Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Jul 15, 2007 20:16:50 GMT -5
Post by Lori on Jul 15, 2007 20:16:50 GMT -5
I posted this in my blog, but as not everyone is on Myspace, I'd love to have a conversation with anyone else who has seen it.
As anyone who knows me will attest, I am a bit of a book purist when it comes to movies, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was no exception. This will have spoilers, this is your last chance to look away...
Before I get started, I will say this for the 5th movie. It was far better than the 3rd or 4th, but unfortunately that's not saying much. It was much less kiddish, and had a darker feel to it that the others sadly lacked.
Where to begin... Alright, I know it's hard to create something purely on imagination, from having read a fictional description. But when you read words that describe, you are able to create a vision in your mind of what something might look like. Movies are never perfect, never exactly what you pictured, but sometimes they're close. In the books, the dementors are described much as they appeared originally in the 3rd movie. Tall, cloaked figures, with clammy gray hands protruding from their robes. Once you have a character created, STICK WITH IT. Don't change them later when you think you can do better into flying mist-shrouded skeletons. I was confused at the beginning, asking myself what in the world was attacking them, because it certainly didn't look like dementors. The only reason I even knew what they were was because I read the book, I assume movie-goers were to infer their identity from Harry using the patronus charm to get rid of them. And that's if they were paying close enough attention to the previous movies to understand the spell's purpose.
Umbridge, while played by a good actress, was not anything like what I pictured her to be. She is described as fat, toadlike, and disgusting in the books, and in the movie, I saw a tidy old woman who looked pretty damn similar to one of my grandmother's in her younger days. And she didn't look like a toad, although Ron repeatedly refers to her as 'old toad-face.' I guess we were supposed to believe she was hideous merely by people referring to her as such.
The thestrals (invisible skeletal winged horses pulling the carriages) on the other hand were very well done, although I thought they could have done more with them. In the books, even Harry's own friends believe he's going insane, able to see things they can't see, hear things they don't hear. The thestrals were a major part of that, as Harry insisted he could see them, he started to believe maybe he was insane. At the end, when he and his friends fly off on them, I was waiting to see it from Ron and Hermione's points of view, soaring through the air on nothing at all, and was disappointed to see it ignored, even if it is just a small detail.
Related to this is something they tried to get across, and still somehow didn't completely expound upon. Harry has a deep feeling of isolation through the 5th book, driving away even his closest friends. Everyone is talking about him, no one believes him, and the Daily Prophet turns him into a raving loon. Like I said, they definitely tried, he snapped at Ron and Hermione a few times, they included the fight with Seamus (although not to the extent of the book, him moving out of their room), and showed newspaper clippings and people talking about Harry. Maybe I'm just being bitchy, but I still didn't feel how isolated Harry was, how he had to carry everything on his shoulders alone.
The fight at the ministry was underdone, and didn't seem nearly as scary as the book. The special effects were good, but it seemed like that was all you were supposed to focus on. This fight was terrifying for all of them, and you were never sure they were even going to make it out alive. Ron was hexed, Sirius dies, and Harry is possessed. They ignored anything happening to Ron entirely, and Sirius' death seemed like a sidenote. A fucking sidenote. A chapter in a book where I cried steadily for a good five minutes before continuing on was breezed by as if of so little importance it was barely worth mentioning. This was fucked up from movie 3, Prisoner of Azkaban. The movies have never gotten into how deeply important Harry's relationship with his godfather Sirius was, or how much he's affected by having never known his parents. Even now, people who have only seen the movies would have no idea why Harry's patronus appears as a stag (the animal his father could transform into). He forms a tight bond with Sirius, treasures him above everyone else, and trusts him with his life. And then Sirius dies, his godfather, the only family Harry has left, DIES. It's fucking serious, and even though it is right at the end of the book, you are left with the feeling that Harry is inconsolable. Even though Dumbledore talks to him, and opens up a few new secrets for him, you are left knowing that Harry will seek revenge. I didn't feel that walking out of the movie. He was walking to the train with his friends, talking about having something to live for, not even mentioning Sirius once. I guess they wanted it to have a more upbeat ending.
The CGI was good, but it seemed like a lot of the time they were just trying to show off, make you say Oooh! instead of furthering plot lines and character development. Rickman as usual was spectacular as Snape, but played a much larger role in the book than the movie, setting everything up perfectly for book 6, The Half-Blood Prince. I don't think you got enough of a feel for anything going on with him to be ready for what happens in the next book.
One last thing, where exactly was the budding romance between Harry and Ginny? Or Ron and Hermione? By this point in the story, you are well aware of what's going on in both camps, even if the characters have yet to admit it even to themselves. Aside from a few lingering stares and questionable comments, I didn't see anything to really imply more meaningful relationships. That is a big damn part of the story, and something you wouldn't think a movie director would miss.
