The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

2013, Fantasy/Action, 2h 10m

128 Reviews 50,000+ Ratings

What to know

critics consensus

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones borrows ingredients from seemingly every fantasy franchise of the last 30 years -- but can't seem to figure out what to do with them. Read critic reviews

You might also like

See More
Mortdecai
Dirty Grandpa
The Legend of Hercules
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Vacation

Where to watch

Rent/buy Subscription Rent/buy Rent/buy

Rate And Review

User image

Verified

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Step 2 of 2

    How did you buy your ticket?

    Let's get your review verified.

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

    You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • How did you buy your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Videos

View All Videos (10)

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Photos

View All Photos (40)

Movie Info

In New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager named Clary Fray (Lily Collins) learns that she is descended from a line of Shadowhunters -- half-angel warriors who protect humanity from evil forces. After her mother (Lena Headey) disappears, Clary joins forces with a group of Shadowhunters and enters Downworld, an alternate realm filled with demons, vampires and a host of other creatures. Clary and her companions must find and protect an ancient cup that holds the key to her mother's future.
  • Rating:
    PG-13 (Intense Fantasy Violence|Intense Action|Some Suggestive Content)
  • Genre:
    Fantasy, Action, Adventure
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Harald Zwart
  • Producer:
    Robert Kulzer, Don Carmody
  • Writer:
    Jessica Postigo
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $31.2M
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Sound Mix:
    Dolby Digital, SDDS, Datasat

Cast & Crew

Lily Collins
Clary Fray
Jamie Campbell Bower
Jace Wayland
Robert Sheehan
Simon Lewis
Kevin Zegers
Alec Lightwood
Lena Headey
Jocelyn Fray
Kevin Durand
Emil Pangborn
Aidan Turner
Luke Garroway
Jemima West
Isabelle Lightwood
Godfrey Gao
Magnus Bane
CCH Pounder
Madame Dorothea
Jared Harris
Hodge Starkweather
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Valentine Morgenstern
Harry Van Gorkum
Alaric, Werewolf
Robert Maillet
Samuel Blackwell
Stephen R. Hart
Brother Jeremiah
Chris Ratz
Eric
Elyas M'Barek
The Vampire Leader
Chad Connell
Lambert
Harald Zwart
Director
Jessica Postigo
Screenwriter
Robert Kulzer
Producer
Don Carmody
Producer
Robert Shaye
Executive Producer
Michael Lynne
Executive Producer
Martin Moszkowicz
Executive Producer
Geir Hartly Andreassen
Cinematographer
François Séguin
Production Design
Jacqueline Carmody
Film Editing
Atli Örvarsson
Original Music
Gersha Phillips
Costume Design
Stephanie Corsalini Ligorner
Casting
Deirdre Bowen
Casting
Anthony Ianni
Art Director
Steve Shewchuk
Set Decoration
Patricia Larman
Set Decoration
Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

2014 GLAAD Media Awards Winners
Parental Guidance: On DVD The Wolverine, Smurfs 2 and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Parental Guidance: Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
View All

Critic Reviews for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

All Critics (128) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (111)
Full Review… Perri Nemiroff Shockya.com Full Review… Louis Black Austin Chronicle Full Review… Donald Clarke Irish Times Full Review… Michael Sragow Orange County Register Full Review… Francesca Steele Guardian Full Review… Peter Keough Boston Globe Full Review… Amanda the Jedi Amanda the Jedi (Youtube) Full Review… Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Full Review… Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Full Review… Patrick Gamble CineVue Full Review… Abbie Bernstein Assignment X Full Review… Frank Ochieng SF Crowsnest
View All Critic Reviews (128)

Audience Reviews for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

  • Dec 06, 2016
    I like science fiction, so I enjoyed most of the story. This movie does suffer from an un-understandable story line at times, and it is not that unique, but it is fun when Clary finds out what she is.
    Red L Super Reviewer
  • Feb 12, 2015
    I'm sure the book series is good...it's really popular and has many sequels, but this is just not a good movie, plain and simple. It's confusing as hell, and badly explained on top of that. The acting is okay, but the writing is awful and makes this feel like a Twilight Clone with magic. So I'll just chock this up as another badly-adapted young adult book series.
    Stephen S Super Reviewer
  • Apr 20, 2014
    First of all, I haven't read the books, so I couldn't say if this is a good adaptation or not. Judging by the comments of those who have, I am going to say probably not. I did manage to sit through the whole thing, but it wore it's welcome out by a good forty minutes. Cast are fine, story had potential, but was silly. Then again it's not a favourite genre of mine to start with. I have seen the Twilight movies and wasn't impressed past the first two. This just seemed cliched past those. Cheesy as all hell, but not romantic enough to get away with it. Really am getting fed up with these "fantasy" movies and books.
    Nicki M Super Reviewer
  • Jan 27, 2014
    Great action but the acting isn't really on an "immortal" level, if you know what I mean. (I really don't know how Jonathan Rhys Meyers will be able to live with himself.) The story is difficult to follow, frankly, but the faults are made up for in mindless adventure fun.
    Christian C Super Reviewer
See All Audience reviews

Movie & TV guides

View All