Movie Review: Inkheart (Monday, February 9, 2009)

Inkheart, based on the German novel by Cornelia Funke, represents my favorite sort of literary fairy tale. The film tells the story of a "Silvertongue", played by Brendan Fraser, who can bring the written word to life, just by reading it aloud. Before the movie begins, he unwittingly brings to life the villain Capricorn, played by Andy Serkis, who brought us Gollum and King Kong. Serkis's performance is delightfully evil. The film is well acted, the settings are beautiful, and the special effects are seamless and magical throughout the film. The film alternates between scary and funny, in true Brendan Fraser fashion, and moves along very well, never leaving you bored, and without moving at such a fast pace it feels like you're being dragged along behind a bus. Despite being highly abbreviated from the book (so I'm told), the movie still makes sense, and does a very good job of rapidly and clearly explaining the back story, and everything else that's happening, as the story moves along. The only downside for me, is the wanton destruction of so many books throughout the film. How could they?! It is a delightful film, and highly recommended.