Harry Potter.......well-done!
So, as some of you will know, I'm a Harry Potter fan. Not a fanatic, mind you, like some of the folks who shared the theatre with me last night for the opening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but a diehard fan, nonetheless.
I left my Gryffindor scarf and sweater at home (yes, I actually have them, along with a wand -- snicker if you will). No waiting outside this time -- walked straight into the theatre and snagged a few seats. Friends Ali, and Andrew & Karen joined me (thanks again, guys!!). I would've gone anyway, but it's nicer to have company. Actually, there were meant to be 3 others, but various and sundry circumstances kept them away. Allow me to say a huge THANK YOU to United Artists Cinemas for having a policy that allows them to refund tickets. I hadn't expected them to actually buy back the $27 in tickets that I had with me, but they did, and I'm so thankful. On to the review.
Know and Understand, O Reader, that I am no movie critic. By and large, if a movie makes me smile at least once, I consider it a grand cinematic feature. So I'll approach this from a fan's point of view, rather than a Siskel & Ebert point of view.
First off, I think they did a grand job of introducing and explaining most of the plot elements, though if you hadn't read the book(s), you'd probably be a touch lost. There were some parts of the story that were quite prominent in the book (Quidditch World Cup) that were only covered as much as needed to help the storyline along. I know JKR is involved in the filmmaking decisions, so if she says it's okay, then who am I to argue? There was a particular character (Winky) who was -- in the book -- quite intertwined with this part of the story, but they took some liberties, rearranged some timelines, and still got the major point through.
The fact that the Three Amigos are now teenagers with raging hormones is not overlooked. There were some scenes where I felt a little bit like I was being beaten over the head with this idea ("Right, Harry's discovered girls -- I get it, I get it!"), but not enough to detract from the movie. In fact, these scenes offered some great bits of humour, which helped balance out the otherwise very serious mood of the film.
Mind you, the mood should be a somber one. These are potentially life-threatening tasks that the Champions are being asked to perform, and to gloss over that would cheapen the very grave threat that a returning Voldemort poses. As the books go on, the magical world in which Harry and the others reside begins to wage a real good-vs-evil battle, complete with the social divisions that come with any war. This film sets that stage well.
There are some not-thoroughly-explained bits that a book-reading fan will inherently know about, that the average movie-goer will not, which might have been cost/time-effective to put in. For example, it's only because I've read the series that I understand why seeing the Cruciatus curse performed affects Neville so strongly. If you hadn't read the previous books or seen the previous films, the references to PolyJuice Potion might not help explain one of the major plot points.
Overall, the film is good, the mood appropriate, and the cinematography nicely handled. Patrick Doyle took over the scoring duties from John Williams, and carried Mr. Williams' themse into this score. I wish Rupert Grint would trim his hair a bit (where does it say that Ron has to look like a ragamuffin??), and there were a couple of forced emotions from Hermione. But the final showdown scene was good and dark, the magic still amazing, and I left feeling like I'd gotten my $9 worth.
Now the question is -- does my next long wait (which started at about 2:35 am this morning) end with a new book, or a new movie?
I left my Gryffindor scarf and sweater at home (yes, I actually have them, along with a wand -- snicker if you will). No waiting outside this time -- walked straight into the theatre and snagged a few seats. Friends Ali, and Andrew & Karen joined me (thanks again, guys!!). I would've gone anyway, but it's nicer to have company. Actually, there were meant to be 3 others, but various and sundry circumstances kept them away. Allow me to say a huge THANK YOU to United Artists Cinemas for having a policy that allows them to refund tickets. I hadn't expected them to actually buy back the $27 in tickets that I had with me, but they did, and I'm so thankful. On to the review.
Know and Understand, O Reader, that I am no movie critic. By and large, if a movie makes me smile at least once, I consider it a grand cinematic feature. So I'll approach this from a fan's point of view, rather than a Siskel & Ebert point of view.
First off, I think they did a grand job of introducing and explaining most of the plot elements, though if you hadn't read the book(s), you'd probably be a touch lost. There were some parts of the story that were quite prominent in the book (Quidditch World Cup) that were only covered as much as needed to help the storyline along. I know JKR is involved in the filmmaking decisions, so if she says it's okay, then who am I to argue? There was a particular character (Winky) who was -- in the book -- quite intertwined with this part of the story, but they took some liberties, rearranged some timelines, and still got the major point through.
The fact that the Three Amigos are now teenagers with raging hormones is not overlooked. There were some scenes where I felt a little bit like I was being beaten over the head with this idea ("Right, Harry's discovered girls -- I get it, I get it!"), but not enough to detract from the movie. In fact, these scenes offered some great bits of humour, which helped balance out the otherwise very serious mood of the film.
Mind you, the mood should be a somber one. These are potentially life-threatening tasks that the Champions are being asked to perform, and to gloss over that would cheapen the very grave threat that a returning Voldemort poses. As the books go on, the magical world in which Harry and the others reside begins to wage a real good-vs-evil battle, complete with the social divisions that come with any war. This film sets that stage well.
There are some not-thoroughly-explained bits that a book-reading fan will inherently know about, that the average movie-goer will not, which might have been cost/time-effective to put in. For example, it's only because I've read the series that I understand why seeing the Cruciatus curse performed affects Neville so strongly. If you hadn't read the previous books or seen the previous films, the references to PolyJuice Potion might not help explain one of the major plot points.
Overall, the film is good, the mood appropriate, and the cinematography nicely handled. Patrick Doyle took over the scoring duties from John Williams, and carried Mr. Williams' themse into this score. I wish Rupert Grint would trim his hair a bit (where does it say that Ron has to look like a ragamuffin??), and there were a couple of forced emotions from Hermione. But the final showdown scene was good and dark, the magic still amazing, and I left feeling like I'd gotten my $9 worth.
Now the question is -- does my next long wait (which started at about 2:35 am this morning) end with a new book, or a new movie?
posted by PammyJean at 10:52 am
1 Comments:
I was hoping to go see it last weekend but alas rent must be paid first. Bastards! Some day I'll get around to reading the books.
And then there's "Chronicles of Narnia" coming in a week. So darn many movies...
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