I put it up on my flixster on facebook, but not everybody seems to read it there. So here is my review for Inkheart. The first part is spoiler free with only a little "hint" that will not spoil your movie-going experience. I added a spoiler warning at the point where you should stop reading, if you prefer to be suprised at the theater!
I have been waiting for this movie to come out for over a year! I love the book Inkheart and I love the whole story about Brendan Fraser being the inspiration for Mo and him playing him. So when the release date for this movie kept being pushed back I was more than concerned, even though the first trailers looked very promising. But as the "real" opening date approached, the trailers seemed to be hinting at a completely changed story. I am soooo relieved (for the first time in my life) that the previews were edited to make it completely misleading! This movie was very well adapted. The scenery, the sets were just as I imagined. Paul Bettany as Dustfinger - excellent, Helen Mirren as Elenor - brilliant! Farid was just as I imagined.
Were there changes? Yes, a precious few. I think they were mostly to drive the story forward. There is a lot of back and forth in the book and that needed to be sped up. I do like that there were references to Inkspell and even Inkdeath - so subtle that only avid readers of the books will "get" them.
The ending is very "Hollywood" - an all out feel good happy ending. Which the book has - sort of! The way they did it in the movie will prevent them from making any sequels. Which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing, as I think that the books have "sequel-itis". They are by far not as strong as the first one and seem to have been written because Cornelia didn't want to let the characters go yet. Possibly Brendan Fraser recognized that as well and didn't sign on for more than one movie. Be that as it may - It looks like Inkspell and Inkdeath will only exist in our imaginations.
**** FROM HERE ON SPOILERS ABOUND! ****
Which brings me to the only point I wasn't crazy about with this movie. I can live with Toto bringing Meggie the note to read. I think it didn't come across quite as strong as in the book that they are trying to change the story with the words Fegnolio has written. But it works. What I didn't like is that the note was unfinished and that Maggie makes up the rest "on the fly". AAAAAND it is her who kills Capricorn! I thought that it was an important part of the story that Meggie - after everything Capricorn has done to them - Meggie still couldn't bring herself to kill him. And when it seems that all is lost, Mo steps in and reads the final words to kill Capricorn and send the Shadow away! The book is very dark and this is a PG movie so the filmmakers needed to make the girl a hero - I can understand the need to lighten it up a little. However, I think the book has a stronger finish that way. On the other hand - as I said, there don't appear to be any sequels planned - so they tied up all the lose ends that way. Fine - it doesn't take away from the enjoyment I got from finally seeing it on screen (it does take away 1/2 star). This one will be a "need to own". And If you ever get the chance - get "Dragonrider" and "Inkspell" on audiobook. Brendan Fraser as the narrator of both these Cornelia Funke books gives an outstanding performance and I will never be able to imagine Mo as anybody else but him!
(Can I just tell you, btw, how much I love a digital camera for that purpose! Every aspiring photographer knows that you have to take a gazillion pictures to get one great one. With the regular 35 mm that was always a chore and could get quite costly.) - So out of the 20 or so a day I have taken so far, here are my best shots. Let me know what you think!
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