Let me start off by admitting that I have not been a Potter fan from the beginning, and am (Relatively) new to the magical world created by J.K. Rowling. I have not been in this for the long haul, and cannot claim that this franchise of both books and films has affected my life and coming of age as much as say – a child of eleven or twelve who started reading the first book when it came out and has followed them since, in which case this series has probably had a profound effect on the person they are today. But I will say - I envy that person, now in their mid-twenties and able to say that they were the generation that was defined by the most culturally significant piece of pop culture and widest reaching fictional story of all time. That is why I am writing this now – because this is a phenomenon that doesn’t happen in most peoples lives, and any chance to add your own name and two-cents to such an enveloping legend is one we should all jump at. So, in short, I am writing this out of respect.
But, if you had told me that I would be doing this ten years ago, I would have said you were crazy. My experience with Harry Potter started out just as you would suspect from a pretentious know-it-all that was slightly too old to be reading “kids” books. I had heard the rumblings about this British author who was being credited as single handedly reviving children’s literacy in an age of video-games and home entertainment theaters (and I promptly dismissed these stories as nothing more than sensationalizing a small population of nerdy elementary school-kids). I remember watching a video of thousands (at least it seemed) of people lined up outside a book store in NYC waiting to get their copy of the 4th book, and realizing that this was not a small fad. In the summer of 2000 I was living with my girlfriend at the time, and while she was starting to read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, I was in the middle of Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter series. By the time she was on the second book, she was telling me how much she thought I would enjoy the series, to which I raised my nose and scoffed, assuring her that I was far too mature and my time was too precious (No, the irony does not escape me).
Fast forward a little more than a year, and I was on a date at the movies (new girl, and it may have been a first date, I can’t remember). It was a Friday night, and Vanilla Sky had just opened but was completely sold out when we got there. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone had been in the theaters for a little more than a month, and while the hype was hard to avoid, neither of us had much background when it came to all things Muggle, but we decided to see it as it was the only film starting within minutes of us arriving at the theater. Long story short, I hated it. I grew up with the classic 80’s children’s movies that today’s films can’t compare to. This was no The Never Ending Story, Labyrinth, or The Dark Crystal. This was Hollywood-blockbuster-dumbed-down-to-the-lowest-common-denominator garbage. Or so I thought, having no primer to set me straight.
About two years later, along with a couple of my roommates, I sat down to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. There were jokes made about the title sounding like an early eighties porno (Brock Landers: Angels Live in My Town), and again, I wrote off Harry and had no interest in ever returning to Hogwarts. I would not be fooled again.
Around the same time, I started working with a young English woman who grew up with Harry Potter, and to whom arguing against J.K. Rowling’s fictional world was as useless as arguing religion or politics with a devout fundamentalist, and often came with a thick accented scolding. She was furious that I would not give the books a chance, and judged the movies so harshly. And eventually, I caved.
Sometime around 2006, one evening I sat down and saw that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was about to come on HBO. By the end of the film (whose quality at the time I chalked up to the direction of Alfonso Cuarón and not the source material) I was invested in the characters and story, and saw a glimpse of what this world had to offer.
After watching Goblet of Fire a year or so later (I did not like it nearly as much as Prisoner of Azkaban, but it did manage to pull me a little further down the rabbit hole), I decided I would give the books a chance. By then it was 2007 and The Order of The Phoenix was about to be released in theaters and we were a month or two away from the 7th and last book’s release date. The Harry Potter hype machine was running full-throttle, and I was burning through the books trying to get caught up. Order of The Phoenix was the first movie I would see in the theater since The Sorcerer’s Stone way back in December of 2001, and by then I was completely hooked. It was essentially a summer course on all things Harry Potter, as I finished the 6th book on the day the 7th was released, read the 7th in a handful of days, and then proceeded to read all seven over again, start to finish, in two weeks time.
That summer I was introduced to an entire sub-culture I did not know existed. While reading the books on my lunch breaks at Pete’s Coffee in Wellesley, people would come up to me on a daily basis and want to chat about which one they liked best, or how excited they were to finish the series, or what characters they loved etc, etc… In fact, just a couple days ago I was at a 70+ year old couple’s home hanging artwork, and after seeing a worn out copy of The Philosopher’s Stone on their coffee table had a twenty minute long conversation about the books and films and how excited they were to see the last film in the theater – which would be the highlight of their month. I have had great conversations with several friends who are huge fans of the series, especially my sister in law, and I know she can’t wait to read these wonderful stories to my two nieces once they’re old enough. Long story short, I am thankful to have been able to partake in this cultural phenomenon even if it was on the tail end, and want to encourage anyone and everyone who has missed out to pick up the books (you have to muscle through the first one and a half, as they are basically all exposition) before the unified fan base starts to dissolve over the next few years. Sure, there will always be millions of Harry Potter fans out there, but the celebration of these books and films is at its peak right now, with nowhere to go but down.
