Inkheart

I don't think so.

Good try, but this one didn't make it.

I went with high expectations for an adventure - but the whole thing fell flat for me. How to say: a movie in search of a story, or a story in search of a purpose.

An interesting concept: silver-tongued readers can bring characters out of a book and put others back in. I liked the possibility, but does the film deliver?

As the story unfolds, Mo "silver-tongued" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) refuses to read to his daughter (Eliza Bennett), having once read to her years earlier, only to read a few bad guys into this world and his wife into the book called "Inkheart," of which there are now only a few left in the whole world. It seems Capricorn, the badest of the bad, is destroying all other copies so there will never be a chance for a silver-tongue to read him back into the book - he enjoys his life here; after all, he has a castle, and who wouldn't like that.

Mr. Folchart, with his older daughter now, spends his time looking for another copy in the hopes of returning his wife. The daughter, by the way, has no clue - she believes her mother abandoned them. Mr. Folchart has never told her the truth, believing that his daughter would never believe him.

Along the way, they meet a character he long ago read into this world, Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) who's been looking for him lo these many years, hoping that Silver-tongue might read him back into the book, to return him to his family. Bettany, by the way, sports an Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) "Lord of the Rings" scraggly hair look, but without the fire. A rather lackluster effort, as far as this writer is concerned.

And then Mo's feisty and wealthy aunt, played marvelously by Helen Mirren - what a delight to watch and hear - every action, every line, delivered with a convincing effect - she's really good, playing a role in a film hardly worth her abilities. As for the story, she saves the day, discovering that she's inherited her father's silver tongue.


And then the bad guys, the leader of which is played exceedingly well by Andy Serkis. The bad guys - are they really bad, or mostly a bunch of bumbling dummies? Not sure the story knew where to go with them. The story reaches it climax in the bad guys' town - a mix of medieval dress and setting, but with guns and cars, as well. It takes a great deal of directorial (Iaian Softley) skill to mix metaphors, if you will; for me, it didn't quite make it.

The whole thing seemed lackluster, with clearly inadequate acting on Fraser's part. What with his "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and now this, he's got to find something else to do. Either he's not a good actor, or he's lost interest in this kind of fantastic, blue screen, stuff.

Even the special effects - sort of okay, but these days, it takes a lot to impress a jaded special effects junkie.

Eliza Bennett holds great promise; she was another who gave her role depth and passion. It was fun watching her, and I especially appreciate the skill with which she delivered her lines. She has a marvelous face - a maturity in the midst of innocence.

All around Fraser, good actors, but they can't carry him, nor can they carry the film. Sorry to be so tough on him - I've always like him, but these last two efforts do nothing for his career. I think he's capable of a whole lot more, but where's the script for him? I liked him very much in "The Quiet American," but there's been nothing similar for him since.

After Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, fantasy/adventure tales have a lot to live up to. In spite of an interesting story with promise, this film doesn't make it.

Stay home - catch it on TV or Netflix.