Being based off a book series that on its best day can’t lay claim to anything in the vicinity of originality was always going to make City of Bones an uphill battle. Even though they don’t ever attempt anything out-of-the box, or break new ground, The Mortal Instruments books are always a lot of fun. The characters are well drawn, the story is well constructed and it never takes itself too seriously. This film never actually fully hits any of those notes, and it tries so hard to draw in a newer audience that it sacrifices the integrity of the original story. It’s all a little sad, because the better parts of this film are shrouded in badly delivered dialogue, and contrived moments of romance.