One more thing I would like to say before I get to the individual reviews: If you look at the critics reviews of this entire series of films, you will see that each of the films received a good share of critical praise. And, while I did not originally care for the first two films of the series, I now know they stayed pretty faithful to the books, which were attempting to build an entire universe and a story that was much bigger in scope than those films could really aspire to be. What I’m trying to say is, Warner Bros had a chance to make a huge profit on a no-risk investment while cranking out mediocre to awful films (which most studios would have done), but instead they rolled up their sleeves and labored intensively on what is now the most financially successful film series of all time. I hope producers and studios have taken notice. These films are good (though, admittedly not nearly as good as the books), and will be watched over and over and will continue to make loads of money. How many of you fans out there watch them when ABC Family channel does a weekend marathon even though the DVD’s are sitting five feet from the TV? Would you say the same about other big budget blockbusters from recent years? Do you think I’m ever going to waste another two-and-a-half hours watching those Transformers films again? The producers, directors, actors, make-up artists and all the rest of the crew worked hard on these films, and respected both the audience and the source material by staying true to what made these stories such a huge success in the first place. And again, that is the main reason I am writing this right now, because respect is a two way street.
So that is the meat of my experience with J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter so far. I was hoping people would chime in with similar or interesting stories, but I guess that is asking a lot. Anyway, on to the reviews:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:
Start-to-finish exposition, but that is staying true to the source material to a ridged degree. And, as much as I treasure these books, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone is true to a fault. And the changing of the title (I know, they were changing the title of the books as well for the American release), was a bad sign right from the start. The film plods through each scene, with safe direction and far too little style. And, being that Harry potter mania was gripping the world, Warners wanted to capitalize on that before the world moved on to the next big thing, so the first film in a planned seven film series was rushed into the theaters with little time in post production. And it showed. A franchise that will be looked back on as visually pioneering and special effects heavy will mercifully have to ignore this first film, as the effects were decidedly un-special.
Chris Columbus was not the right director, or direction for this film franchise right off the bat. Sure, he is known for kid friendly family films, but that was never what Harry Potter was. In fact, the family dynamic of the entire series is quite twisted. I had read somewhere that J.K. Rowling originally was hoping that Terry Gilliam would helm one of the Potter films, and compared to Gilliam, you don’t get more of an opposite end of the spectrum than Chris Columbus.
But for all the things I can complain about in this film, real magic happened during the pre-production that showed the dedication to the later films that was such an integral part of this first one. I am, of course, talking about the casting. There was probably not a better decision made last decade than the casting of the major roles in Harry Potter. With the exception of Richard Harris as Dumbledore (and I can see why he was cast), I think the casting and the dedication of the actors throughout the series is unequalled by anything we have seen before. And it’s not like these were all safe choices either. Alan Rickman was twenty years too old for the part of Severus Snape, but now can you imagine anyone else in the role? And casting prepubescent children whole will essentially grow up in the spotlight of these films has huge risk involved as well, because you never know if one of them will look incredibly awkward or grow to be a foot taller than the others in a few years. So let me be the millionth person to say it, the three main leads in these films have been fantastic from the start, and only got better and more comfortable in their roles as the series progressed.
I do not think this film is the modern classic that it is hyped up to be, and I think it barely stands on it’s own as a finished film. But it all had to start somewhere, and that is what I keep telling myself when I think of The Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
So Much like the first film in the series, though The Chamber of Secrets delves much deeper into the lore of the magical world. Unfortunately again, much of the film is exposition and explanation. Columbus (directing again) goes for a much more humorous take on the material, again going a very young demographic (I’m looking at you Dobby). Considering that the first book arrived over 4 years before this film reached the theaters, I think they missed a chance and alienated the built in fan base, who were now mostly angst ridden teens. Sure, Chamber of Secrets was met with huge financial success, just like the first film, but it failed to evolve and there was obviously a fear that the franchise was starting to fizzle out.
What was better in this film than in the first was the characters started to develop relationships with each other that would last the length of the series. The world was made that much ritcher in detail with the inclusion of new characters, continuing the phenominal casting that was so intregal throughout the series. Even though he embodied the childish humor of the film, I thought Kenneth Branagh was fantastic, and Jason Isaacs was perfect in helping to add a hint of darkness to an otherwise overly-light film.
