Inkheart was quite a surprise for me. I was not sure from the movie title if the film would be worth watching, but after watching it, I have to say it's one of the best fantasy films I've seen in quite awhile! The acting is superb, the story line is marvelous, and the creativity present in the story development was wonderful. There's plenty of action, some very interesting twists, and a great outcome. I felt good after watching this film, and excited to share it with friends. It kept me guessing every step of the way. Awesome film ... one I will watch again and again!
"Inkheart" is another one of those. It's frustratingly close. You want to go up to the screen and nudge it a bit so it crosses the line. It's a fantasy-a genre where logic is only slightly required. If this story had made a wee bit more sense, it would've hit the fantasy-acceptable mark. If the dialogue had more crackle and the characters had more contrast, it would've worked. It looks beautiful. The effects are good. There are clever moments. It's well cast with actors known to be entertaining and who are spot-on for their parts. It could've been a lovely, enjoyable family film if it had been given any amount of extra thought.
The movie tells the story of a man who finds out too late that when he reads aloud, it brings parts of the books he reads into the real world while it randomly sends real people into the book being read. When he reads the little-known children's book "Inkheart" to his wife, menacing characters fall out and his wife disappears. To have any chance of getting her back, he must have a copy of the rare book, so he packs up his young daughter and they spend years going from old bookstore to old bookstore rummaging through stacks of neglected volumes but not finding the one book he needs.
Fraser's bookbinder Mo is a likable good guy, the sort of character that's become Fraser's mainstay. Mo is a loving dad who's frightened by his unwanted ability and whose only quest is to read his wife home. It's a sweet, solid performance as Fraser plays straight man to some class-A scene-stealers. They are:
Helen Mirren-no explanation required. She doesn't work at upstaging anyone, it just happens. Here she's the wealthy aunt of Mo's missing wife. Despite her flamboyant style, she has hermitted herself away with the collection of books she treasures, preferring to read adventures, not live them.
Jim Broadbent-no explanation required here, either. He has one of those faces. He has one of those voices. He plays "Inkheart's" author and it's entertaining to see how much glee he gets from meeting the characters he created, even the horrible ones.
Paul Bettany-He can't not be noticed. He's an actor who has an edgy energy about him--sort of like a younger Peter O'Toole. Twice his supporting characters have diverted attention from Russell Crowe-as the lively college roommate in "A Beautiful Mind" and as the ship's doctor and naturalist in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." Except for looking at Heath Ledger, the only joy to be had in the mess that is "A Knight's Tale" is Bettany's Chaucer. He stole the movie, or at least as much of it as he wanted. In Inkheart, his juggler Dustfinger is referred to as scary, but he's more scoundrel than villain as he attempts to right the wrong that's been done to him.
Rafi Gavron-As a teen thief who is thankfully of no consequence to the plot of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," he's adorable and adds a welcome lightness to his scenes. He's the future of scene stealing, earning some preliminary chops here among the pros.
Needless to say, when these actors are on screen together in any combination, you don't know where to look. It's mind-bending to try to understand how anyone could make a marginal movie with this cast.
In addition to the above, Eliza Bennett plays daughter Meggie. It's not a role that requires a lot, but she does a good job of not overplaying what could have been a whiny part. Poor Andy Serkis is stuck playing the same ego-maniacally evil villain we've seen over and over. There's no imagination to his character or to his cliché band of goons. They're not even a particularly scary lot, and the lack of anyone or anything truly frightening contributes largely to making the story tepid.
"Inkheart" has a fun, unofficial running game, a sort of "Name that Tune" where you try to recognize classic children's literature based on a character or a telltale prop. Watch it with your kids, and if they can't tell you what comes from where, move away from the TV and read them a book.
Buy Inkheart (+ BD-Live) (2009) Now
My husband and I bumped into this movie on one of our many movie channels. Having never heard anything about it, we thought we'd see if it worth watching while we chilled before bed. We were both absolutely blown away! We stayed up later than planned because we simply could not walk away from the movie.The acting is excellent with Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren what else would you expect? It has an interesting and captivating story line. I found the whole concept intriguing.
We were both so taken with the movie that I'm now ordering a copy. We want to have it for future viewing and to share with friends and family.
I'm amazed we never saw anything about it being in the theaters. They missed a great movie I'm glad that after all, we didn't!
Read Best Reviews of Inkheart (+ BD-Live) (2009) Here
No it isn't "sophisticated". No, it isn't graphically overwhelming like Avatar.Yes it is a satisfying story with believable characters that have logical reasons for what they do. There is a magical power held by certain people called "silver tongues" who can make things appear out of a book, when they read aloud. This sets the story off and drives it to conclusion.
Thankfully, it is NOT a sword and sorcery, or a witchcraft-is-good kind of story. It's original.
Special effects were appropriate and useful to the story, but do not dominate it. Your imagination helps drive it everything isn't put on screen for you to absorb. I liked that.
It's kind of intense for younger kids, and would scare them. There are some mean, violent bad people who kidnap and threaten the main characters pretty convincing thugs. Ugly, too.
I don't think it got the publicity it deserves, but then it lacks wizards, bikini clad damsels, spellcasting, dragons, duels, vampires, and bloodshed. It's a modern make believe with some humorous moments, and I recommend it as a family film.
Want Inkheart (+ BD-Live) (2009) Discount?
This movie was kind of a disappointment really. The characters were weak and sort of dumb. It lacked the depth that the book has. One of my biggest annoyances is that Basta is supposed to be scary, but he's sort of a dork. That was one of the things about the book. The characters were incredibly and even unnecessarily evil and the movie just didn't pull that off. Also, by changing the story around Resa they turned Dustfinger into a selfish coward. Granted, he was selfish, but he wasn't that bad. Also, the reading was too controlled. It should have been unpredictable. Well, I could go on for a while, but I won't bore you. There were just so many things that turned the story from good to mediocre.In it's defense, the story wasn't terrible, just not what I was expecting. The acting was good as well as the special effects and I do think they did a pretty good job with Capricorn's character. If I had seen it without reading the book I might have liked it, but I can't be sure because I did read the book and I know what it should have been like.
My advice is: Read the book.
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