The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Tags: fantasy, gothic, murder, violence, flashback, good versus evil, psychedelic, revenge

Plot synopsis:
New York City teenager Clary Fray begins seeing a strange symbol, worrying her mother Jocelyn Fray and her mother's friend Luke Garroway. Later, at a nightclub with her friend, Simon Lewis, Clary is the only person who sees Jace Wayland killing a man, who he claims is a demon. Meanwhile, Jocelyn is abducted by two men, Emil Pangborn and Samuel Blackwell, but she is able to call Clary and warn her about someone named Valentine. Jocelyn drinks a potion putting her in a comatose state. Returning home, Clary finds her mother missing and is then attacked by a demon. Clary kills it, and then Jace appears. Jace explains that he and her mother Jocelyn are both Shadowhunters (also called Nephilim), half human half angel warriors that slay demons and rule over the downworlders. Clary has inherited her powers, including the ability to use runes.
Madame Dorothea, the Fray's neighbor and a witch, deduces that Pangborn and Blackwell seek the Mortal Cup, one of the three Mortal Instruments given to the first Shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel. It allows normal humans to become half-Angel Shadowhunters. Simon, now able to see Jace, arrives and they go to Luke's bookstore. Pangborn and Blackhell are interrogating Luke there, who claims he cares nothing for Jocelyn and only wants the Mortal Cup. The trio escapes to the Shadowhunters' hideout, the Institute, where Clary and Simon meet two other Shadowhunters Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, and their leader, Hodge Starkweather. He reveals that Valentine Morgenstern, an ex-Shadowhunter who betrayed the Nephilim, now seeks the Mortal Cup to control both Shadowhunters and demons.
Hodge instructs Jace to take Clary to the City of Bones so the Silent Brothers can probe Clary's mind for the Mortal Cup's location. The Brothers uncover a connection to Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Bane says Jocelyn had him block the Shadowhunter world from Clary's mind. Vampires then kidnap Simon from Magnus' party for downworlders. Clary, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle trail them to their hideout and rescue him but are outnumbered. Werewolves (that share a truce with the Shadowhunters) intervene and save them. These are led by Luke.
At the Institute, Clary shares a romantic evening with Jace, ending in a kiss. When Simon confronts Clary about it, she downplays the incident, angering Jace. Simon confesses to Clary that he is in love with her, leaving her feeling guilty because she does not reciprocate his feelings.
Clary realizes the Mortal Cup is hidden inside one of Madame Dorothea's tarot cards that were painted by her mother. The group goes to Dorothea's apartment but she has been replaced by a demon sent to steal the Cup. Simon and Jace kill it, but Alec is critically wounded. Clary retrieves the Mortal Cup and they return to the institute.
Clary gives the Mortal Cup to Hodge who betrays them by summoning Valentine Morgenstern and giving him the cup. Valentine reveals he is Clary's father and wants her to join him. She escapes through a portal that transports her to Luke's bookstore. Luke, revealed to be a werewolf, confirms that Valentine is her father, and says Clary had an older brother named Jonathan who was killed. Luke and his werewolf pack return to the Institute with Clary to fight Valentine, who has summoned an army of demons through a portal he created. Simon and Isabelle close the portal with help from a repentant Hodge, who sacrifices himself. Meanwhile, Magnus Bane arrives and heals Alec.
Clary and Jace fight Valentine, who claims both are his children. They refuse to join him and, following a battle, Clary pushes him through the portal after giving him a fake Mortal Cup. The portal is destroyed, and Jocelyn is rescued, but she remains in a coma at the hospital. Clary tells Simon that someday someone will love him. Clary heads back home and uses her new-found powers to repair the apartment. Jace appears on his motorcycle, confessing he needs her and wants her to return to the Institute. Realizing that she belongs in the Shadowhunter world, she goes with him and they ride into the distance.

Review: We could tell that Simon was nerdy, Isabelle liked slutty clothes and fighting, Valentine was evil, Hodge was sketchy, Luke was some kind of family friend (why, who knows?) and Jace was the standard romantic lead with a penchant for sappy lines and rescuing Clary.
