OK – having seen the film ‘several’ times, I though I’d share my thoughts on it here. It will be a bit waffley, but that’s the point of this blog! Watch out if you don’t know the story – I might release some crucial plot details… Anyway, split into sections, here goes:
Overall: It’s a definite thumbs up. I can honestly say that it’s better than the previous two films, and I’d happily see it again!
Style: It is about as different from the first two movies as Batman Forever was from Batman. I’m not going to say that’s good or bad, but the first two have that overall brightly-coloured feeling, and this one is much darker and more gritty on film.
Directing: Overall, I must say I liked the acting (I’ll get to that in a moment), which I feel was a result of the new director (Cuaron)’s directing. He was able to pull some different emotions from the kids (in particular) and there’s just something to it that’s different from before, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s probably a combination of their growing up, the script, and everything else.
Acting: I thought Dan Radcliffe (Harry) did really well. He really seemed more in-tune to the emotions than before. There were some definite rough spots in the first two, Philosopher’s Stone in particular. But his “Harry” attitude came out a bit more in this film than the last two; talking back and that growing anger. He’s not the always sweet, usually quiet Harry they tried to pull of in the first two movies…and he has a sense of humor! Much more the book Harry than before. There is an awful scene, though, where he cries – you can tell he’s acting… not very well!
Rupert Grint (Ron) and Emma (Watson) have come right along, as well. I always thought Emma was the most natural of the three, but she’s about tied with Dan now, for me. They all have good moments, and some that probably could have been better, but I’m no actor so who am I to judge? I’m sure it’s really a tough job.
It seemed to me that there wasn’t much of Ron in this movie. More than the other Gryffendors, but it was pretty Harry-centric, with a lot of Hermione. To be fair, though, the last film (Chamber of Secrets) had more Ron in, ‘cos Hermione was petrified… Ron certainly has lots of little quick lines I think – which are quite funny!
The twins finally got a whole scene almost to themselves – very funny it is, too!
We owe them so much – Fred and George together
And that… no… is that really – Harry
Dumbledore – Fred
In his study – George
Pacing – Fred
So you mean this map shows… – Harry
Everyone – Fred
Everyone – Harry
Everyone – George
Where they are – Fred
What they are doing – George
Every minute – Fred
Of every day – George
Brilliant – Harry
Barely any Ginny or Percy…but the little bit we got was good. There’s very little from any other kids.
I really liked Lupin, but I think that’s because I feel like I know the character so well from the book. Not sure that movie-goers who aren’t readers will love him as much as we do. But David Thewlis did a great job, I think. He doesn’t look like Lupin in my head, but that part is growing on me. I just wish there was a bit more of him. His costumes were very good. One thing, though… surely the kids would have wondered why he had huge claw gashes across his face every month?
Gary Oldman as Sirius Black is perfect. As with Lupin, I don’t think movie-goers are going to love him like readers do…he doesn’t get enough screen time or quite enough time to connect with Harry.
Michael Gambon did alright as Dumbledore, replacing the late Richard Harris. He looked the part to me, just the personality was a bit different. Not bad, it’ll just take some getting used to.
Script Adaptation: My biggest criticism…but goodness knows I couldn’t do it. See “The Bad Stuff” below to see my particular miffs. A few lines seemed out of character to me… but maybe just because they weren’t exact quotes from the book… not sure about that.
Ok, here’s my general checklist of good and bad. I’m sorry if the bad is longer than the good… you know the bad stuff always sticks out more than the good, though… sad fact of life. I’ll try to point out as much good stuff as I can.
The Good Stuff: - The costumes were good. I actually like that they’re not in uniforms the whole time. However, that is mostly because most of the scenes are outside of class. There are only a couple of classroom scenes when compared to before. - I was worried about the Time Turner, but it’s actually pretty cool. They effect of time turning was neat too…not how I pictured it, but I liked it. - Hermione punches Draco, hehe - The music… it’s still Williams, but a complete change from the previous two film. Much more emotional this time (minus the goofy Knight Bus scene music), less of the saccharine-sweet Hedwig’s Theme and Harry’s Wondrous World. I like it so much I’ve bought the soundtrack – definite thumbs up! - Buckbeak the hippogryff looked great overall (a few times he seemed animated, but usually pretty realistic) - The dementors were spot on, for me - I liked Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack sets - Listen, if you can, to dialogue going on off-screen…particularly when Draco is hurt and Pansy Parkinson is talking to him, and Ron is hurt and Hermione is with him (she tells Harry to go off and talk to Sirius). There’s an interesting connection – it’s quite funny. - Some of the added humor is great. Funny little bit with Ron waking up from a nightmare. Great line from Harry there. (Definitely not in the book!):
Spiders! Spiders want me to tap dance… I dont want to tap dance – Ron
You tell those spiders! – Harry
I’ll tell the spiders – Ron
The Bad Stuff: - It’s not like watching the book. It’s like watching a quite-modified artistic interperatation of the book. It doesn’t “bring the book to life” for me. - The whole thing seemed really rushed to me. I know they can’t cram 8 hours of material into 2 easily, but it felt like it was in fast-forward most of the time. - Because of that, there was so much they didn’t explain! (sigh) - They never explain that the Marauders (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs) were Lupin, Black, Pettigrew and Potter. Nor do they explain how Lupin knows how to work the map. - They never explain why they became animagi. They only mention the word once - They don’t explain why the Whomping Willow is there, or the Shrieking Shack. - There’s lots more, and I do understand that not all of this is critical to the plot, but I think it wouldn’t have taken long to leave some of it in, and it helps the whole thing to make more sense in the end. It doesn’t do justice to how well JK Rowling integrates the little details that she mentions briefly books ahead of when they become important. - I didn’t really like some of the CG work. Some of it looked pretty fake to me. Not too fond of the werewolf. Buckbeak was ok, but some of the meshing of him with real people looked a bit fake (their robes on his feathers.) - I didn’t like the new Tom the Inkeeper character at all. I liked the guy they had before. This one was like Igor (exactly) and creepy, and to me not at all like the book. - It didn’t feel like Hogwarts. Some of the sets were the same, but so many were new or different, or even just shot at different angles, that it was like they were in a new place. Especially the Whomping Willow and Hagrid’s hut. - The director / scriptwriter got a little too creative. They’ve added new things, which I don’t think is bad, but so many that it sort of feels like they are reinventing the world sometimes…scenes that didn’t happen in the book, jokes and lines that were never said, props that JKR didn’t put in the book. - I wanted more Quidditch, personally - Harry gets his Firebolt from Sirius at the end of the year, not at Christmas… not important, but still… why?
Anyway, the list of bad things is far outweighed by the list of good things, even if they’re not all listed! Two thumbs up, 10/10 – go and see it!
