Review: The Mortal Movie - City of Bones

The veil has been lifted and mundanes can finally see beyond the glamour. It has been some years since I first entered the City of Bones. The beautiful torture and excitement is still fresh in my mind like a newly drawn rune.

Like any book lover, the news of your favourite book being made into a motion picture is exhilarating. The anticipation is thrilling and you simply cannot wait to be engrossed in it. After the adrenaline of the news marinades , the excitement is replaced with a sick apprehension. What if the movie doesn't live up to your expectations? What if they destroy the perfect vision you have in your head? Maybe it's better the book stay alive in the imagination. How often have we said and heard, 'the book was better'?

I needed a gazillion calming runes while I was sitting in the cinema waiting for the mortal movie to start. I never expected the movie to be exactly like the book. I knew they were different mediums. To my surprise the first 5 minutes were true to the novel. As the movie progressed there were notable changes. I have to confess the last quarter of the movie, was disheartening for me. I found myself saying what most bookworms have said many times before, 'the book was better.' I left the movies with mixed feelings.

Refusing to have negative emotions towards my favourite book series. I watched it a second time. This time I detached my preconceived thoughts and watched it with fresh eyes. To my delight I enjoyed it. I was on the edge of my seat through every fight scene. My heart raced with every action filled minute, my stomach filled with butterflies with every Clace moment. The essence of the book is still there. All the emotions I felt while reading, I felt while watching, just accelerated. The movie may not be in the forms or sequences I expected but I overlooked it the second time around. Some of the changes in the movie were necessary to convey the story.

The bottom line for me is; the movie was good. But ultimately, the book is still better. Cassie has a gift from the angels and can command words to be magic. The movie doesn't do her stories justice.

I would still recommend bookworms to watch the mortal movie, but check what you have read at the door. For those who haven't read the series, it's still an entertaining watch. But remember, don't just a book by it's movie.

Every thing you've heard about monsters, about nightmares, legends whispers around campfires. All the stories are true. Look beyond the veil mundanes and enter the City of Bones.