Inkheart *** (2008, Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett, Sienna Guillory, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Stephen Graham, Jamie Foreman) – Classic Movie Review 4528

Director Iain Softley’s smooth and colourful 2008 family fantasy adventure takes the idea that ‘every story ever written is just waiting to become real.’ And the cinema just the place for that!

Eliza Bennett plays a young girl called Meggie who finds out that her dad Mo (Brendan Fraser) has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all.

Sienna Guillory plays Resa, Paul Bettany is fire-eater Dustfinger, Helen Mirren is Elinor, Andy Serkis and Jamie Foreman are the villains Capricorn and Basta, and Stephen Graham is Fulvio.

The efficient screenplay is by David Lindsay-Abaire. Original source novel author Cornelia Funke chose Fraser personally for the role and even dedicated the second novel of the trilogy to him and sent him a signed copy. Saved him buying it on Amazon, then! Funke also wrote the novel of The Thief Lord, filmed in 2006.

With a lavish, great-looking production, it cost $60 million but unfortunately flopped in America where it took only $17 million (plus £3,718,000 in the UK).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4528

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