Summary
- The Mortal Instruments movie was accused of being a Twilight rip-off due to its romance subplots and supernatural elements.
- The film made significant changes to the books, which disappointed diehard fans and strayed too far from the source material.
- City of Bones didn't give enough screen time or development to its ing cast, which hindered the film's success.
Given the popularity of Cassandra Clare's best-selling Shadowhunters books, 2013's The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones should have seen enough success to spawn a series, but certain missteps sealed the movie's fate as a box office flop. The Mortal Instruments movie follows Clary Fray (Lily Collins) as she discovers she's from a line of demon-hunting, magic-wielding beings called Shadowhunters. After Clary's mother is kidnapped, she's thrust into a world previously erased from her memories. She embarks on a quest to save her mom from the former Shadowhunter Valentine, falling into a local band of Shadowhunters in the process.
Although The Mortal Instruments offers a rich fantasy premise, it also features a compelling supernatural love story. As Clary falls in with other Shadowhunters, she develops feelings for the arrogant and standoffish Jace Herondale. After the success of romance-heavy stories like Twilight and Divergent, it's surprising Clary and Jace didn't sell audiences on The Mortal Instruments movie. The film made just over $95 million globally on a $60 million budget (via City of Ashes from ever happening.
The Mortal Instruments Was Labelled A Twilight Rip-Off
Although the romance subplots are highlights of The Mortal Instruments books, they didn't go over so well on-screen. Because the film hit theaters just a year after the final Twilight movie, it was accused of being a rip-off of the vampire-centric story. The Mortal Instruments does feature vampires and werewolves, but the series' lore goes well beyond that of Twilight. Its inclusion of Shadowhunters, demons, and warlocks sets it apart from the other film franchise. Still, the hyped-up romance and supernatural elements left many assuming this story had little more to offer than Edward and Bella's.
The Mortal Instruments Made Too Many Changes To The Books
While casual viewers wrote off The Mortal Instruments movie as a Twilight rip-off, diehard fans of the books were also disappointed in City of Bones. Although the 2013 film follows the source material closely at the beginning, it diverges significantly from Clare's books by the end. The cast didn't all resemble their on-page counterparts as well as they should, and that's just the start of the movie's issues. Even those willing to look past appearance changes couldn't ignore the fact that The Mortal Instruments changes huge book moments, like Simon defeating the Greater Demon Abbadon, Hodge's betrayal, and Valentine's initial appearance.
In addition to altering the first Mortal Instruments book, the movie also attempts to work elements of Clare's later novels into its ending. While the movie versions of Jace and Clary are led to believe they're siblings by Hodge and Valentine, viewers are informed that this isn't the case. This reveal is saved for the third book, City of Glass, but the film throws it in regardless. It's unclear whether the adaptation hoped to avoid a controversial storyline or if it wanted to offer answers on the assumption it wouldn't get a sequel. Whatever the case, the movie strayed too far away from the book it was meant to adapt.
The Mortal Instruments Ending Was Too Bonkers, Even In The Books
The Mortal Instruments movie makes a mess of City of Bone's book ending, but the conclusion is a bit too bonkers even in the source material. Clary and Jace learning that they're siblings is one of the most controversial aspects of the Shadowhunters books, and given their continued feelings for one another, it makes the rest of the story incredibly uncomfortable. Likewise, Valentine being Clary's father is cliché at best and too surprising at its worst. The City of Bones movie didn't have much to work with, as Clare's book ending wouldn't have been easy to sell to general audiences regardless of whether it was adapted properly.
Although the later Mortal Instruments books rectify the unsavory plot twists of City of Bones, it's difficult for a film to make that promise. Given that the movie works in City of Glass' biggest reveal — that Clary and Jace aren't actually related — it seems it tried to fix the book ending's problems. Unfortunately, all the things it added made matters more convoluted and turned away committed book fans.
City Of Bones Didn't Give Its ing Cast Enough Time To Shine
Clary and Jace's romance is one of the biggest elements of The Mortal Instruments movie, and that's to its detriment in more ways than one. The film doesn't spend enough of its runtime fleshing out its ing cast. Although Clary and Jace are the main characters of Clare's books, players like Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus are beloved within the Shadowhunters fanbase. The fact that City of Bones doesn't do any of them justice likely sealed its fate, ensuring these characters would never get the big screen story arcs they deserved.
Not only does the City of Bones movie remove one of Simon's most heroic moments in the book, but it makes Alec and Isabelle out to be one-note characters. A sequel likely would have delved deeper into their personalities, but average viewers wouldn't know there was more to these Shadowhunters than the film let on. Likewise, there's not nearly enough Magnus Bane in The Mortal Instruments movie. One would think the film would have tried harder to give one of the series' most eccentric and interesting characters more screen time.
Shadowhunters Did A Better Job Adapting The Mortal Instruments
Although Freeform's Shadowhunters still isn't a perfect adaptation of Clare's best-selling fantasy books, the series does a better job at capturing the magic of the source material. Not only does the cast fit The Mortal Instruments characters better, but Shadowhunters gives all of them the same amount of development that they receive in the books. Likewise, Shadowhunters does a better job of portraying the world, lore, and stakes of The Mortal Instruments. It doesn't always stick to the script, and its premature ending ensures it doesn't adapt all the books. However, it understands why people love Clare's novels and tries to recreate that on-screen.
By contrast, The Mortal Instruments doesn't get to the heart of Clare's story, nor does it bring anything new or interesting to the table. The latter prevented it from becoming a hit with non-readers, while its inability to pull the story off the pages ensured it would never be longtime fans' adaptation of choice. With Shadowhunters being canceled, it seems Clare's books may never get a proper screen adaptation. That's a shame, as they really are something special.
Source: Box Office Mojo