The other thing that improved with Chamber of Secrets was the magic and effects. There was a defininte outcry concerning the terrible CGI in the first film, and they needed to prove that they were dedicated to these films standing up against the test of time. The effects heavy third act, especially the Basilisk, was a huge leap forward from the cartoonish troll and three headed dog from Sorcerer’s Stone.
The thing that Alienated me most though, and almost accounted for me never seeing another film in this series was the episodic feel that this film had compared to the first. I got the feeling that each of the films would be structured so similarly, and Harry would have to win out against Voldemort in some form or another each year. Thankfully, that is not the case, but it sure felt that way after seeing Chamber of Secrets.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
Still probably my favorite in the series*, and definely the film that should receive the most credit for the enormous success of the franchise. Alfonso Cuarón came in and changed the look and feel of Harry Potter, and smartly realized that the kids who where huge fans of the series were maturing along with the storylines in the books. Gone are the small set pieces that make up Hogwarts, replaced by on-location shooting in Scotland - filmed with an atmospheric stylization that is both eerily gothic yet beautiful.
The special effects take another leap forward, as the Dementors and Buckbeak the Hippogryph blow away anything we had seen in the series so far (in fact, even now where the effects are dated by 7 or 8 years, these two examples are still what I consider to be the most successful effects in the series).
But the biggest reason that The Prisoner of Azkaban is such an improvement is that it stands on its own and is not a rehashing of what we have seen before. That is owed to the book even more so than the film, but the combination of story and a new look is what sets this one apart. Voldemort is not the villain, and through some extremely clever storytelling involving a bit of time travel, the magical world of Harry Potter becomes so rich in detail that it pulls you in and makes you emotionally involved. Without the simple A to B storyline, the characters, especially the main three, are able to develop real chemistry with one another which is the leading factor in making fans want to come back for more.
The inclusion of so many new characters had some risk involved, but again the casting was so well done, and the actors so good, that it never felt cluttered or rushed. David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall and (I know I’m one of the few that prefer him to Richard Harris) Michael Gambon are all fantastic additions, but it is Gary Oldman who owns this film as the title character.
Alfonso Cuarón also helped pull in a narrative that I thought tied in nicely after reading the books. By framing the story by the seasons, he created a sense of time passing by that most of the other films do not capture. It is rumored that Rowling wanted Cuarón to direct, but once he was there, the producers and Rowling herself were at constant odds with him over what he could and could not do. Sometimes that creates a bad working environment and it shows in the film, but here I believe it had a different effect. Each collaborative component had to refine and debate what should be included and how everything should look, which carved away anything that didn’t work. What you are left with is a fantastic film in both story and artistry, which helped to mold the franchise into what it would eventually become.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
As far as I’m concerned, Goblet of Fire was a step back for the series, though most fans and critics would disagree. And after reading the book, I consider this film one of the weakest. But I will say that Goblet of Fire, along with Order of The Phoenix, was one of the hardest to adapt. First off, the book was twice as long as any of the previous efforts which meant they had that much more that had to be omitted for the sake of keeping the film at a reasonable run time. And, if you haven’t read the books, a lot was left out (and not just small things, but whole storylines and characters, and these omissions would eventually effect the limitations of the later films).
With the exception of Brendan Gleeson, (to some extent) Miranda Richardson and (obviously) Ralph Fiennes, I thought that both the acting and the casting took a big leap in the wrong direction. Chemistry and a touch of romantic comedy was hugely important to this film, as the awkward Hogwarts students were starting to pair off, so hiring the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mike Newell, made sense. But, unfortunately, he tried to balance that amongst some of the bigger action set pieces of the series, and the performances suffered for it.
Obviously the studio was on board for the maturing of the franchise, after the praise following The Prisoner of Azkaban, and I remember Roger Elbert writing that he feared that each film would matured in tone so much that the final installment would be a dark horror/slasher film (he wasn’t too far off). So deciding to pull the house elves, including Dobby, cannot come as too much of a surprise, but decisions like that one left huge wholes in the story. Wholes that they decided to fill with such garbage like (the imposter)Mad Eye Moody flicking his tongue so that his father might recognize him… ugh, that was bad. But again, this was the first of the books that was so dense and extended, that in hindsight the studio would have been better off splitting each of the last four books into two parts just like they did with The Deathly Hallows.
