Mortal Instruments TV Show vs. Movie

[MariVasiliadis]

So you may be aware, but Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series is being turned into a TV show and will be played on the ABC channel. In fact, they have already begun casting and are scheduled to begin filming in Toronto later this month. I have read many good young adult books , even some outstandingly amazing ones, but The Mortal Instruments has always been stuck with me. I first heard about this book because it was being turned into a movie, so I was very disappointed when the movie flopped. I went to see it the day it premiered in theaters, and at first I loved it. Then I realized that I didn't actually like the movie. My initial judgement was clouded by my love for the book and for the characters. The execution of the movie was very lacking. There was so much left out from the book and so many things that they changed. Honestly I could spend all day pointing out the flaws in the movie, but the one that really got under my skin was the Clary-Jace sibling reveal. Hodge, the leader of the Institute, told Valentine, and I quote, "If you lie and tell them they're both your children, you'll break their hearts." The audience is not supposed to find out that Clary and Jace aren't actually related until City of Glass! I just hope that the TV show doesn't flop like the movie because I NEED to see Clace in action! What is your opinion on the upcoming show?

[ReadandReview]

I definitely agree. Especially with Simon! They didn't even show the hotel scene, which is obviously important for those who have read all the books. That one scene affects the rest of the SERIES and since they left that out, if they continued making the movies, it would probably just get mixed up and it wouldn't stay true to the story line and plot. The tv show is a much better plan! All the books have so much going on that it would be a shame if the movies left it all out while a show will be able to show most everything that happens in the series. But I am a bit curious as to how they would end the tv show. Would it simply go along with the series and stop where they stop or will it go on into the next series? But no matter what, I am definitely anxious for the show to start

[Hannah N]

I first had saw the movie preview, and honeslty it didn't not appeal to me whatsoever. Out of curiously, I began to read the first book and I was hooked! I ended up reading the whole serried and they are marked as one of my favorite book series. They amount of suspense and action will keep you one the edge of your seat the entire novel.

[Jess07]

I originally picked up City of bones whilst on holiday when I had run out of books with me to read. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting much, I just thought that it was something I would be interested in and that I wouldn't have time to read all six of these sizeable books. I was wrong. I loved them! Well I say loved, I am loving them (I am on city of heavenly fire at the moment). I to agree with previous comments about the quality of the film compared to the book. Some of the key features that I loved in the books were disregarded in the film, but to begin with I was too caught up in the excitement of my favourite book being made into a film to care! In retrospect, I think that this is why the film was such a flop. There were too many cuts of important character development scenes and key story lines that were simply ignored. In spite of this, I am most definitely looking forward to the tv Show as I would like to think that abc can learn from the filmmakers mistakes. Re-casting characters should mix it up a bit too!

[belcole]

The movie was a disappointment. I did not know there was a TV series coming out about the series. I do hope it is much better than the movie. The book series was great and I hate to see the last thing lots of people see is the movie.

[Mikasa7]

This is one of my all time favorite series and I read the first three books in one day. I have now gotten several of my friends and my younger sister hooked as well. I completely agree with you all in the fact that the movie was a disappointment. There were SO many things that were either completely left out of the movie or completely messed up. A boat was never even mentioned or brought up at all. And don't even get me started on Simon. He is a major character in the books and the movie fails to develop his character at all. I also believe that by making this into a TV series they will be able to accurately portray the books. Much better than the movie at least.

[melissaaa1998]

I think that it is going to be very good but also it will probably ruin the books for me. The casting isn't what I thought it would be and I'll probably end up getting the TV adaptation differences confused with the books, so I don't think I will be watching it that much. Maybe the first couple episodes.