The movie had changes in it that ruptured the foundation of the book and a lot of what it stands for, ruining the ingenuity of the plot and the world that Clare built which had me so enraptured from the beginning.
I went into this movie as open-minded as possible knowing that there were some changes made to the film.Firstly, several reviews, both good and bad, had issues with the pacing.
Parts of it did come off a bit cheesy, but overall it did not overpower the movie like I thought it was.I really enjoyed the action sequences.
Many reviewers were adamant that it kept to the book most of the time, but I would say it was a pretty even mix.Like most fans I had a certain idea how some scenes or characters would be and I felt a little let down because characters weren't how I imagined or expected them.
There are a lot of good elements going on here and a lot of decent acting from people I least expected it given the time they had to actually develop the characters.
I went to see this movie the other day and since I'm a big fan of the books I was all so excited to actually be able to see my fantasy on the big screen.
In conclusion, I really think that the books had good potential for becoming a movie without changing everything, which unfortunately happened.(Read the books, they are amazing.
It's has real action, solid acting, good cinematography, and dwells more on the storyline then romance.Having never read the Mortal Instruments books, I was a little leery of seeing the movie and being totally lost.
for frag sake, you would think with the quality cast in the film it would at least entertain.now, i like movies.
Since the success of films like Harry Potter and Twilight, film studios have been looking for the next young adult book series to adapt.
With five books already out and a sixth on the way, The Mortal Instruments is latest series to diving into a cinematic adaptation, being more fantasy, than supernatural romance.Clary Fray (Lily Collins) is a seemingly normal New York teenager, who lives with her artistic single mother, Jocelyn (Lena Headey).
Valentine (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is looking for the lost Mortal Cup that can create more Shadowhunters.To get the Twilight comparisons out of the way, yes there is a love triangle and a teenage girl has a romance with a supernatural creature.
But despite all this, death is kept to a minimum.While The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones does have Judo-Christian iconography with its use of angel statutes and paintings, this is a film that actually side-steps being be a Christian, saying all religions are valid and avoids any mention of God or the afterlife.The acting for the most part is decent enough, though the dialogue is predictable and a little clichéd at times.
Yet, the demons near the end of the film does have a cool, glowing effort and have a similar look to Kronos' minions in Wrath of the Titans.The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones has been have a torrid time with mainstream critics, but in all honesty, it is a perfectly serviceable fantasy adventure that is better to the Twilight series it has been compared to and will please fans of the novels.Please visit www.entertainmentfuse.com.
Story line: The story in this film is all very cramped together as the book was quite big so i think the screenwriter done a good job fitting it all in the 2 hours.
(Don't ask me how I know how it felt.) But, I was determined not  to judge a book by it's movie (ha!), and went to see City of Bones last  night.
Cons:   - I've read that a considerable amount of the book was cut from the  movie, simply because it was impossible to fit everything into a 2-hour  film.
I feel like whatever was cut from the book would have made a  better 2 hours of movie.
Total movie: 90/100 Acting: 80/100 Effects: 80/100 Book Changes: 80/100 Awesome Level: 100/100Not really any spoilers, just the mention of changes, and certain scenes.
It's nothing we ever have seen before, being a fan of a lot of YA novels and movies, (and have repeatedly read and watched them) so I know whats what.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS MOVIE: I was with my mom, who has not read the books at all, and she loved it.
So I recommend this movie to ANYONE who likes fantasy films, that have action, good acting, love, and a little bit of scary.
I have not read the books , I hadn't even heard of them so I went to see this with a very open mind , but this is just a very poor film , badly adapted , not very well acted and all the special effects can not make up for what is just a turkey of a film , I didn't engage with any of the characters which left me not caring what happened to them , and i just ended up looking at my watch to see how long it was till it finished !
I believe these people wanted to make another hit like Harry Potter or a better version of Twilight, but City of Bones turns out to be another one of those movies that thinks it's epic to just show stuff that people don't see everyday, sit down, explain, fight, sit down, do the same thing until it reaches the climax.
