Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Between The Book and The Movie.

I've waited for a year for this movie, hoping it would be as good as the book. I'm a massive fan of the books, really, ever since the first book is released I already hooked with how beautiful the shadowhunters' world's is. Plus the romance is just enough, not too cheesy, and not less than lesser. I even managed to following the prequel, the Infernal Devices where I go "oohh, ahh, so this is the history before Valentine even exist". I really think that Cassandra Clare is genius. I can't compare her with Rowling though, they're completely at the different levels, but she clearly better than Stephenie Meyer if that's the question, and The Mortal Instruments are 1000000000 times better than Twilight - enough with the bashing, let's get down to the story.

The Mortal Instruments starts with Clary Fray, as a mundane (or she think she is), a normal teenager with friends, one of them is Simon whom she said is like a brother to her. She thinks her life is normal until her mom is suddenly disappear one day leaving only mystery for Clary. With no clue she suddenly got strange flashbacks which she thinks never happened in her life, turns out that every some day in her 15 years life time her mother always took her to The High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane to put some cage to her memory of her and her mother being a shadowhunter.

Within the confusion she met Jace, whom she thought was a cold-blooded killer (who wouldn't when you saw a boy easily slashed a human - or she think a human - in a crowded night club). Clary then finally realize who she really is and who her mother and father really is). And she lived happily ever after - I hope I really can say that, but in the irony, the first book of Mortal Instruments, City of Bones ended with a kind-of-annoying-end. A twist which left everyone who read the book feel the curiosity. Is it really happening? Clary and Jace are brother and sister?? Should I say or should I not? I only can say that Clary got the blood of angel inside her because Valentine had injected it through her mother when she's pregnant. Her brother the other way, got the blood of the demon inside him.

Proceed with the comparing between the book and the movie.

When it was announced by Cassie Clare herself, I thought that this movie is gonna be awesome since Clare herself will involved directly into City of Bones' movie. She even do the casting herself. Frankly speaking, I doubt Lily Collins would fit into Clary's role. Clary was described as small, skinny, but sweet girl with a fiery red hair like her mother, Jocelyn. But Clary always think that Jocelyn is too pretty to be her mother. They got the same hair color, but Jocelyn is tall and beautiful, as Clary is small and cute. Lily Collins is too pretty to be Clary at the first look. She is too, too tall to be Clary. But this might be the effect of the age-up they done with the characters in the movie. Instead of 15 like described in the book, Clary Fray looked 18 in the movie and Jace looked 20 something. As I watch, I really see Clary in her, not to mention that she portray a rookie shadowhunter beautifully. And Lena Headey as Jocelyn is just perfect. I hate her in the Game of Thrones though, but seeing how tough she is in City of Bones makes me just in awe with her.

This how Clary should look

As for Jace, I already portrayed Alex Pettifyer being Jace. With his golden hair, he will looks furious and charismatic in shadowhunter's tatts. But, Jamie Campbell-Bower done it beautifully too. Though somehow I feel that Jace in the movie is not the same with Jace in the book. Jace is more mysterious, since he blamed himself, thinking that he was a walking-curse. In the movie, Jace is too teenager, too normal. Luckily, they still make Jace an excellent fighter.

There are too many small points that the filmmaker chose to leave behind from the movie. I know maybe it's because the duration and it's gonna be boring when one whole books put in one movie. But there are also some key points that they leave behind (or so I say).

Firstly, they don't even mention that Jace and Alec is parabatai. They are brothers, they bounded to each other. Seeing how the things gone at the movie will leave people who don't read think that Alec was just a crazy gay, who is jealous of Clary because it is clear that Jace is attract to her and not to him. In fact is, yes, Alec got a secret crush to Jace. But he's bitching around Clary is not 100% cause he's jealous, it's more he can't really see his brother's sad or worse, dead.

Second, not even a word about the stele and Clary didn't get Jace's stele. What is stele? That's the red stick that wrapped by snake, which Isabelle always bring, and that's the stick that Jace's use to eavesdropping Luke, Pangborn and Blackwell. That is also the key of how Clary will draw the runes with.

Third, how come they don't just go to Idris? That's ridiculous how Valentine could just brag in into the Institute. Harry Potter much? Like how Voldemort and Death Eaters went into Hogwarts. They really make the movie into Harry Potter and Twilight wanna be! 

Fourth, the last fight was supposedly between Jace and his "father" Valentine, not Clary and Valentine. Valentine is clearly took the Cup away in the book. But what? In the movie they made Clary won and Valentine didn't get the cup. Where will the story goes then in the second movie?

Then, SIMON WAS BITTEN? Really?? It's a spoiler but, Simon was supposedly bitten by Rafael (you can't find them in the movie but he was mentioned as a rather little boy maybe teenager, but he is the highest vampire in command) and Jace gives him his blood, so that Simon accidentally become a daywalker. But that still a long way to go (book two). In the movie he is just miraculously alive after bitten by a vampire? What a funny thing!

Simon didn't change into rat and they made the vampires are after the cup too. Which is a sad fact. Vampires, werewolves, and other downworlders are care less about the shadowhunters' fling. Vampires aren't angels but the Cup is no use for them, Clary, Jace, and Simon are merely trapped into bad luck to have enter the Vampire's nest.

Last but not least, Godfrey is a perfect actor to play Magnus Bane. But I see the miss here. It was said that he was Asian, than in the Infernal Devices, the story told that his mother is and Indonesian decent during the colonial era. I'm an Indonesian, and if it said that he's Chinese-Indonesian it would be funny, because not so many Chinese-Indonesian are exist in that era, there are only native Indonesian. They should've find an Indonesian actor instead to play Magnus. 

And please, Magnus is always act high and mighty. In the glimpse of his appearance in the movie, he gave the kind feeling, a good warlock, which is really wrong. He always wants something from his help (it's true), unless the things that happened affect him or people around him (Alec later). So something like he bought the paint that Jocelyn made is just funny.

As much as it doesn't match with the book, I still can't hate the movie. It was a live action anyway, thoug it was not as good.

PS: I got the pictures anywhere around the web. Credit to the owners.

R.N