does Bella Swan ring a bell? Instead, she actively fights every step of the way to find her mom, despite fighting off vengeful demons and hungry vampires. The feminist in us can’t help but thank the author, Cassandra Clare, for making sure her heroine was every bit as brave and independent, as we’d hope a leading lady would and should be.
While Mortal Instruments might not be everyone’s cup of tea, fans of the book will appreciate how their beloved story and characters come to life. With the next sequel, City of Ashes in the works, we look forward to seeing what’s in store for Clary and her friends.
