Since my opinion of the movie overall is still in question, I'll start with the plot itself, well, more exactly, how it acts and interacts with the plot from the book.
So the movie started off in about the same manner as the book, they even had the same scenes, albeit in a different order, which threw me off a little bit, but I was okay. The movie left out bits and pieces of the book from the first few chapters, but then if they tried to keep it entirely like the book, they'd end up like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, so true to the book that it became rather dull at times. It was when they completely diverged from the book that I took notice and began to be upset. Adding scenes, not even to make it more interesting, but there appeared to be no point to it, or even giving credit to demon kills to the wrong person.
The love triangle between Simon>Clary>Jace was so awkwardly done in the movie, afterwards, I actually had to explain the scene in the hallway to D (husband) as he hasn't read the book. In fact, D hadn't read the book and his opinion of the movie was that it was "okay" and as we were talking about it later - every scene he had an issue with was where it diverged from the book - and he hadn't even known it was different, just that it didn't feel right.
All that aside, as I've learned to put away my expectations of a movie after having read the book, the movie was not as bad as Eragon in adaptation from book to movie but not as good as Hunger Games. I hear it's been mentioned as being similar to Twilight but I would beg to differ. Twilight is teenage angst, but not about having everything you've ever believed and everyone you've ever believed in completely turned around and realizing what you think of the world isn't true anymore - never was.
Acting - this is where I'll tell you why I was wrong. Jamie Campbell Bower really is Jace. Jamie has Jace's swagger, the dry sarcasm, the aloofness, the slender build, but with clear athletic talent. The parts where his acting struggled were actually more when he was making out with Clary (Lily Collins) and she's supposed to be 15 and basically never kissed anyone and vulnerable, and he's younger as well, and they both made out like pros. Since they did mention her age in the movie, that scene was a touch off. The rest of the crew overall did "okay" Robert Sheehan as Simon was believable, but weaker than I would have liked. Lily Collins as the main event, Clary, was good, and if the series continues she should grow into her role. Shoutouts to Jemima West as Isabelle as she was perfect, but we didn't get to see much of her, also to Lena Heady (might recognize her from Game of Thrones) who was solid as Jocelyn, Clary's mother.
The other star of the event though, who had very minimal screen time, was simply amazing was Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane. He seemed a little uncertain in some scenes, with his acting being, not stilted, but vaguely unsure, but that man is Magnus Bane, from his demeanor, his stance his eyes, and his mysteriousness that he pulled off. Godfrey Gao seemed to subtlety be in the center of each scene he was in.
Overall, if you loved the book or series, I'd recommend going to see the movie if you can watch it with a grain of salt and know it's not exactly like the book (has anything ever been "exactly" like the book though?) and realize the spirit of the movie is the same as the book if not how they get there. If you will have a hard time differentiating between the two and will judge every scene, but still want to see what it's like - I'd recommend waiting for DVD. And if you just can't get over it when they change the movie from the book at all, go ahead and skip it, you'll just complain anyway. I enjoyed the movie and I can't wait for the next one. Let me know what your thoughts are.
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