The Mortal Instruments - Book vs. Movie vs. TV Show

I’ll admit, I was sceptical going into Shadowhunters after seeing the sneak preview of the club scene. Already so many things had been changed and my head had a hard time swallowing them. It was only one scene for crying out loud! So, needless to say that my expectations were pretty low.

A lot of people had problems with the movie and it showed at the box office, but there are still a lot of things I preferred about the movie compared to the pilot episode of Shadowhunters, so I really wanted to go over them both and discuss what I like or didn’t like in comparison to the books.

I’m going to start with the cast.

Clary – Lily Collins vs. Katherine McNamara

I really didn’t have an issue with either portrayal of Clary, but a combination of Lily and Katherine would have been really perfect! I did prefer Lily in the movie, but Katherine’s hair in Shadowhunters fit better with the character’s description in the book and how I imagined Clary to appear. Both actresses did a really good job though, so no complaints there.

Jace – Jamie Campbell Bower vs. Dominic Sherwood

The only real issue I had with the movie was that I didn’t like Jamie as Jace. I didn’t like the choice before the movie, I didn’t like the choice during the movie and I still can’t get my head around it. I have nothing against Jamie as an actor – I loved his character in Sweeney Todd – but he just didn’t work as Jace. That being said, I do prefer Dominic in the role in Shadowhunters, but it’s too soon to really have a good opinion of how he portrays the character, since it’s so soon in the season. The action sequences were okay, but I would prefer to wait until there’s a bit more of that Jace wit coming through. The one thing I was disappointed about was that Dominic doesn’t get to use his natural British accent like Jamie did for the film. It would make more sense if he did, because Jace spent the first ten or so years of his life in Idris, so if he didn’t have a British accent, he would at least sound European.

Side note: I can let the Lightwoods’ accents slide in Shadowhunters, since they’ve been in New York for longer, if not their whole lives.

Simon – Robert Sheehan vs. Alberto Rosende

Here, I’m a bit torn. I really liked Robert in the film because he fit the part perfectly, and that heartbroken scene where Simon admits he's in love with Clary still chokes me up a little. That's some solid acting right there. But I really prefer Simon’s dialogue in Shadowhunters a bit more: “What are you doing undressed in an abandoned church? Clary, is there a meth problem we have to talk about?”. He did come across as an overprotective older brother, which I wasn’t a fan of, but I did like that his Jewish heritage is referenced, since that’s one of the things that makes the character (and it plays a role in events later in the story). Alberto really plays him well, even though I think he looks a little too old for the role.

Isabelle – Jemima West vs. Emeraude Toubia

My first impression of Izzy in Shadowhunters was "meh". Emeraude may yet grow on me, but I still think Jemima had the look that suits the character. Remember that the Lightwoods have Welsh and English roots, whilst Emeraude is Mexican and Lebanese (yep, I looked this up. Research first, folks!) and her eyes are brown, which doesn’t match Isabelle’s description. This is what annoys me the most but I'll get over it eventually. However, I do think they’ve made her character a lot more like the book Izzy – her attitude, personality and style are right on point. They deviated quite a bit for the film and I feel like they cut out a lot of scenes that really showed the Isabelle we know from the books, so she seemed a lot more closed off and serious than she should have been.

Alec – Kevin Zegers vs. Matthew Daddario

I think I’m going to like this Alec. Kevin’s portrayal of Alec in the movie came across as aggressive and not much else, which I had an issue with because he just seemed like a jerk 24/7. This Alec seems closer to the character in the book – not as aggressive, but still resistant to letting Clary join them whenever they go off fighting demons and is less of a moron. Plus, Matthew is quite nice to look at, am I right?

Magnus – Godfrey Gao vs. Harry Shum Jr

First of all, I want to state my rage about Godfrey’s lines in the film being dubbed over. He speaks English better than some people I know, and his accent is barely noticeable! I mean, listen to this! And it wouldn’t have been a problem for the character to have an accent anyway, since Magnus is at least half Asian (he was born in Asia too, just pointing it out for clarity, since not all Asians are born in Asia). Godfrey played the role well for the short amount of screen time he had, so I have no idea why they’d dub over him. That aside, Harry playing Magnus is just as good, so I have no issues there. I do have an issue with the CGI though, and since Magnus is a warlock, the graphics team needs to step it up a notch. The magic effects are unimpressive (it needs a little more spark and a bit less vapour. I keep thinking he’s trying to freeze things!) and Magnus’ cat-like eyes look really weird, since they used CGI instead of contacts.

