Inkheart

Though saddled with as uneven a sensibility as one could possibly imagine, Inkheart nevertheless comes off as an agreeable fantasy epic that’s generally elevated by the strength of the various performances – with Brendan Fraser’s solid work backed up by an eclectic supporting cast that features, among others, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, and Jim Broadbent. The film follows Fraser’s Mo Folchart as he and his young daughter (Eliza Bennett’s Meggie) attempt to free Resa (Sienna Guillory), his wife and her mother, from the confines of a novel entitled Inkheart, as Mo’s ability to bring fictional characters and situations to life simply by reading aloud trapped Resa within the book and brought to life several less-than-reputable characters (including Andy Serkis’ arch-villain Capricorn). There’s little doubt that Inkheart is generally at its best in its more overtly light-hearted and adventurous moments, with the irresistible premise initially carrying the proceedings through a few admittedly dull spots (eg Mo and his cohorts wind up imprisoned alongside several familiar characters from literature). Inkheart‘s relentlessly erratic narrative results in a lack of momentum that only worsens as the story unfolds, and it ultimately does go without saying that the action-packed (yet hopelessly chaotic) finale ensures that the movie ends on a regrettably anti-climactic note. The end result is an endeavor that’s often more effective in bits and pieces than as a fully-realized, consistently engaging whole, although, as far as January releases go, one could certainly do far worse.

**1/2 out of ****