Fraser plays Mo Folchart, who happens to be a
'silvertounge' - a person who can pull characters and items out of
books and into the
real world simply by reading the story aloud.
Bad
news for Mo is, he discovered this talent while reading a medieval
fantasy tale called "Inkheart" to his then baby daughter, and not only
was the character he brought out of the book an evil bandit (Andy
Serkis), but his wife was sucked into the book.
It seems that there is a kind of balance between book and the real world that must be maintained, go figure!
Fast
forward eleven years and Mo's now driving around Europe with his twleve
year old daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett) looking for a copy of Inkheart
(they have become very rare for some reason) under cover of being a
rare book dealer.
A mysterious scar-faced stranger called
Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) turns up making vague threats, and suddenly
Mo's past comes crashing back into his life complete with storybook
villains turned gun-toting thugs.
The opening scenes are full of
the right mix of mystery and intrigue but things get less interesting
as the plot chugs along despite the appearance of one of the 40 Thieves
and Toto from The Wizard of Oz.
The
plot no doubt works fine in the original novel but here it seems to
travel in circles, while the idea of bringing books literally to life
should be way more exciting (and done way more often) than it is here.
Basically, everything feels less interesting that you would expect it to be: go read a good book instead. DVD Special Features
As DVD Special Features go - and more specifically Featurettes - the Inkheart extras are surprisingly interesting, whimsical and entertaining.
The
best on offer here is "A Story from the Cast and Crew" in which the
gang play the game "Tell Me A Story" in which novelist Cornelia Funke
gives them the first line "I discovered the hole under my bed on my
13th birthday….".
What follows is a surprising amount of fun.
Conclusion:
Movie 55% Extras: 55%
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