Lily Collins who plays Clary, wow she looking so beautiful in this film & a brilliantly done performance from her with her character as she really shows motion & believable character as she come to term with her destiny as a shadow hunter when she see things that go beyond reality.Like I said before this film is visually stunning with special effect & concept, the special effect on the face change was brilliant don't to show a dark horror tone to the demons as well as the beauty of the garden at midnight.
Loved the books and really enjoyed the film, if you like twilight / potter and these kind of fantasy films then this is defiantly worth a watch or read...
The rest of the plot is explained well, can be understood without the book.The look of the movie was great.
A romance story is fired up right away as well, between Clary and this guy Jonathan with the cool sticky hair and silky British voice, and the two seem a little naive in that they don't pick up on each other's signals, but I guess that takes some life experience.The story is very simple, utilizing all the expected elements of the genre, but does manage to keep them fairly fresh, and the plot has sufficient twists to stay interesting, although most of them have only minor impact on later turns of events.
The love scenes are ridiculous, the fight scenes don't make sense, the magical scenes either (check out the one when they battle demons, she freezes them up, and then they try to move around them rather than just kill them like they would do just a few seconds later when the demons unfreeze) and some of the roles in the movie are really confusing, like the one of the great warlock that seems to know all, appear out of nowhere when you need him and everybody trusts him.The acting wasn't bad, but the direction and individual scenes were clumsy and sometimes outright bad.
The dotter, Clary (Lily Collins, the good Snow White from the bad Snow White movie), and her mom, Jocelyn (Lena Headey from Game of Thrones, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and the under-appreciated The Purge) are perfectly fine, tho Jocelyn gets to spend much of the film doing her Sleeping Beauty impersonation.
It has a few good action scenes, and an interesting wrinkle or 2 in the plot line, but it suffers from the same problem that all these supernatural/demigod films do, which is trying to explain the motives of the bad guys, other than just, well, that's the way villains are supposed to behave.
For the most part it was true to the book, the acting was outstanding (especially from Jamie Campbell and Robert Sheehan), and the effecting were stunning.The movie also had a lot of action and special effects which made it fun to watch.
Not every book to movie is imitating Harry Potter and the film adaptions of Twilight sucked.
Now, I'm in my mid-20's and probably not the audience this book was intended for, but I still found the series enjoyable and easy to read, although it was a strange mish-mash of Twilight and Harry Potter at times.
All other characters were very hard to get invested in, which is sad because Lena Headey is great in Game of Thrones!As for the story line, if you haven't read the books or some sort of plot summary, don't bother.
And as for book readers, prepare to be frustrated at the way the studio tried to dumb down the plot (notably with the Jace/Clary dilemma), as they spoil one of the major series plot twists right in the first movie.The worst part was that I was actually embarrassed watching some of the romance scenes.
Hot on the heels of movies based off bestselling young adult books such as the Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games comes the film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the first of six books in Cassandra Clare's urban fantasy series.
It is a great movie with awesome special effects, and you do not have to read the book in order to understand what is happening.
Went to see this film despite some not so good reviews and also after reading the books.
i never write reviews but seeing all the bad reviews i was worried that it would harm the sequel's chances of coming to film - though it still seems to be good to go.i haven't read this book nor have i even heard of it.
Other characters just pop up when needed, making me think they had action figures to sell, rather than a use for the story.The action was okay, but there was far too much love triangle for my liking and jokes that I've heard before.
My husband, sister, and her fiancé had not read the books and they too felt like it was an amazing movie.
For those of you who didn't read the book, City of Bones, this movie may seem a bit confusing to you.
Certainly they had to cut things out of the nearly 500 page novel, but some key moments are simply touched upon with a line or two, making the movie a bit confusing at times.
I especially loved all the quirky comments made by Jace.The ending was very different from the books, but we will see how they tie that all together in the 2nd one - which hopefully gets produced since this movie has a bit of a rocky start.All in all, I really liked it and will be buying it as soon as it's released!
They have eliminated certain things from the book that are childish, giving more maturity.The film has had some very harsh critics and after seeing the movie, I don't understand it.
"The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" is a movie with good cast and top-notch special effects.