What was good – the story, obviously. Here is where the books became more than just kid/young adult reading and reached the level of quality literature. I have heard the same reaction from a dozen or more adults, and that is that The Goblet of Fire was so much better than what they were expecting this series to be. It really is that well written. Also, the action and special effects again in this film are of the highest quality, but now come with real danger looming and real risk for the main characters (something that has never been there throughout the series previously). Which brings me to the absolute best thing about The Goblet of Fire, which is Ralph Fiennes’ Voldemort. Considering all the expectation involved, he (along with the art direction and costume design) knocked it out of the park. This series was now something to be taken seriously.
Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix:
The longest book in the series (at almost one thousand pages), and the one that comes closest to being a prose novel, as so much of the story takes place in Harry’s head and the narrative is hugely affected by his mood. So, obviously, this is the one that would be impossible to adapt into a one hundred and twenty page screenplay. Order of the Phoenix is the only one of the eight films that was not adapted by Steve Kloves, but it hardly shows in the finished product. Michael Goldenberg did an outstanding job in keeping this film within the structure of the series, even though it has its obvious flaws.
The omission of Quiditch hurt, as that has always been a grounding aspect of the school year structure, but cuts had to be made. I only wish they had been able to work around Grawp, Hagrid’s giant brother who feels so cut-and-pasted they might as well have used a scene from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? In fact, some of the special effects suffered greatly in this film, which had a lot to do with the inclusion of 3D. I am going to try and avoid going off on a rant about 3D, but it is for this exact reason I am so against it. Try watching this film in HD or Blu Ray and you will see what I mean – the scenes that were so geared to be 3D do not hold up.
The reason this is still such a successful film is, again, the story and the casting. Helena Bohnam Carter is fantastic as always as the insane Bellatrix Lestrange, and her polar opposite (but even more menacing) uptight nightmare of Dolores Umbridge played to terrifying perfecting by Imelda Staunton is the stuff that bad dreams are made of. They help to make this film yet another step towards a much darker, more mature Wizarding world. One that barely resembles that of The Sorcerer’s Stone or The Chamber of Secrets. The (previously) child actors are able to redeem themselves quite a bit from The Goblet of Fire, especially Daniel Radcliffe who has the weight of this film on his shoulders the whole time.
The best thing about The Order of The Phoenix though, as almost everyone will tell you, is of course the Wizards duel - the climactic sequence where the audience gets to finally see what a magical battle looks like. This is capped off by what is largely considered the best sequence of all of the films, and that is the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore. And it is pretty damn epic.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:
While The Prisoner of Azkaban might be my favorite film in the series, I think that The Half Blood Prince is arguably the best*. While its detractors complain about the lack of magic and the down, slightly cynical tone, The Half Blood Prince is very true to the spirit of the book. One of the things that is so great about this whole series is the different feel and atmosphere that each film has, and that is the same with the books. Half Blood Prince is angst ridden and melo-dramatic, just as you would expect a 16 year old teenager to be. In fact, the biggest mistake the film makes is the inclusion of action scenes that did not take place in the book, which predictably did not add anything to the story. But this introspective look at the main characters, now reaching adulthood, is very important to the overall story arch, and we needed to see more of these characters in order to really feel an emotional attachment to the mission they undertake throughout the rest of the series.
David Yates returns as director for this film, and will proceed to direct the rest of the films as well, but he separates this film from The Order of the Phoenix as well as The Deathly Hallows by using a very limited palette of color and a very simplified design that beautifully fits the film and helps it to stand on its own.
The newest cast members in this film are fewer than films past, giving more time to the core characters which benefits the film immensely. But of the newer roles, Jim Broadbent is fantastic as Professor Horace Slughorn, even if he is nothing as I pictured him in the book, and he brings a great injection of humor into a somewhat somber film. But what makes this film so great is the acting and the expansion of the characters that have been there from the start. Particularly great are Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Alan Rickman, and Michael Gambon shows us why he will forever be Dumbledore (and maybe gets a little redemption if you hated his admittedly bizarre performance in The Goblet of Fire).
Another thing that was so important about this film was that is sows the idea that maybe this is all not leading up to a happy ending. And without the foundation of that possibility, the next book and films would not be nearly as dramatic and suspenseful as they are.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1):
Let me start off by saying – when I heard that Warner Bros decided to turn The Deathly Hallows into two films, I thought that it was a greedy attempt at extending their cash cow and had nothing to do with preserving the quality of the story. Now, I am a firm believer that they should have split each film in two, starting with Goblet of Fire. The Deathly Hallows Part 1 benefited hugely from the added time given to develop the characters and relationships, and if it had been a complete film and been able to stand on its own, it would be my resounding choice for the best film of the series. But it does not stand on its own, and parts 1 and 2 are just that, parts of a five hour whole. Sure, each film is manipulated to have a three act structure, but neither film has a satisfying beginning, middle and end. I should also let you know that The Deathly Hallows is my favorite book in the series, and is the main reason I consider myself such an avid fan. But I will expand on that more in part 2.
