Inkheart

Mo (Brendan Fraser) is good father, happily married who has a special talent to bring personages out of books. But his wife named Resa(Sienna Guillory)has disappeared. One night he brings out various characters named Capricorn and Basta from Inkheart , a book written by Fenoglio (Jim Broadbent) whose story is set in Middle Age and plenty of magical beings. As there suddenly appears Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and Basta (Jamie Foreman), two nasties, and Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a fire-eater. Now, 10 years later Meggie (Eliza Bennett) discovers the truth and she also has supernatural powers . Meggie along with his father and grandmother confront several fantastic adventures, dangers and risks.

This exciting motion picture displays derring-do adventure, romance ,fairy tale ,and spectacular frames with phenomenal production design. The flick gets lots of bombastic special effects including supernatural apparitions, wizards ,legendary heroes and numerous images have you on the edge of your seat. As appears the heroes of tales as ¨1.001 nights¨, ¨the minotaur¨, ¨Rapunzel¨ and several others. Riveting set pieces illuminate the full-blown adventures blending witchcraft, fairies, necromancy and turns out to be extremely amusing. Stimulating adventures of ours protagonists are complemented by a breathtaking final attraction in the castle scenes with incredible appearance of an overwhelming ominous shadow. Casting is frankly extraordinary, Brendan Fraser as impetuous hero, Andy Serkis plays magnificently a shamelessly villain and Helen Mirren as likable grandmother, and brief appearance of Jennifer Connelly as Roxanne, among others. Ideal main cast is completed by phenomenal secondary actors as US as British players. The movie packs a sensational production design by John Beard , accompanied by a glamorous cinematography by Roger Pratt filmed on location, in Italian Riviera, Liguria and Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England, including a mesmerizing photography with wonderful , marvelous landscapes . Emotive soundtrack appropriately adequate to fantasy by Javier Navarrete. The picture is brilliantly directed by Ian Softley. He's a good writer, producer and director,who achieved big time with ¨The skeleton key¨, ¨K-Pax¨, ¨Backbeat¨ and Hackers¨. Rating: Better than average. Essential and indispensable watching for fantastic cinema lovers.

"Inkheart" is based on Cornelia Funke's novel about a character who can bring anything or anyone he reads in books to life. Teenage girls with "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" posters on their walls I assume are already trying to figure out how to harness this incredible power. Fantasy is in with the kids so all indications point to "Inkheart" being a big success. And why shouldn't it? All the elements are there for an entertaining movie, including Brendan Fraser again walking into the adventurer role and having it fit like white on rice. I've not read Funke's book but I can imagine its been packed down for a better flow but screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire always keeps track of the message and director Ian Softley does a nice job of keeping things moving.

Fraser is Mo the silver-tongue. He can make any character or object from a book come to life and on a sad note, he discovered this power too late. When his daughter was a small child, he read her the book Inkheart, unleashing the fire-juggler Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) and worse, the bandit Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and his posse. As they came out, his wife Ressa (Sienna Guillroy) went in. Now 9 years later, Mo is traveling with his daughter Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) to live with an Aunt (Helen Mirren), but more importantly to find another copy of the book so he can set his wife free. Just he is confronted by Dustfinger, who desperately wants to go back home, and Capricorn, who has built quite a life for himself in the real world and wants Mo to read to make him more dominant, including setting the most catastrophic villain from Inkheart, The Shadow, at his control.

It isn't hard to see the pro-reading angle in "Inkheart". So even if the plot holes in the screenplay are fairly gaping (Why can't characters write and then read their way out of danger?), how can you really hate a story that focuses on the enriching power of the written word and its ability to transport the reader? Everything is here for a quality fantasy; danger, heroism, colorful characters, and love and the direction remains fast-paced and tense always. The special effects are also brilliant and seamless. The tornado ripping through Capricorn's castle offers non-stop excitement, and The Shadow, a villain composed of dust and fire for a mouth and eyes, is both suspenseful and frightening and is one of the best-looking fantasy characters i've seen since Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort.

Fraser basically plays Rick O'Connell again here, just with a different name but the same likable presence he always brings. This type of role is his niche and he doesn't disappoint. Paul Bettany is called upon to do a little more and his performance is the true standout here, showing the menacing trickery and tortured desperation of a man anxiously trying to get home. Bennett is not an annoying little kid but a fairly decent young actress and Andy Serkis more than fills the need for a glowering, power-mad villain. And then you have Helen Mirren, playing Mo's feisty Aunt, and Jim Braodbent, playing the kooky author of Inkheart, both adding much needed comic relief.

"Inkheart" is the first in a trilogy of books by Funke and hopefully Hollywood goes back into this well again. It's not quite on par with "Harry Potter" but I found it more engaging than the marshmallow-y "Chronicles of Narnia". Regardless, it offers two hours of escapist fantasy and in the cold early months, that's the kind of stuff that does the body good.

Let me begin by saying I have read the book and most of the second. When I saw the trailer, there were so many elements I could not place that I presumed this film would be some combination of all three books, and almost did not see it as I had not yet read the last book. I'm glad I did not succumb to this temptation.

