Despite it's fragile face-paced story that emotionally repeats what it's trying to say, Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" is a well made fantasy movie...at least from a technical viewpoint here.

Very beautiful and moving film. Love it lots, especially Saoirse Ronan, who is simply the Best.

A little slow in parts, but a beautiful crafted film with terrific cinematography. The cast is excellent. Just the right combination of touching and suspenseful.

NOTE: I have not read the novel in which this movie is based. In my not-so-humble-opinion, this is Peter Jackson's first misstep as a director and Fran Walsh's first stumble as a writer. This movie was quite a disappointment. The script never gives us a chance to truly get to know these characters and truly feel their grief at the loss of Susie. With the exception of Saoirse Ronan's character, we are presented with a bunch of cookie cutter characters. I did not connect with any of the family members. Their suffering is glossed over. The actors did their best with what little material they were given. Especially Susan Surandon - I'm not even sure why she was in the movie - her character added nothing to the plot. Too much time was spent in Susie's "world" as she ran around a CG landscape. The special effects used to show Susie's "purgatory" were horrible. They looked very low-budget, as if they were designed for a made-for-TV-movie. I can't believe this came out of the same effects house that did Avatar (Weta). If you truly are curious to watch this film, I would wait for DVD. Or better yet, spend the money on the book, which I hear is excellent.… Expand

This is the worst movie I have ever seen...ever. About a third of the way through I found myself hoping that it would just end. There is little to no character development and many scenes are drawn out and incoherent. This movie could easily have forty to fifty minutes cut out with no loss in continuity. Save your money and your time. Read the book.

Although I found the script a little weak in places, and the cgi spiritual a little obvious and unnecessary I was still engrossed from start to finish and consider it one of the best entries into Peter Jackson's back catalogue. Watch Heavenly Creatures for reference. These other reviewers don't get the film because they're expected either a typical Hollywood family film or thriller. This film is neither. Its a unique and imaginative fantasy drama. Its subversive and feels like an independent film made with a mega budget. Perhaps the film would have been received more positive if it was marketed in a less Hollywood way. Keep it up pete, you the man.… Expand

Beautiful portrayal of the abtract and ethereal consequences of tragic loss - an amazingly accurate portrayal of a unique and thought provoking novel.

Saoirse Rohnan leads The Lovely Bones to victory with a mind blowing performance, and Peter Jackson doesn't do a good job by differing visual beauty which it has and utter horror where the whole story is, but it is actually a well made film. I give this movie a 72% of a good one.

The worst movie ever. It's attempts to be original and creative develop into a spectacular mess. Fans of symbolism and imagery will try to make excuses for the film, but do not be fooled it is pathetic. I know the theater agreed with me because they all starting booing, talking and leaving 34 through the movie. Don't waste your money,your bandwidth heck dont waste a second of your life on this film.… Expand

I thought this movie was very moving and beautiful. Ronan and Tucci give incredible performances. The horror of Susie's death drives this movie throughout. You feel sympathy and remorse for her and her family and you want something good to happen for her and in the end it does. This film reminds us all how precious and brief our lives are and the hole we leave for others when we are gone. Jackson did a terrific job.… Expand

Beautifully rendered vision of the book. Gripping and moving. A pleasure to watch.

I did not read the book but this film makes me cry all the way through. I will recommend all parents with teen age daughter to watch this film. I am against all critics and believe Peter Jackson did another master piece after Lord of the Rong and king Koun.

