Smells Like Teen Romance?

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments)
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm supposed to be explaining my critical model right now, but I'm going to save that for next time.  I've just been reading the genre page from the critical model packet for the course, and the example it gives made me think about what I've been hearing about The Mortal Instruments movie.  It's being savaged in the blogosphere for being either a Harry Potter or a Twilight ripoff, which, given the source material (the book by Cassandra Clare) seems unfair to me -- the book is soooooo much better than any of the Twilight series, having solid, interesting characters and a lot of humor, particularly in the dialogue.  Now, I haven't seen the film, but the posters and trailer have me worried -- they're pretty grim, and I'd hate to think that the filmmakers decided to cut all the bantering out.  If they did, then I could see where you might compare it to the death march that is the Twilight saga.
The example in the packet is this: 
"As an example of a potential basis for an essay, consider this question:  although there are vampires in the film Twilight, does it fit the horror subgenre of vampire films in a significant way?  I’d say no, and I’d even go so far as to say that it doesn’t belong to what might be called the sub-subgenre of vampire romance either.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s a teenage relationship drama that just happens to have vampires in it, and that would be my thesis." (7)
The Mortal Instruments books, if not the movie, have more in common with The Avengers than they do with Twilight.  Although there are romantic relationships, these books are mainly hero quests (with multiple heroes, like The Avengers), which is actually something they have in common with Harry Potter.  In any event, I can't afford the time or the money to see the film; I'll have to wait for the DVD, as usual. 
Back to Percy Jackson . . .

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• The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones: Movie Review (blazingminds.co.uk)
• A beginner's guide to Cassandra Clare and her "Mortal Instruments" (dailydot.com)
• Review Roundup: The Mortal Instruments (sublimezoo.com)