Right off that bat, fans of the books noticed a lot more of the dialogue in the film was taken verbatim from the source material. And that is because the added time allowed for the same set ups that are in the book. This was such a difference maker in the acting as well, as the dialogue was not so pointed and impossibly precise in order to move the film along. The actors actually were able to speak organically and give us a lot more insight into their characters. Just like in the 6th film, no one benefits more from this added spotlight than the core cast. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all give their best performances to date in this film, and it is not even close.
While all the books and films in the series have their own personality, none is more unique than the first part of The Deathly Hallows. Gone is the safety and structure of the school year at Hogwarts, replaced by a perilous journey that tests each of the characters in unexpected and engaging ways. Instead of a large ensemble, there is a real sense of isolation felt throughout. The fear, both in the book and in the film is very real and never lets up for a heartbeat. Once again, as has been the case since The Prisoner of Azkaban, this film takes another step in maturity and the book separates itself from its children’s story roots and into the realm of iconic mythology in literature.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Part 2):
I try not to write these reviews so quickly after seeing a film for the first time, so let me first talk about the book in the hopes that the film will settle some in my mind over the next few moments. The Deathly Hallows was my favorite in the series, and is one of the greatest accomplishments in pop culture in my lifetime. It is such a great and satisfying conclusion that was able to overcome higher expectation than anything I can think of. And that is a very rare thing, because when pressure has mounted so high, the resolution always seems to fall well short. But that was not the case with The Deathly Hallows. It was note perfect. It was so good; it made the previous books better by giving more meaning to some of the lesser moments and characters. And, after seeing both films, I am thrilled they did not attempt to make this into a two hour action film, sacrificing what made it great.
So, onto the film: Even less so than the first part, The Deathly Hallows Part 2 does not stand on its own as a complete film, but I do not fault it for that. It is one big climactic third act, both to the first part and to the series as a whole. It has moments of greatness that rival the best moments of the series, and a handful of decisions that did not work out so well. But in the end, it was as satisfying an end to the film series as the book was to its predecessors. The acting, which was not as much of a focus in this part as the action and story, does not suffer by juxtaposition. It is consistently great throughout, particularly Daniel Radcliffe who dons the glasses and scar for the last time.
This film, unlike the first part, is a full on action drama, with little time for character interaction and introspection, and is as large in scope as anything I have seen on the big screen in years. And the action, assisted by a disquieting and ominous score, never disappoints. I remember wondering how the potential filming would work, as the book takes a handful of long breaks from the action, most notably in a lengthy flashback sequence involving Alan Rickman’s brilliant Severus Snape, and a quiet resolution with Harry and Dumbledore. But the movie flowed along perfectly, and really never seemed to take the foot off the gas.
If I had anything to complain about, they are minor flaws and nitpick. The body count was unquestionably high in this film, so one of the tricks they used to lessen the emotional impact is to have some of the bad guys dissolve into thin air, relieving the heroes of any baggage to deal with, which I thought was a bit of a cop out. It certainly made light of the fight between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange, which was one of my favorite bits from the book. And one major death was glossed over pretty quickly, and much like Mad Eye in Part one, happened off screen which might irritate some audience members. This was probably also due to not wanting to overly traumatize the younger audience members, but maturing along with the audience hasn’t failed you yet, why think it will now? Another bit that was so well done in the book but fell short in the film was the much anticipated pairing of Hermione and Ron. The scene in the film goes for some humor, but the beats are off and it felt so anticlimactic. Again, minor grievances and nothing more.
All in all, The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a very satisfying, proper send off to these characters we have know for years, many of whom have grown up before our eyes. I think people will be very happy with the resolution, whether they have read the books or not. And unlike a lot of critics, I thought the final scene, handled so much like the book, was played brilliantly, and I am thrilled they left it in. If they had not, it would have left the door too far open for Warner Bros not to be tempted into returning to Hogwarts for some of the treasure left behind.
* After the test of time sinks in, I think that Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 will be considered one film, and by that measure will have to be considered as the best film of the series.
So there it is, my humble reviews of each film. I'm sure you all disagree, and I can't wait to hear it.I really would love to hear your own personal stories and experiences with Harry Potter over the last decade and a half, so please comment below. And, if you feel like ranking the films I would love to see where each one stands in your opinion, and whether or not you’ve read the books or just seen the films or neither.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my crazy ramblings.
Ryan Black
July 17th, 2011