[Kathryn McWeeney]

I am so in love with Cassandra Clare's books that I have so much to say about this and my hands cannot type fast enough. I will try to make this short for the reader's sake. When City of Bones first released the information that a movie would be coming out in 2013.. I mean, every bookworm has that horrid rush of fear when one of their favorite books is going to be turned into a movie. It lasted a few months. And then I tricked myself into thinking, "hey, maybe it's okay. Maybe it'll be good. I mean the books made so much money and became so popular that maybe the movie will also have a lot of money and good actors put into it." I was horribly wrong. So many things were wrong with this. They left out vital pieces of information, plotlines and character development. They changes lines and switched scenes around. So much of it didn't make sense and so many important pieces were left out. And the acting, oh my goodness. Each and every one of the characters was so different from how the book portrayed them. Jace had no swag, Alec had too much sorrow, no spunk. God, worst of all.. Magnus Bane, the most beloved character.. they made him a gay mess and it was not appreciated. A few weeks ago I found out there was to be a TV show and my heart kinda sunk. However, of course, I was forced to watch it and found myself pleasantly surprised. Jace had spunk, Clary had game, Alec was played by one heck of a beautiful actor and my is he looking charming and heartbroken yet still the strong shadowhunter he is. Magnus.. well they didn't make him as perfect as I would have liked but they did give him glamour and a sense of authority he needed. I'm so happy this TV show will take over the movies. There are much less mistakes and even the scenes they did twist, at least they make sense. Isabel's sassiness is well-appreciated and played out perfectly by the actress who takes on that role. Any movie or TV show isn't ever going to outdo the books and we fans need to accept the truth. However, I can always turn off the computer and go back and re-read the series all over again and feel better about life. A good book and a cup of chai tea seriously can make everything better.

[allygreen8]

I originally stumbled upon the movie online before even learning that it was based on a book. I watched it and absolutely loved it, then immediately bought the book the next day. I know that there were a lot of inconsistencies between the book and the movie, but I do still enjoy the movie more than the TV show.
In my opinion, the TV show is more of a loose adaptation than the movie, specifically in the way the characters act and talk. So far, I do think that the characters in the movie were a better representation of Cassandra Clare's characters, but for now I'm still giving the show a chance.

[rebeccahope16]

The TV show is much better than the movie. It varies from both the books and the movie a lot, however it moves the plot along and keeps it super entertaining.

[steampunk_girl]

The TV show is amazing compares to the movie. There are a few things like a memory demon (where did that come from?) That confused me but would you want to watch a show where you knew everything that was going to happen? In essence I feel like the TV show is a much better adaptation than the movie.

[Swiftmover07]

Ok, i really love the books but the tv show and movie had both good and bad qualities. First off with the movie, I think the chemistry between the cast was more believable. I mean they seemed more relaxed in their rolls and more believable. Where as in the show they seem stiff and... rehearsed i guess you would say. The upside of the T.V. show is they found a way cuter Jace and Alec. But alas if the t.v. show makes it through to the second season they may grow more relaxed in their rolls and then they will be awesome! ..... one can hope right?

[lmoses]

I did not enjoy either the tv show or the movie for Mortal Instruments. The writing felt off in both situations: too much to the tv show that important events got lost or it was not enough information in the movie. I also was not a fan of many of the actors cast in their roles because to me they felt like they could not bring the character to life.

[kitsune1997]

I love love love the Tv Show! My favorite scenes are the Malec ones ^^ They were made for each other! And the actora are able to act so well! In the movie, I got the feeling of fake even though I loved it, I find that the series are much better!

[Azrathian]

When I read city of bones I was instantly obsessed with the series. I had a hard time reading other books when I was done with them. I read the hunger games afterwards and it really sucks compared to the mortal instrument series. I was so bored. And then they came out with the movie which I thought was great, til I watched it. The whole thing was wrong. I did like the girl who played Clary. I liked Simon too but valentine... no no no. I have now watched the whole first season of the show that aired on freeform, used to be ABC family. It was pretty good considering its hard to make a live action film out of such a detailed and fantasy driven book. They did speed everything up and so much happened so fast. I was shocked at all the reveals in the first season and now I'm wondering how many seasons they can actually make now. Jace was mediocre and Clary's acting was bad. And of course valentine didn't act or look anything like what the book described. He is a very important character and it made me a little sad. I would say if you want to watch the show or movie don't read the books. And if you already have turn back now!