The movie itself is loosely based on Funke's book. That's right, "book." It is actually NOT based on all three books, but rather, just as the title implies, the initial Inkheart. The elements I could not identify were never in the book. So...If you're a book fan and are unable to separate the literary story from a film adaptation, you WILL be disappointed. But honestly, if you're looking for something that bears more than a slight resemblance to the book, you still may be disappointed by the omissions, rearrangements, and substitutions.

But do let me say that Brendan Frasier is a wonderful Mo. The casting choice of Eliza Hope Bennett as Meggie was a bit of a surprise, but she is lovely and does very well as Meggie. Paul Bettany is a beautifully tragic Dustfinger. Wow, what a performance Bettany gives! I was also surprised by Helen Mirren's casting as Aunt Elinor, but she was a capable and endearing Elinor. I was even impressed by Rafi Gavron's Farid. I can't wait to see where HIS career leads him. He has great promise. They, and the supporting cast, were wonderful. Not one stiff performance. Andy Serkis was also good as Capricorn. I can't say he was "awesome," as he was not nearly as scary as the literary version, and seemed somewhat of a victim of his own circumstances herein, but he was enjoyable, nonetheless.

If you have never read the books, however, you may find this as I did; an enchanting lovely fantasy with enigmatic characters and a slick execution style. I enjoyed this work far more than I should have, considering the plethora of WIDE variances from the literary source.

All in all, while Inkheart is a highly enjoyable film, it is NOT the book. My advice? Watch the movie. Love the movie. Then read the book and find a hundred new reasons to love it again.

It's still fun, it's still wonderful, and it's still enchanting.

It rates an 8.2/10 on the movie scale.

It rates a 3.5/10 on the adaptation scale.

It rates an 8.4/10 on the fantasy scale from...

the Fiend :.

This was a very enjoyable film; maybe not as exciting and a bit more contrived than I'd been looking forward to, but it was still very enjoyable in the main.

But one thing stood out above any other in this film; and that was: Paul Bettany's performance as Dustfinger.

He was just brilliant, and absolutely stole the film for me. I thought he was a good actor anyway, but the moment he came on I had to stop and think "wow!", and I continued to be impressed throughout the film, as his character development just got more and more interesting. I felt far more sympathy with his character than Brendan Frasers (even though I think he's fantastic!), and I felt that he was the true 'main character' of the film (in the same way as Sam is to Lord of the Rings).

If anyone is unsure about seeing Inkheart, I would suggest that it is a must-see if only for Paul Bettany's absolutely stunning performance; he is intense, emotional, funny, troubled, heroic and just plain brilliant.

Also high praise for Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, who were very refreshing. I did feel more could have been done with Andy Serkis and Brendan Fraser, they didn't wow me as much as I'd expected.

But overall a very enjoyable film!!

I saw this on Friday with my friend, and I enjoyed it more than she did(it was between this and Twilight). Thing is, although I'm a fantasy genre fan, I've not read the book but I've vaguely heard about it some years ago. It's a alright film, but does't have that special something to make it rise above others that have been released that are basically the same action adventure fantasy thing.

Acting: Fraser was decent playing his typical 'hero' role, but the surprisingly natural performance came from Bennet playing his daughter. Alright, she does't look 12 at all, more like 14/15 but considering I'm getting more used wooden acting in the likes of Potter etc, it's a welcome thing. Mirren's bad-tempered charm as the dotty bookworm aunt and a few mildly amusing lines are good to watch. Serkis was relishing his straightforward villain role, although my friend couldn't take him seriously cause of his old Gollum role. Bettany as the fire-spewing Dustfinger is also convincing, conveying depth and I liked the childlike eccentricity of Broadbent as the author, an actor who seems to be turning up in every fantasy film going. Even a small role like Guillory's is done effectively, but could've had more screen time and more back story or what happened to her at a more satisfying length. Good supporting cast of baddies at the castle as well.

Pacing: Here's my main issue - the storyline gets repetitive in the escape then heading back to the castle again. Also, certain things aren't explained that left me a bit confused as to how they came about, especially regarding the man that comes out of Arabian Nights. It does get clichéd and generic, plus the ending wraps everything up too conveniently in the climax with The Shadow, so more peril and suspense could've helped. It's an interesting story though, as I said, reading aloud and it comes alive out of the book. I just hoped for more surprises and inventiveness with such a cool central idea.

Cinematography - The special effects, especially for The Shadow(which scared me quite a bit - reminds me of a demon) and the menagerie of storybook creatures in Capricorn's castle is all done to standard expected nowadays, so it's good if not the best you've ever seen. Colourfully shot, with good set pieces. The camera shakes slightly anytime something is read out of the book.

Score: Pretty generic, really, didn't notice any themes.

Overall: A good, if repetitive family escapist fantasy film that presents an interesting concept, but does't always execute it as well as it could've. Not enough emotional impact or scenes of what happens in these books when a character or characters read out of them are no longer in the pages of the story. Easy to follow and not too long, though, with a handful of somewhat amusing lines and a Lord of the Rings sight gag, and it does have a bit of magic (like seeing well known items from famous books in the castle etc). The theme of books and reading should hopefully, inspire the audience to pick up a few to loose themselves in, which is always a positive thing. 6.4/10