Inkheart

New Line Home Video | Release Date: January 23, 2009

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Ratings

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TyranianApr 10, 2019

Fraser is always great but this kids fantasy flick struggles to be original and engaging.

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MovieGuysJan 5, 2014

Average entertainment. Easily forgettable, very light, and not that well-done. No one will ever watch this movie more than once. It'll soon get lost in the back everyone's minds.

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FilipeNetoOct 1, 2018

Who has never read a book and imagined everything they read? In this movie, a man with a passion for books tries to deal with a rare gift: when he reads aloud, characters and objects from books can materialize and come to life off the pages.Who has never read a book and imagined everything they read? In this movie, a man with a passion for books tries to deal with a rare gift: when he reads aloud, characters and objects from books can materialize and come to life off the pages. But this comes at a price: whenever something comes out, something or someone from our world has to go into the book. So it was with his wife. However, when the characters he freed make him prisoner, the task of saving him and solving everything passes to his daughter. Okay, it's a somewhat complex plot, it takes time to present and develop, but this is done without creating major problems of perception and understanding. It would be much more interesting if the literary characters who came to life were real characters from books we all know. This spared the film the job of presenting them and making us to know whether they were bad guys or good guys. The film also has several plot holes, especially in the end. The ending is far less interesting than anything else. We even got the feeling that the movie was finished in a hurry, or they didn't quite know how to finish it properly.

Brendan Fraser is decent enough for the lead role even though he seems not to add anything special to it. He might even have switched places with Paul Bettany, who seemed much more capable of holding the lead role, as his character assumed some relevance in the story. Andy Serkis was a good villain and Helen Mirren was excellent in a supporting character. Eliza Bennett seemed to me a solid promise for the future. On the other hand, Sienna Guillory was pretty bad and unconvincing all along and Jim Broadbent, an actor with a comedic propensity, fell short of what he could have done. Cinematography is good but discreet, fulfilling it's role without merit or demerit, and the same can be said of soundtrack. The choice of sets and the costumes was good. CGI is good but, since it lacks magic in the movie, that spoils things a little. Almost everything in this film seems underdeveloped and made in a little elaborate and lazy way.… Expand

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MrScallopsJun 19, 2019

"Inkheart" is a lifeless adaptation of a magical children's book. It keeps all basic story elements and removes most of the padding but feels simple and bleak in the process. The acting is wooden with the exception of Mirren and Serkis.

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DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021

This is a fairly enjoyable kids/family friendly fantasy film, with some good visual effects (CGI). I quite liked the scenes with Helen Mirrens character, Elinor, as she is rather pompously over the top (that's not to say her acting is off,This is a fairly enjoyable kids/family friendly fantasy film, with some good visual effects (CGI). I quite liked the scenes with Helen Mirrens character, Elinor, as she is rather pompously over the top (that's not to say her acting is off, its more likely the script she was given, to be clear) and I did find that a little amusing, I admit. I also recognised John Thomson (of the TV series 'The Fast Show' fame) and of course Brendan Fraser, from the The Mummy films (not the more recent Tom Cruise version). I believe Stephen Graham is also in it (him of 'Line of Duty' and Shane Meadows 'The Virtues' TV series fame), plus Andy Serkis plays the villian. Anyway, back to the film. Its mildly engrossing I'd say but I wouldn't say it particularly stands out as an entirely memorable film as such. Near the start, there was a scene involving a young girl by a fire that immediately made me think of the film 'The Book Thief'.

I felt it had a slight bit of a pantomime feel to it - maybe it is a little over the top but I can imagine youngish kids may enjoy it never the less and its undoubtedly a film meant to appeal to younger audiences, so thats not a big issue I suppose. I enjoyed the plot concept - it reminded me of an episode of a TV series in the 90s called 'Eerie, Indiana' that featured a girl who makes drawings which come to life. It also made me think of the Adam Sandler film 'Bedtime Stories'. It did feel a little cliched and it has a naivety to it but its a fairly easy watch never the less and I think a younger audience would find it ok, hence my rating. I wouldn't expressly recommend this film as such but I wouldn't say its something to be entirely avoided either - if it comes on TV then it may be worth a watch but I wouldn't say its worth paying a large amount of money for, if that makes sense. I hope this helps as a review.… Expand

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