The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Screen Gems | Release Date: August 21, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
17
Negative:
16
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchSarah Bryan MillerAug 20, 2013
That can’t disguise the script’s complete lack of wit or originality, though, or the generally wooden acting. Read full review
38
USA TodayScott BowlesAug 20, 2013
Though it has flashes of promise, Bones traces the footsteps of its fantasy film predecessors too closely to blaze anything close to an original narrative. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackAug 28, 2013
Not only have we seen this all before, but we were probably hoping to not see it again. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 26, 2013
City of Bones isn’t the worst of its kind, but crap served with flair is still basically crap. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenAug 20, 2013
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is just a sloppy rag bag of ideas cobbled from other stories. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJohn OurslerAug 20, 2013
The nomenclature varies slightly, but there's little new or exciting in City of Bones. For strong female role models and unique fantasy settings, stick with The Hunger Games. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsAug 23, 2013
These kids have to contrive magical pretexts just to lay hands on each other, and boy, are their excuses rotten. Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorAug 21, 2013
No matter how good The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones looks, it's hard to really care about anything that's going on, and not just because we could barely understand it. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubAug 20, 2013
Every moviegoer will have his own breaking point, when The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones surpasses the mundane and enters the ridiculous. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyAug 20, 2013
Within this bloated fantasy hodgepodge, there are few grace notes: In the role of the creepy fortune teller, Madame Dorothea, CCH Pounder is evil fun. And a few special effects, including a Rottweiller who turns into a skinned hellhound, leave an impression. Otherwise, Mortal Instruments manages to occupy 130 minutes of frantic, numbing, activity. Read full review
25
Film.comLaremy LegelAug 20, 2013
This is a story that has everything you’re looking for, provided that you’re looking for absolutely nothing. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithAug 20, 2013
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones hopes to be the start of a new franchise for tweens and Twihards, but the twuth is this twash is anything but a twiumph. Read full review
20
The GuardianFrancesca SteeleAug 24, 2013
This is film-making at its most cynical. But none of it actually makes much sense. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 21, 2013
This one is by far the worst of the “Twilight” copies. And when that bunch includes “The Host” and “I Am Number Four,” that’s saying something. Read full review
20
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 21, 2013
The plot is an incomprehensible tangle of dead ends and recaps. Read full review
20
Time OutMatt PatchesAug 20, 2013
If only the fantasy surrounding her made a lick of sense. Here, the Muggle types are known as the “Mundane.” An apt label for a wanna-be franchise with plenty of sheen and nothing to say. Read full review
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