I caught the movie and must admit that I enjoyed it more than "Elysium". Based on a young adult fantasy novel, this movie is the first story out of six books. So if this movie does well, sequels would be made to capitalize on the success.
Lily Collins is not one of my favourite young actresses, especially after I saw her in "Mirror Mirror" as Snow White, but she was alright as the lead protagonist Clary here. The cast included the long absent Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who acted as her father, and the taiwanese actor Godfrey Gao, who mesmerized me with his height and eye liners. Interestingly, there was a gay shadowhunter played by Kevin Zegers, and this is a sign that the movie industry is becoming more liberal and is slowly weaving such non-main-stream minority groups as some of the key characters.
Having said that, I must say the storyline was a tad too convoluted in the sense that there were too many things happening at the same time that there wasn't much time for viewers to digest the story. There was never a time when the pace was too slow that it put the audience to sleep, even right from the beginning. But that could be bad too because I think a movie needs moments of fast action and moments of brief respite.
Anyway, I wonder when the next part would be out.
I read that "Elysium" topped the US box office last week whilst "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" came in second. I watched "Elysium" last week and frankly, I didn't quite like it.
Starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, it tells the story of a world separated into two classes of people in the year 2154. The rich and elite escaped from a deteriorating earth to live in a space station known as Elysium whereas the remaining population were left behind to inhabit what is left of earth. In Elysium, there is no aging, sickness, poverty or poor and each household has a machine that helps to heal the people whenever they are sick or injured.
Matt is Max, the unlikely hero who had big dreams when he was young, who in desperation tried all ways and means to get on board a spacecraft to get to Elysium to use one of the machines to heal himself after a freak accident exposed him to lethal doses of radiation and leaving him with just a remaining lifespan of 5 days.
I am not certain why but I wasn't thrilled by the storyline or acting although I must admit I enjoyed Jodie Foster's portrayal as the mega-bitch Secretary of Defense who tried to take over as the President of Elysium.
Now it's time to move on to the next movie.
