Plot: What’s it about?
Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) looks normal enough, but he possesses a unique power. He can’t leap tall buildings or turn invisible, but if he reads from a book, the written word turns into real life. He didn’t even always know he had this power, which led to some rather unfortunate events. One such book was a rare tome that resulted in his wife being trapped inside the book’s world, while a powerful evil menace was unleashed into the real world. Now that he knows his ability, he seeks to re-read the book and return things to normal…if he can find the novel again. He has spent a decade trying to track down the book, going to every rare book shop and out of the way store, with no luck. Now he and his daughter (Eliza Bennett) find themselves in England, searching through all the places that offer books, hoping to break the trend. But can they manage to find the rare book and even if they can, will Mo’s powers allow him to set things right?
I have a soft spot for fantasy cinema, but when I saw Brendan Fraser listed as the lead in Inkheart, all of my expectations were flushed in an instant. I used to like Fraser’s work, but he has went into a free fall spiral with terrible film after terrible film, with no end in sight. A recent surge in bad fantasy films also tempered my hopes, but I soldiered on. Inkheart isn’t a bad movie as it turns out, just a mediocre one. There is a good movie in here, but the story seems hampered by the PG label, as this is as forced as family friendly can be. If a little darkness could have crept in, this could have been much more fun or at the least, had a villain that was scary or mildly effective. Instead, we have a tightrope walk between serious and whimsical, with no commitment to either side. This leaves us with a bland result and some wasted potential. When you add in the ever dull and wooden Brendan Fraser, I have to recommend you skip this one.
Video: How does it look?
Inkheart is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. This looks good, but for a major studio new release, I was a little let down here. The image looks spectacular at times, with rich colors and impeccable detail, but then other times the wheels fall off and it looks like a mediocre DVD. This is unacceptable, as even niche labels are putting out great transfers of low profile films, so these well funded efforts have no excuses. On one hand, when it is good, it is fantastic, but its hard to overlook the bad, as it is quite bad indeed. In the end, I feel like average is the best way to sum this up.
Audio: How does it sound?
This Dolby TrueHD 5.1 option fares better than the visuals and reminds us that yes, this is a high definition release. This track brings the power, but is also creative in the more reserved moments also. This leads to an effective audio experience from start to finish, a welcome treatment. The thunderous segments stand out of course and with good reason, as the surrounds are open wide and deliver some deep impact. The atmosphere rides high throughout too, which helps add depth to even dialogue driven scenes. The music also sounds terrific, so not much to complain about here. This release also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 option, a German language track, and subtitles in English, Spanish, and German.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The lone supplements are some deleted scenes and a few promotional featurettes. A second disc houses a DVD version of the movie, as well as a digital copy for your portable device of choice.
