Inkheart
DVD Reviews | Jun 24th, 2009
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, Sienna Guillory, Rafi Gavron
Written By: David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed By: Iain Softley
Studio: New Line Cinema
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Inkheart didn’t get much publicity and press when the film was released. It flew in and out of theaters in no time and I don’t think that was fair to the movie. I think Inkheart is underrated and an entertaining fantasy. Sure it has its problems but thought it deserved more than what it got.
Mortimer “Mo” Folchart (Brendan Fraser) is a gifted person when it comes to books. Whenever he reads out loud, something from that book comes to life. The downfall to that is when a book character comes to life; something from the real world goes in the book. While searching for a particular book at secondhand bookshops around the world, Mo’s and his daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett) end up hearing strange voices. The voices are coming from the book Inkheart, which is what Mo has been looking for all these years. The book has villains, creatures, mysterious heroes, castles; everything you’ll find in a fantasy book. The reason why Mo is looking for the book Inkheart is that his wife (Sienna Guillory) and Meggie’s Mom vanished inside the book. But besides having to get her back to the real world, they have to contend with Capricorn (Andy Serkis), the villain of Inkheart. He and the rest of his henchman are now in the real world and plan to use Mo and his daughter to get what they want. But Mo and his daughter find the unlikely of heroes to help them out.
The first time I saw Inkheart was on the plane coming back from Dublin, Ireland. I figured I would check out the film since it had a good cast. I actually ended up enjoying the film a lot despite its problems. It reminded me of Stardust and Princess Bride; two films that are both funny and filled with adventure. Not all fantasy films after Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have been very good. In fact, they have been downright awful. The Seeker, Eragon, The Golden Compass come to mind but this one I think is a lot better than those films. I’m sure others disagree with me though.
I thought the premise of the movie was really cool, and storylines could be endless with this story. I’d probably want to read a bunch of Penthouse Forum but that’s my perverted side speaking. I like the various references to Lord of the Rings and Narnia that were thrown into the movie. Not sure the book makes references to those are not. I thought the special effects were decent, but obviously could have used some work in spots. Some elements of the movie were a bit messy like the story, and character depth. At times I didn’t know what the hell was going on in the movie. But in the end, I can see this movie getting more enjoyable with each viewing.
To see if you like it, I’d recommend renting Inkheart first. There’s been a fair amount of mixed reviews for this movie but I actually enjoyed it. Sure, it’s not the best thing out there but was I entertained? Yes!
Features:
– Eliza Reads To Us: Co-Star Eliza Bennett Shares A Favorite Inkheart Passage Not In The Movie, Accompanied By Cornelia Funke Illustrations
Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Standard 1.33:1 Color
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Subtitles:
English, Spanish
Bottom Line: Extremely flawed film but also very entertaining for me
Running Time: 106 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