Jocelyn – Lena Headey vs. Maxim Roy

I loved seeing Lena in the film and if there’s one member of the film cast that I miss, it’s her. Really though, this is a role that basically anyone at all could have stepped into, as long as she was written to match the book character. The film got it right. Shadowhunters, not so much. I got a completely different vibe from the character and I’m not sure it works for me.

Luke – Aidan Turner vs. Isaiah Mustafa

Of all the recastings, this one annoyed me the most. In the film, Aidan was exactly how I imagined Luke to look. A bit scruffy, donning plaid, jeans and glasses, owned a book store… He has none of that in Shadowhunters and I hate it. First, he’s way too tidy. Second, he’s a freaking cop! HELL. NO. Put Isaiah in plaid, jeans and glasses, demote him to book store owner, and we’ll have a pretty spiffy Luke.

Valentine – Jonathan Rhys Meyers vs. Alan van Sprang

Valentine does not have black dreadlocks, nor is he bald! How can two attempts at one character get this completely wrong?! I’d rather see them put Alan in Isabelle’s wig!

Okay, maybe not. (But someone PLEASE Photoshop that!)

Seriously though, how hard is it to cast a blonde? I’m not saying it has to match Valentine’s white-blonde from the books, but let’s at least choose from the right end of the spectrum.

Dorothea – CCH Pounder vs. Vanessa Matsui

If I were to choose the Dorothea that was closest to the book character, I’d still choose CCH. However, I really like the younger version in Shadowhunters. Dot, as they’re calling her, seems only a few years older than Clary and is more outgoing than Dorothea from the book. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s a refreshing change that actually works for the better.

So now onto some of the changes.

The first thing I learned, even from just that first look at the club scene, was that Magnus owns Pandemonium. I don’t recall him owning the club in the books, so I either need to reread the books, or the writers have gotten creative for the show. I can see how this could work, but Magnus never frequented the club at all in the books. This really just seems like a way to cut an extra set from the show.

I do like that they've toned down the runes though. The runes in the movie were too harsh and really obviously drawn on. These lighter marks are less defined and look like they're scorched on instead of looking like they've been drawn on with a Sharpie.

Simon’s band now has only two members. Simon is now the singer as well as guitarist and his band mate is… MAUREEN?! Creepy, stalker, groupie Maureen??? &#%&%$%#$#!%#%$&#!! I can’t even. However, she's not creepy at all now. Not sure if I should be relieved or annoyed. She's still crushing on Simon though.

The major thing in the film that I hated was that they shoved that stupid portal into the library. Well, I'm hoping they don't do that again! However, an idea just as bad, the Institute is now infiltrated by hundreds of people and has had an Area 51 upgrade. I'd bet no one there watches TV, but they know how to use super high-tech computers that probably require their own server. Seems legit. But this means the aesthetic of the cathedral is completely lost behind all the lights and gadgetry. It seems more like a secret government agency that's just sprung up in the last few years, rather than a centuries old sanctuary.

Don’t even get me started on Luke again.

Everyone’s older. I’m not sure why they made the change, but it still works. Instead of Clary being 15 going on 16, she’s now 17 going on 18. Same goes for Simon. I’m not sure about Jace, Alec and Izzy though, because they were a little older than Clary and Simon in the books anyway.

Runes make them jump so high, it’s like they’re flying. Personally, I think it’s ridiculously exaggerated. I feel that they should be jumping just a little higher than is natural, not several feet up into the air. This would show that the runes do help them, but not to the point of being completely unrealistic.

Unlike the movie, we get to see Simon’s van! Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference.

A major error they made right at the end of the movie was that Clary switched the Mortal Cup for the replica and Valentine made off with the fake. Had there been a second movie, Valentine would have needed to find a way to get the real cup right off the bat, because he uses it in City of Ashes to create the forsaken. It's kind of the main threat in that part of the story, so yeah, necessary. Let's hope they don't make that mistake again!

I love the book series, so it's really difficult to deal with any changes - like any book to screen adaptation - but considering this book took two attempts, makes it even more frustrating. The movie had the right feel, which is what I liked most about it, but the changes that were made really didn't work. So far, Shadowhunters is following the book quite closely, but so far it hasn't quite pulled me into that world.

However, despite the changes, I'm not disappointed with the new series, but I wasn't blown away by it either. It may improve after a few episodes, so It's really too soon to make a solid judgement right now. I am looking forward to watching more of Shadowhunters though, and can't wait to share my final thoughts at the end of the season.

And this pic just for Lolz.