Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "The Chronicles Of Narnia", "Stardust"

Here we have Brendan Fraser in another fantasy/adventure film after his performances in "The Mummy" trilogy and last year's "Journey To The Center Of The Earth". It made me missed those days when he played the innocent, tree-banging jungle boy in the comedy "George Of The Jungle" (1997). In "Inkheart", he plays Mo, a bookbinder who journeys all over the world with his young daughter, Meggie in search of a rare book. Mo possesses the gift of a Silvertongue, which is the ability to bring characters and events from out of the book just by reading aloud.

The story is based on the book by Cornelia Funke and honestly, the book should be best read to understand the film better. There were certain parts that didn't make sense, like when Meggie sometimes call her father "Mo" instead of the conventional "Dad" and if reading written words were that easy to correct the wrong, then it should've been done far earlier before situations become worse. The film has its own flaws, but what other book-adapted film doesn't?

If you think Brendan Fraser stole the limelight, think again. British actor Paul Bettany was superb playing the role as Dustfinger, his character brought life to the film while his looks seemed to be formed after Aragon from "The Lord Of The Rings". Another appraisable actress would be Sienna Guillory, no matter how annoying and uptight her character maybe, she delivered it with so much pizzaz that it was impressive to watch her.

The effects were good, especially when The Shadow came alive from the book. Wonderfully done and the writer knew exactly when and where to put the comic relief in the story, which is mostly between Dustfinger and a rather gay-ish dude, who resembles a bit like Orlando Bloom.

"Inkheart" is an interesting watch if you're into fantasy flicks. However, I feel that the book is the way to go!

Cinema Online, 22 January 2009