Review: Inkheart (2009)

[Steve Rhodes]

INKHEART
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  **

INKHEART, directed without any real sense of imagination by Iain Softley, 
whose last film was the disastrous THE SKELETON KEY, does have many things 
going for it.  Based on a popular children's book by Cornelia Funke, the 
movie is filled with all of the right ingredients for a sweet and magical 
tale, suitable for young and old alike.  But, as any cook knows, shopping, 
even at the best gourmet store, does not guarantee that the meal will be 
delicious or even tasty.

The movie starts off very promisingly.  With heavy emphasis on the shadows 
and with the washed out look of an old Technicolor print, the movie appears 
that it may be an homage to the best loved old videotapes of kids' movie 
classics.  Many early references to THE WIZARD OF OZ, as well as liberal 
borrowing of its story (Dorothy's little dog Toto is prominently featured in 
INKHEART) make the link with children's stories of legend.

This early promise, however, quickly fades.  Starting with the excessive but 
exceedingly lame special effects, almost everything in INKHEART disappoints. 
Sleepwalking through his role, Brendan Fraser, the man from THE MUMMY 
movies, stars as Mo Folchart, a gifted "silvertongue."  Silvertongues are 
cursed, since, when they read a book, it comes to life, sending characters 
from the book into the real world and real world characters into the book.

After Mo accidentally reads his wife Resa (Sienna Guillory) into the book 
"Inkheart," he vows never to read again -- with one exception.  If he can 
ever find another copy of "Inkheart," he hopes to read her back into the 
real world again.

The movie has exactly one successful piece of acting.  Paul Bettany (A 
BEAUTIFUL MIND) is excellent as Dustfinger, "a fire juggler with magical 
powers."  Brooding and shy, Dustfinger steals every scene he is in. 
Bettany's wonderful performance is as compelling as the movie itself is 
lackluster and downright dull.

On the other hand, nothing good can be said of Andy Serkis's (Gollum from 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS) portrayal of Capricorn, the story's villain.  A 
milquetoast baddy, Capricorn never seems the least bit dangerous, even when 
performing dastardly deeds.

Eliza Hope Bennett (NANNY MCPHEE) is sweet enough as Mo's daughter Meggie. 
Her best moment comes at the end, as she finds out how to effectively 
control her inherited gift as a silvertongue.

The last act revolves around the writer's block suffered by Fenoglio (Jim 
Broadbent), the writer of the original "Inkheart" that trapped Mo's wife 
after Mo read it.  Fenoglio isn't the only one with a bad case of writer's 
block.  David Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the screenplay for the movie, must 
have had a bad case of writer's block, too, based on his inability to give 
much cinematic magic to his adaptation of a popular novel.

INKHEART runs 1:46.  It is rated PG for "fantasy adventure action, some 
scary moments and brief language" and would be acceptable for all ages.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, January 23, 2009. 
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Cinemark 
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

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Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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