I have waited over a year to watch this move, the reason you ask: well after reading and loving the book, I couldnt wait for the movie and with baited breath caught the first trailer for it on tv, it started well enough with Susie salmon declaring she was dead and then the next scene was of a massive ship breaking out of a even bigger glass bottle and trees turning into birgs...WTF...So I gave it a miss!! So after a year of walking past it countless times at the video shop I finally gave it a go...and I wasnt wrong to wait for DVD!! Peter jackson in all his incredibleness (yes that is sarcastic) has fallen into the biggest directors trap (ahem...Steven Spielberg and A.I.) and that is, "just cause you can do something...DOESNT MEAN YOU SHOULD!!! The whole heaven concept is ridiculous and a simple voiceover would have sufficed and focused more on the real story, that of her family and longings!!This movie could have been magical and fantastical had it trusted our imaginations, as the book did. Mr Jackson has taken out all its magic and force fed us with fantasy scenes that belong more in Disneys fantasia than in a tragic story such as this!!! What kills me is that this movie could have just been so good...oh well, lets wait for the swedish to remake it!!!… Expand

Peter Jackson is not as good as he was in the lord of the rings,but this movie has good performances,amazing visuals and a script that touches the heart.

42... emm.... what the heck!? Maybe it is not a masterpiece, but it is a very good film and not a movie of 42 score... OMG and films like Breaking Down has more score...

This movie was just NO. Honestly, try as the actors may to save the film, the plot was pretty damned from the start. WHOLLY predictable, which isn't all that bad when the cast do a good job; HOWEVER, the ending Peter Jackson gave this film ruined it for me. I felt so dam FRUSTRATED at the end of the film. An insult to the brilliant mind of Peter Jackson, who must have tried directing this in his sleep. Clap the cast for a good job though.… Expand

Great film. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE CRITICS THIS IS A GOOD FILM. This movie deserves more respect, all in all this movie is underrated.

Just awful. So botched by Jackson. Silly at times, ridiculous CGI and poor development of characters. The whole heaven idea and the people there was just laughable and detracted from the movie. Only saving grace for me was Tucci was creepy and obviously the best actor here.

It such a beautiful and emotional film that give movie real power, ronan performance was perfect, peter Jackson the greatest director of the decade show he can visualize the perfect heaven and the ugly human world of the killer

I love it when the universe aligns itself. A horrible book is now an even more horrible movie. Jackson let the hype get to his inflated head. This is one of the most blatant show offy films in a long while and I've seen Nine. 2009 might have been one of the worst years for film. Everything was forgettable!

Awful movie. Only gets 3 because of Saoirse Ronan. Wahlberg was terrible.

Rather boring then thrilling. All the big flowers and pretty colors are neither beautiful nor entertaining. The acting is absolutely horrible. Let's just put it this way. 'The Lovely Bones' is a total mess that fell out of the sky. I am going to have to say that isn't a bad movie. Though it is pretty lame. The storyline isn't good, but it's not terrible. So it's just an-a-okay story. The beginning isn't very bad, but then it just goes to flaw after flaw after flaw after flaw. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz (who play the parnets of Susie Salmon) are the ones with the worst acting in the movie. Also Stanley Tucci does a poor job with his acting as well. There mostly the whole cast of the movie aren't very good with their acting. Oh and all the girls in the 'In Between World', don't get me started with their acting. With the cast awful acting also makes 'The Lovely Bones' not very thrilling. I don't even understand how a movie with bad acting like that could be called thriller at all. All the pretty stuff in the 'In Between World' does not make you want to go 'Whoa!' with all of the acting and random things happening. I also should bring that random things happen and come out of nowhere. It's almost to painful to watch.… Expand

Wow, this is the first time I've actively not-enjoyed a film in ages. It was almost refreshing to realise I still have a sense of taste and opinion!

First, the book. I think Alice Sebold is a bold and clever writer, only not good enough to sustain the interest through to the end. The idea of writing from afterlife should be suspenseful and powerful, in which case I think its much debated comparison, Forgiving Ararat by Gita Nazareth, to fare better in terms of quality and the flow of plots. Movie-wise, it deteriorates further. The big ideas that were present in the book, albeit poorly constructed, were altogether absent from the movie. If you only care for the extra effects, then by all means go watch the movie. But if you're after something deeper and more substantial, well... choose another book to read.… Expand