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones was adapted from a novel like many of the contemporary fantasy films of late.
I don't know what was worse: gaping at the screen in shock and disgust because the cast couldn't get one single thing right, or not understanding what the hell is going on because some of the key things from the book are left out in the movie.
At times, some random info just pops up as if everyone who's watching the movie has read the book.
Fans of the book series may enjoy this movie, as well as people who like to look at "pretty" people emote.
When I heard there was going to be a movie about City Of Bones I thought how the hec will they manage that when the plot line in the books take forever to get into?
The books were good but the movie was better that is my honest opinion.I fully recommend going and seeing it - and people who have read the book I advise keep an open mind, don't be overly critical, and enjoy it for what it is..
I wanted them to take a bit more time explaining things better.I still like the overall story and plot.
Based on Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instrument series which I have read the film centers on the plot line in the first book the least good one in my opinion, As a young woman Clary whom discovers her hidden birth right when her mother is contacted.
How after reading the books can any of you say this movie was good?
Compared to many other young adult books turned to movies, this one kept my interest through the whole thing and had good, if marginally hormonal characters.
I have not read the book, but my wife has and it encouraged her to read the whole series again, which happened to be sold out at every bookstore she went to as well as Amazon, which reinforces that lots of people are liking it, except the critics who did not give it great reviews.
I realize no movie can ever compare to a book however others have managed to stay true to the story at least the main plot lines, characters and ideas.
Together they must fight Valentine, save Clary's mother, and protect The Mortal Cup (one of the three Mortal Instruments).I actually found the movie to be much more engaging than the book.
I do think that there were times when the comic relief got to be a bit too much, the same goes for the extremely cheesy moments when it came to the love story subplot.Overall it was a fun film and a very good adaption of the first book in the popular series..
I will re- read the books because they are good but you will not see me at the sequel to this terrible movie!.
As someone who has read the book I'm probably more than a little biased, but I really liked the movie.
I gave this film a 2/10 instead of a zero for the following reasons: -The demon dog was pretty freaking badass -It featured a song by Zedd (even though it was so out of place and just felt dumped in, especially when it transitioned back to the original soundtrack)Thats all i have to say maybe i needed to have read the books but this is one to steer clear of.P.s did anybody else think Simon was going to turn into a angel?
Her mother goes missing and she joins a group of other Shadowhunters who battle demons in a world filled with warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other dark creatures.If you haven't read the books like me, the movie feels like one long quiz.
There's no possible way a movie, limited to a certain time length can compare to a book, especially a series of books.I've read many (young) reviews, and viewed things quite differently.
Have to watch it several times just in order to catch every little detail....and there are a ton.I look forward to the next movie in the series ..and look forward to reading the books as well..
I liked it so much and wanted to know what would happen to these characters that I went online and purchased the first three books, all of which I finished reading under a week.
If you enjoy YA movies you might like this, I did.I can understand how some of the characters are not as you might have imagined them to be if you read the books first but I think overall they did a good job.
If they're going to attempt to turn this into the next big saga, they need to do a lot better, since this is clearly not the best example of a good movie adaptation; it's a mix of things we've seen before, with a couple of fresh notes, but that end up being eclipsed by unnecessary scenes and situations.
I might be a little biased because of how much I liked the book, but this movie is just terrible.
The Mortal Instruments City of Bones is also a bad movie, because it loses many of the themes from the book.
If you're expecting the movie to be like the book, then you'll be disappointed after ten minutes.
I'm missing some of it and I could also go without a lot of stuff they put in the movie.OK, if I'm not comparing it to the book anymore - it's like a mix-up of Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga.
I know what bad movies look like and this is not one of them!!!!!
So when I went to watch the movie in theatres I was honestly very happy with the results.Obviously not everything was perfect like the book, but the story held together and it was entertaining.
Read all the books in the Mortal Instruments series before I saw the film so I knew what to expect, and I must say it was by far better than I expected.
A Movie Different From the Book But Just as Good.
I honestly really liked the movie, but was the book better?
The overbearing music mixed with the missing story line made it feel like I was watching a trailer for the movie rather than the actual thing.