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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

[6.75/10] Inkheart (2008)


Inkheart (2008)

Short review: "Inkheart," Iain Softley's vivid, sometimes lurid adaptation of the young people's novel by Cornelia Funke, manages a neat trick of indirection. Filmgoers may go to this fantasy adventure, which stars Brendan Fraser and Eliza Hope Bennett, thinking that they will be captivated by the bookbinder and his 12-year-old daughter. Instead, "Inkheart" is completely dominated by its ensemble of supporting players, including the marvelous Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren. The plot of "Inkheart" is so bursting and busy that it's occasionally impossible to follow, although fans of the book will no doubt complain that too much has been left out. Bettany's performance is nothing short of a revelation. In a movie that could easily be tossed quickly aside as a pleasant but disposable diversion, Bettany commits an act of serious acting, imbuing Dustfinger with generous doses of angst, sensitivity and dour humor. All in all, while it was sufficiently enjoyable and occasionally stunning to look at, there is little that sets "Inkheart" above any of the other fantasy novels recently turned into movies.

  • My Rating: 6.75/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes: 39% (5.1/10)
  • IMDb: 6.1/10

3 comments:

DEZMOND said...

I must say I absolutely loved all the posters used in the marketing of INKHEART.
And, Paul Bettany simply always rises above the occasion :))

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Inkheart was a bit underrated I think. It was far from great, but still very good fantasy flick.
Yep, the well-made posters made me want to see the movie! :)

DEZMOND said...

I think all Brendan Fraser's movies are a bit underrated, but they always promise good cinematic fun and they always remind me of the old, golden age of Hollywood, when we were kids and when movies were our favourite fairy tales :)

He just has a lot of fun and brings a lot of fun :)