The problem with "The Lovely Bones" is that nobody jumps anybody's bones. The filmmaker didn't have the guts. Six years earlier, Lynne Ramsey owned the rights to the Alice Sebold novel, but she bailed around the time that this literary novel unexpectedly found its way into the hands of readers more used to Nicholas Sparks-type fare than a New York Times Notable Book. The Scottish filmmaker, with two highly regarded films to her credit("Ratcatcher" and "Morvern Callar"), both gritty in the best indie tradition, probably wouldn't blink at the prospect of shooting a rape scene involving a minor. She's an artist, after all, not a moralist. Obvious to fans of the 2002 literary sensation, "The Lovely Bones" begs to be smaller in scale, and with Ramsay at the helm, there would've been a deemphasization on visualizing the Salmon girl's realm, which is nothing more than a timekiller. The story is supposed to be about the living. Since the Salmon girl is dead, arguably, all the moviegoer needs is her disembodied voice; the moviegoer will surely find the panoramas of the "In-Between" quite pretty, but inert, like all spectacle, all CGI effects, even the good ones. Worse yet, "The Lovely Bones" chooses the wrong person, the father(Mark Wahlberg), to serve as our entry point into the unconsolable grief felt by the left behind. Lindsey(Amanda Michalka) should have been the one to carry the film, but Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz are big stars, so the younger Salmon girl is reduced to being the catalyst for the film's wrongheaded foray into suspense. (Just like Richard Eyre's adaptation of Zoe Heller's "Notes on a Scandal(What Was She Thinking?)", the film is a lot more suspenseful than the source material.) "The Lovely Bones" needed a woman's touch. Ramsay would have depicted unflinchingly the Judy Blume-esque details of Lindsey's physical relationship with her boyfriend, despite both participants being underaged. It was important to show how the sister's death forced the younger Salmon girl to grow up fast. The sex was a coping mechanism. But, no. The filmmaker tried to outdo Vincent Ward's "What Dreams May Come" in trying to render the best heaven ever. Unfortunately, the blockbuster approach will ultimately disappoint the book's fans. In a nutshell, the filmmaker is afraid of the vagina, even though the female anatomy as depicted in the Sebold novel isn't meant to be the least bit sensationalistic or tittilating.… Expand

The Lovely Bones is a good solid film. There are aspects of the film that are great, and there are other aspects that do not work so well. Overall, the film is entertaining, suspenseful (and a little scary), emotional, and it offers something genuinely different than most of the garbage that goes to theaters. Do not get me wrong, this film has flaws, and truthfully, I'd give this more of a 7.5 rating, but it is absurd that this film has as low reviews as it does. It is a well-made, ultimately compelling film that I will concede is not as moving or powerful as it could or should be. It is not a failure at all, but, again, certain aspects do not work as well as others. But, to me, it's a lot more interesting to watch an interesting "failure" than another rote by the numbers thriller or tired raunchy comedy. Again, The Lovely Bones is not a failure, but I can appreciate the film even when it slips, because the overall vision is admirably ambitious (elements of domestic drama / thriller / fantasy collide together) and generally well-done. I say this not to provoke, but I frankly enjoyed The Lovely Bones much, much more than Avatar. Avatar was an experience, yes, but as a film, I found it formulaic, cliched, predictable, and pretty cheesy. I just find it too bad that critics can fawn over Avatar, which is pretty empty when you remove the bells and whistles, and then many of the same ones shrug or sneer at The Lovely Bones. Again, TLB is not a GREAT film, but it is good, and deserves much better reviews than it is getting.… Expand

Without knowledge of the book, I found the film to be moving and suspenseful, with an attention to craft that alone merits watching.

Honestly, after seeing the film the audience will know why critics gave such low scores. It is a film based on a brilliant emotional book, but failed to make full use of it. When you watch it you will notice that Peter Jackson does a fantastic job with revered, complex source material the same thing he did in the lord of the rings. The film can be emotional to some people, as the very idea of a young girl dying and seeing her family from heaven is a sad seen. But the film could have been a lot better. The only thing in the film is up to the expectation is Stanley Tucci's performance. He truly shows both mental and physical behavior of a killer. Overall this film can be watched for time pass. Don't watch if you are expecting something like Lord of the rings-The return of the kings.… Expand