I was really excited about the release of this movie as I think the Inkheart books are some of the best YA fiction around. The books are dark and suspenseful and filled with twists and surprises. The books are not funny or light hearted; children are killed, men die, women lament, and evil is very very threatening and scary. The characters likewise are complex (for YA literature) and provide much in the way complex behaviour. And you can't guess the ending unless you're really clever (which I, sadly, am not). I couldn't stop reading these books and finished them off in a week.<br /><br />OK, that's the books, what about the movie. Well the movie is light-hearted, the villains goofy, and the suspense completely lacking. The people I saw the movie with knew what kind of ending they were in for from the first 10 minutes of the movie. There was none of the fear and dread and darkness of the books. The movie was a lukewarm puffball, and the ratings on IMDb show that nobody was taken with the movie. 6.? is really bad for a movie here. And it's not surprising. What is there to be enthused about in the movie except for the cast and the locations, both of which are fantastic. The story is a limp noodle that offers no emotional involvement or suspense. It's just another kid's movie with no heart or faith in the audience.<br /><br />It should be noted that the first Inkheart book is by far the weakest in the trilogy and after I finished it I was on the fence as to whether I was going to finish the series. But I had bought the set and so I started book number 2. And that's when things get really good and inventive. So it's really disappointing that Inkworld and Inkdeath are never going to get a cinematic treatment, but at least we have the books. And really, after watching this movie, maybe it's a good thing because if they did the 'goofy lighthearted predictable' thing on books number 2 and 3, I would have been really disappointed.<br /><br />I would only recommend this movie to people that have read the series and are interested in seeing what Hollywood did with the source material. I would not recommend this movie to anyone looking to get a memorable cinematic experience. I pretty much guarantee that most people will have forgotten this movie by the following morning, it is that inconsequential. <br /><br />So in summary, avoid the movie and if you liked the Harry Potter books, give the Inkheart books a whirl.