Inkheart (2008)
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 142
Fresh: 55 | Rotten: 87
Heavy on cliches and light on charm, this kid-lit fantasy-adventure doesn't quite get off the ground.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 34
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 23
Heavy on cliches and light on charm, this kid-lit fantasy-adventure doesn't quite get off the ground.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 165,084
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Movie Info
Author Cornelia Funke's best-selling children's novel comes to vivid life on the big screen with this family-friendly tale about a bookbinder whose storytelling skills possess the curious power to transport the characters he speaks about into the real world. When a nefarious villain from a bedtime story that the father is currently reading to his daughter emerges to kidnap the stunned storyteller, it's up to the young girl and her adventurous friends -- both real and imaginary -- to bring dad
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Cast
-
Brendan Fraser
Mortimer "Mo" Folchart -
Paul Bettany
Dustfinger -
Jim Broadbent
Fenoglio -
Helen Mirren
Elinor -
Andy Serkis
Capricorn -
Eliza Bennett
Meggie Folchart -
Sienna Guillory
Resa -
Rafi Gavron
Farid -
Jennifer Connelly
Roxanne -
Matt King
Cockerell -
Steven Speirs
Flatnose -
Tereza Srbova
Rapunzel -
Stephen Graham
Fulvio -
Richard Strange
Bookshop Proprietor -
Jamie Foreman
Basta -
John Thomson
Darius -
Mirabel O'Keefe
Young Meggie -
Lesley Sharp
Mortola -
Jessie Cave
Nymph -
Roger Allam
Narrator -
Paul Kasey
Minotaur -
Mamix Van Den Broeke
The Shadow
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Inkheart Trailer & Photos
All Critics (143) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (88) | DVD (11)
The aesthetics of Inkheart are part of what make it such a surprisingly enjoyable experience to watch.
Top Critic[Has] plenty of thrills, a smart although oft-confusing script, delightful scenery-chewing scenes from stalwarts like Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis, and a gorgeous high-concept visual style.
Seemingly intended as a celebration of the power of books, it's an occasionally incoherent, sleep-inducing picture that reduces narrative to mere mechanics.
Over and over again, characters in Inkheart wax eloquent on the power of books. But there's nothing in the movie as haunting or as compelling as the sound they make when they speak for themselves.
A flea market of fairy tales and hocus-pocus, Inkheart makes as much sense as an inkblot.
The overqualified cast gives its all, but logical lapses and sober-sided direction siphon off the fun.
Cobbled-together fantasy about a dad who can "read" characters in and out of books.
Kind of a NeverEnding Story-lite, Inkheart never makes full use of its strengths. The ideas about reality and fiction have already been explored better elsewhere, even in light family films.
I will admit that I enjoyed this film better on home video than I did in the theater, and that might have simply been because I knew what to expect from it.
Brendan Fraser's boyish face usually oozes charisma, but here he just looks plain bored. Which is kind of how the audience looked too.
If there's a problem for me with Inkheart, it is one of scope. This feels like it should be an epic movie, but it's not.
...don't expect it to capture everybody's imagination. (Blu-ray Edition)
For all its problems, it's a sweet, clever work.
When you have to question every other scene and a ferret steals the show, you know you're in trouble.
As far as movies based on books about books go, it's anything but a pageturner.
Readers who want to exercise their imaginations may prefer to stick to the written word. If a story gets boring, you can always skip a few pages and move on. In the cinema there isn't much choice.
The message is so muddied by the film's dizzying changes in pitch and tone that a lot of young readers aren't going to know what to think.
Una aventura entretenida sobre todo para público adolescente, y para todo aquel que haya disfrutado alguna vez de un buen libro de fantasía.
Gaping plot holes aside, Inkheart is a lovely little film, aimed at the bookish among us, and peppered with a love of the literary.
It's a familiar tale, but one told with gusto, wit and visual flare...
A diverting excursion into fantasy gothic territory.
This adventure-fantasy film doesn't have the special effects depth of a Lord Of The Rings movie, nor the charm of the Harry Potter franchise, but it is still quite enjoyable.
Audience Reviews for Inkheart
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Latest News on Inkheart
January 22, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Inkheart Is Less Than MagicalThis week at the movies, we've got living literature (Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser and Eliza...
January 22, 2009:
Box Office Guru Preview: Underworld Battles Oscar All-StarsOnly two new releases hit the North American box office, but in the wake of Academy Award...
December 14, 2008:
Warner Bros. Firms Up 2009 ScheduleFrom "Inkheart" to "Sherlock Holmes," the Warner Bros. slate for 2009 has been set, and ComingSoon...
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Foreign Titles
- Tintenherz (DE)
- Coeur d'encre (FR)
