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Movies / On DVD / Inkheart
Inkheart

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Inkheart (2009)

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Reviews Counted:132

Fresh:52

Rotten:80

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: Heavy on cliches and light on charm, this kid-lit fantasy-adventure doesn't quite get off the ground.

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:12-12-2008

Synopsis: Cornelia Funke’s best-selling novel, INKHEART, comes to life in director Iain Softley’s (THE SKELETON KEY, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE) feature-film adaptation of the same name. For 12 years, bookbinder... Cornelia Funke’s best-selling novel, INKHEART, comes to life in director Iain Softley’s (THE SKELETON KEY, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE) feature-film adaptation of the same name. For 12 years, bookbinder Mo (Brendan Fraser) and his daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett), have been traveling the world, poking around secondhand bookstores. Meggie correctly assumes that her father is looking for her mother, Resa (Sienna Guillory), who disappeared without a trace. What Meggie doesn’t know is that Mo is a Silvertongue, and when he reads a story aloud, the details and characters come to vivid life. But when a character comes out of a book, someone has to go back in, and Mo is searching a copy of the book, titled "Inkheart," into which Resa literally disappeared. When Mo read the story aloud, unaware of his powers, she was sucked into the story, and the fantastical novel’s villainous characters were released. Now, Mo and Meggie have to keep evil Capricorn and his henchmen from realizing their diabolical plot, and send everyone back where they belong. INKHEART is awash with colorful details. Capricorn has had to make do with a stuttering Silvertongue who delivers characters that are half-read: text from the book is tattooed on their faces, or they suffer some other malady, emerging from the book mute or with an odd physical feature. Paul Bettany is engaging as Dustfinger, a character who desperately wants to be read back into "Inkheart" and return to his family, portrayed by Bettany’s real-life love, Jennifer Connelly, in a miss-her-if-you-blink performance. Helen Mirren is good fun as eccentric, feisty bibliophile Aunt Elinor, and Jim Broadbent appears as the novel’s author, who is enthralled by the possibilities of Mo’s gift. [More]

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Eliza Hope Bennett, Rafi Gavron

Director: Iain Softley

Director: Iain Softley
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire
Producer: Iain Softley, Diana Pokorny, Cornelia Funke
Composer: Javier Navarrete
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for Inkheart

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Adapted from the best-selling novel by Cornelia Funke, this makes a splashy fuss about "the magic of books", and yet undermines our imaginative instincts by monstering the screen with special effects.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
12/12/08
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Inkheart the novel is intended to be the first of a trilogy, but - like The Golden Compass, but even more so - it falls well short of convincing me that the next two films would be a worthwhile investment, financially or emotionally.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
12/12/08
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

This is one of those adaptations that tries to keep you watching with its sheer busyness. At times, though, you just want it to stop and catch breath with the aid of some rather better lines and deeper characterisations.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
12/12/08
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

Bit by bit, Inkheart gets backed into a very moribund soundstage finale with loose ends either rapidly wrapped or abandoned entirely.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
12/12/08
Fionnuala Halligan
Fionnuala Halligan
Screen International

As far as movies based on books about books go, it's anything but a pageturner.

Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | comment 2 Comments
05/12/09
Jayne Nelson
Jayne Nelson
SFX Magazine

There is loads of action and an amusing turn from Helen Mirren as Meggie’s aunt. Most important, Inkheart performs the trick of encouraging our kids to love both books and films.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 5 Comments
12/12/08
Sun Online

It is a good –looking enthralling film with a traditional feel that does exactly what it says on the tin. Be warned though, some scenes might be a bit too intense for the really young.

Full Review Source: Heart 106.2 | comment Comment
12/12/08
Heart 106.2

A convoluted story but otherwise this is solid fantasy fare, nicely performed and handsomely made.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
12/12/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filled with the prerequisites of talking animals, an appealing young heroine and some heinous villains, all the ingredients are there, although an overly complex plot makes for an altogether middling experience.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 1 Comment
12/12/08
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Inkheart is cheerful and amiable, and in the absence of a Harry Potter film this winter, it fills a gap neatly.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
12/12/08
David Gritten
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s a familiar tale, but one told with gusto, wit and visual flare.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
12/12/08
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Inkheart shows why books are wonderful yet dangerous places; how a well-told story unlocks the imagination; and how words unleash the most unpredictable emotions.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
12/12/08
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Magical, if messy — this gets by on a good heart, high adventure and an unashamed love for books.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/12/08
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enjoyable fantasy adventure in which the strong cast, likeable characters and impressive special effects provide just enough distraction for you to ignore the plot holes.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
12/18/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

CGI fantasy adventures in the post-Potter, young-adult, old-child mode are not quite my taste, but this one is likably boisterous, and Iain Softley directs with flair.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/12/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gamely played and impressively filmed (in the Liguria area of Italy), it’s good, Saturday matinee-type fun. If it were a book…you couldn’t put it down. Word up.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment 1 Comment
12/12/08
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

The film's message that books are the doorway to learning and adventure is not overplayed even if the pic cheats a bit at the end for a tidy denouement.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
12/11/08
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
08/19/09
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A movie that can produce the image of Helen Mirren astride a unicorn has some claim on the audience's interest, and a movie that can make that image seem perfectly uninteresting is in some serious trouble.

comment Comment
01/23/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This shrill, moronic and often ugly family adventure feels cobbled together from spare parts, with a script that can't even be bothered to follow its own rules or internal logic.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
01/21/09
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Inkheart

January 30, 2009: Making a movie about the magic to be found in reading books, is a little like General Motors singing the praises of riding a bike instead. Opens in new window
More...

January 22, 2009: Critics Consensus: Inkheart Is Less Than Magical
This week at the movies, we've got living literature (Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser and Eliza Hope Bennett); political intrigue (Frost/Nixon, starring Michael Sheen and... More...

January 22, 2009: Box Office Guru Preview: Underworld Battles Oscar All-Stars
Only two new releases hit the North American box office, but in the wake of Academy Award nominations, a handful of contenders take the opportunity to expand nationwide hoping... More...

December 14, 2008: Warner Bros. Firms Up 2009 Schedule Opens in new window
From "Inkheart" to "Sherlock Holmes," the Warner Bros. slate for 2009 has been set, and ComingSoon has posted it for your perusal. More...

See All

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