Inkheart

Rating PG Formats DVD Genre fantasy Starring Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis Directed by Iain Softley Publisher New Line Cinema External Links Inkheart (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Amazon Digital Bundle + Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray]

Traditionally, books that are brought to life on the screen are either good or bad, with little in between. Cornelia Funke’s fantasy epic about a 12-year-old girl named Meggie Folchart (portrayed by Eliza Bennett), who learns that her father Mo Folchart (portrayed by Brendan Fraser) is a silvertongue, which means he can bring fictional characters into our own world whenever he reads a story out loud. Mo’s wife Resa (portrayed by Sienna Guillory) is accidently transported into the fictional world, while the fictional characters are transported into ours. The book conveniently ends up lost, causing Mo to end up scouring bookstore after bookstore for another copy of the elusive book. Eventually some of the book’s characters enter our own world in search for the book themselves, desiring Mo to bring other characters from the book into our own world.

Director Iain Softley’s pacing of the movie is a bit slow and inconsistent, and the film never has a clear focus from the very beginning. Aside from a couple of whimsical villains, the film is a bit dry and uninteresting, principally because there are too many holes in the plot, which is already weak from the get go, and too many characters crowding the film.

However, when Mo and Meggie visit their aunt, Elinor (portrayed by Helen Mirren) in Italy, the audience is treated to the beautiful facades, rivers, and avenues of Italy, which are filmed quite well. But the script leaves much to be desired. Mo eventually finds the author of the book, a man named Fenoglio (portrayed by Jim Broadbent), who just happens to have an extra copy of the book lying around. It took 12 years for Mo to find the author of the book? In the age of the Internet, MySpace, and Google, such a thing is improbable. Wouldn’t the author of the book be the first person you would think of contacting if your wife was transported into a magical book? Of course it would be. Then you call the psychiatrist, the priest, the doctor, and seek the solace of anyone else you might need to confirm your sanity or lack thereof.

Brendan Frasier appears a bit awkward and uncomfortable in his role of Mo, and probably wasn’t a good choice. Even the typically colorful Andy Serkis, who plays the villain Capricorn in the film, is boring and anything but frightening. Eliza Bennett, however, is well-cast in her role as Meggie, allowing the character to be likable and believable.

The film just isn’t very magical, and pales in comparison to other fantasy films, such as the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. Even the makeup and visual effects are redundant and mediocre. Inkheart may be a popular book, but it just doesn’t translate well to the screen, and fails to move it's audience, who are likely to be confused by the movie’s lack of direction. Skip this DVD and go rent a Harry Potter film to fill your cravings for magic and fantasy.