The trouble with "serial" pictures is that after awhile they all start to feel like "tweeners" -- the stuff that happens between the Beginning and the End, and by now I'm beginning to feel like why don't they just hurry up and end it already. Well, because there is still a lot of story to relate, and if you've seen the size of the books, you know there is a *lot* of story. So the producers and directors and so on pick out the juiciest bits to serve up for our viewing pleasure, and the result *is* pleasant, if not entirely satisfying. There were many moments in Order of the Phoenix that I enjoyed immensely, but on the whole the movie felt fragmented. I still feel that the best Harry Potter movie to date is Prisoner of Azkaban which, I'm sure, is entirely due to the skilled eye of phenom director Alfonso Curan.
Another problematic element for this film is that Harry's struggle with Voldemort through the whole of the book is an internal one. This makes for very powerful reading, but is very difficult to translate to film. The tension felt a little flat; the urgency lagged just a little too far behind the action.
Of course, we are treated to a spectacular battle in the end. Dumbledore's battle with Voldemort is an impressive display of super F/X wizardry. Not since Emperor Palpatine spouted lightning bolts from his fingers have audiences been treated to such pyrotechnic power. *This* is how wizards do battle. Yes, indeed.
Disappointing, though, was Dumbledore's concluding speech. A significant point that Harry learns in the book is that prophecies are only powerful if people believe them. Harry isn't The Boy Who Lived because he was born with some special power; he's become a significant threat to Voldemort's power because Voldemort believed the prophecy and for whatever reason believed Harry to be that boy. It could have been anyone, but because Voldemort chose him, he became what Voldemort most feared. Essentially, Voldemort created the implement of his own downfall. But we get none of this in the movie. Only that eventually Harry and Voldemort will have to duke it out in their own battle, which, unless you've been living under a rock for the past ten years, we all know anyway.
Evanna Lynch is luminous as Luna Lovegood. Natalia Tena as Tonks was good, too. I hope we see more of them both in the next picture.
All said, though, I really enjoy seeing the movie versions of the books. They keep to the spirit of the books and on the whole are well done.
My friend Patric is fond of cutting Voldemort down to size. He doesn't think Voldemort measures up to the truly devastating forces of, say, Morgoth from Tolkien's Silmarillion. And I have to agree that if ever a battle were arranged for Morgoth vs. Voldemort, that would truly be worth the price of the ticket.
5 Days til Lift-Off
1 comment:
I just saw this last night. It was fun, but I agree with your comments. Another thing: the movie was supposed to span a whole school year, right? It felt more like a few weeks. The director didn't do a good job of showing the time passing. Again, like you said, this is because the HP movies have become a serial rather than individual films and so no longer need to focus on the "culture" at Hogwarts which would lead to a feeling of spending time there.
I think Luna was the most interesting character in the movie, including all the main ones. Most of the other actions and emotions are pretty predictable.
The OotP is the first of the movies that I have seen without having read the book. I got bored reading the books after the 4th one. It was a pleasent few hours spent at the movies; that's about all.
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