Fiction and fantasy have become some of the most powerful social connections ever to grace our expansive human imaginations.
Wonderful worlds created by the likes of J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien have literally brought together thousands upon thousands of people to share these epic tales with one another. But what happens when fantasy meets reality?
Based on the best-selling book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, these fictional worlds and stories are brought to our own world.
Mortimer Folchart (Brendan Fraser) is both a blessed and cursed man.
An extremely rare gene has been inherited by a select few individuals in the world which allows them to read – and bring what they’ve read aloud to life.
Mortimer has no idea of his “blessing” until it is far too late.
He reads to his family, which creates a major disaster when his wife is trapped in the book and he unleashes the main antagonist of the books, Capricorn (Andy Serkis) on the world.
From that point on, it’s up to Mortimer to set things right.
The only way for him to do this is to find another copy of the very book he read from in the past – Inkheart.
Mortimer and his daughter Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) must inevitably undertake a grand quest in order to accomplish this.
As their journey progresses, they meet many allies all of whom have a common enemy, and work together to return their worlds back to normal, no longer living in fear of a fictional character.
“Inkheart” is sort of a story within a story to a somewhat confusing degree.
The movie is based off the book Inkheart, and the characters in the book/movie use another version of Inkheart from which the terrifying (or otherwise) characters are summoned. It’s by no means simple to explain.
But, the movie really thrusts you into the action.
There is hardly a moment wasted on plot development; the audience is simply tossed into the center of things after only a couple brief moments.
It’s somewhat disorienting at first, but once the actual plot is fully explained, things seem to form together nicely.
The characters in this film range from seriously lacking to above average. Fraser plays the father and husband role nicely, but when it comes to action it can be difficult at times to take him seriously.
Iain Softley, although a relatively unknown director, has done a good job with “Inkheart.” The action is kept up for long enough to always ensure that the film entertains, and the character development works well enough to create that essential character-audience bond.
Visually, this film is colorful and quite gorgeous. The setting is located in northwestern Italy, in a mountain village in the region of Liguria. Mountains and forest surround the area, making it perhaps one of the more gorgeous areas on planet Earth. Needless to say, considering the target audience, there is plenty of eye-candy to go around as well, with spells and animation galore.
“Inkheart” does what it intends to, which is to appeal to the younger audiences. It has its flaws of course and doesn’t really deserve any sort of extraordinary pats on the back for its quality. But, the film is fun, warm and exciting, and is perfect for families or friends with young ones.