I hope they don't decide to change the actors or anything crazy like that, even if they are looking more and more like men and women rather than boys and girls. Daniel Radcliffe is getting downright hot, and it's not right to feel that way about little Harry. (Although really, by the 6th book, it's perfectly ok to feel that way about Harry, he's almost a grown-up, and pretty badass at that point.) I think they're going to have to do some fancy camera work to keep Ron believable much longer, he's got to be closing in on 6-feet-tall or more by now.
I don't know, I could keep bitching but why bother. Over all I enjoyed it more than the last two, and it can't just be because I was high, I made sure that was true for all of them. I think they were closer to on the right track, but still more concerned with attracting large audiences than telling a story properly. Am I saying I could have done better? Yes.
As anyone who knows me will attest, I am a bit of a book purist when it comes to movies, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was no exception. This will have spoilers, this is your last chance to look away...
Before I get started, I will say this for the 5th movie. It was far better than the 3rd or 4th, but unfortunately that's not saying much. It was much less kiddish, and had a darker feel to it that the others sadly lacked.
Where to begin... Alright, I know it's hard to create something purely on imagination, from having read a fictional description. But when you read words that describe, you are able to create a vision in your mind of what something might look like. Movies are never perfect, never exactly what you pictured, but sometimes they're close. In the books, the dementors are described much as they appeared originally in the 3rd movie. Tall, cloaked figures, with clammy gray hands protruding from their robes. Once you have a character created, STICK WITH IT. Don't change them later when you think you can do better into flying mist-shrouded skeletons. I was confused at the beginning, asking myself what in the world was attacking them, because it certainly didn't look like dementors. The only reason I even knew what they were was because I read the book, I assume movie-goers were to infer their identity from Harry using the patronus charm to get rid of them. And that's if they were paying close enough attention to the previous movies to understand the spell's purpose.
Umbridge, while played by a good actress, was not anything like what I pictured her to be. She is described as fat, toadlike, and disgusting in the books, and in the movie, I saw a tidy old woman who looked pretty damn similar to one of my grandmother's in her younger days. And she didn't look like a toad, although Ron repeatedly refers to her as 'old toad-face.' I guess we were supposed to believe she was hideous merely by people referring to her as such.
The thestrals (invisible skeletal winged horses pulling the carriages) on the other hand were very well done, although I thought they could have done more with them. In the books, even Harry's own friends believe he's going insane, able to see things they can't see, hear things they don't hear. The thestrals were a major part of that, as Harry insisted he could see them, he started to believe maybe he was insane. At the end, when he and his friends fly off on them, I was waiting to see it from Ron and Hermione's points of view, soaring through the air on nothing at all, and was disappointed to see it ignored, even if it is just a small detail.
Related to this is something they tried to get across, and still somehow didn't completely expound upon. Harry has a deep feeling of isolation through the 5th book, driving away even his closest friends. Everyone is talking about him, no one believes him, and the Daily Prophet turns him into a raving loon. Like I said, they definitely tried, he snapped at Ron and Hermione a few times, they included the fight with Seamus (although not to the extent of the book, him moving out of their room), and showed newspaper clippings and people talking about Harry. Maybe I'm just being bitchy, but I still didn't feel how isolated Harry was, how he had to carry everything on his shoulders alone.
The fight at the ministry was underdone, and didn't seem nearly as scary as the book. The special effects were good, but it seemed like that was all you were supposed to focus on. This fight was terrifying for all of them, and you were never sure they were even going to make it out alive. Ron was hexed, Sirius dies, and Harry is possessed. They ignored anything happening to Ron entirely, and Sirius' death seemed like a sidenote. A fucking sidenote. A chapter in a book where I cried steadily for a good five minutes before continuing on was breezed by as if of so little importance it was barely worth mentioning. This was fucked up from movie 3, Prisoner of Azkaban. The movies have never gotten into how deeply important Harry's relationship with his godfather Sirius was, or how much he's affected by having never known his parents. Even now, people who have only seen the movies would have no idea why Harry's patronus appears as a stag (the animal his father could transform into). He forms a tight bond with Sirius, treasures him above everyone else, and trusts him with his life. And then Sirius dies, his godfather, the only family Harry has left, DIES. It's fucking serious, and even though it is right at the end of the book, you are left with the feeling that Harry is inconsolable. Even though Dumbledore talks to him, and opens up a few new secrets for him, you are left knowing that Harry will seek revenge. I didn't feel that walking out of the movie. He was walking to the train with his friends, talking about having something to live for, not even mentioning Sirius once. I guess they wanted it to have a more upbeat ending.
The CGI was good, but it seemed like a lot of the time they were just trying to show off, make you say Oooh! instead of furthering plot lines and character development. Rickman as usual was spectacular as Snape, but played a much larger role in the book than the movie, setting everything up perfectly for book 6, The Half-Blood Prince. I don't think you got enough of a feel for anything going on with him to be ready for what happens in the next book.
One last thing, where exactly was the budding romance between Harry and Ginny? Or Ron and Hermione? By this point in the story, you are well aware of what's going on in both camps, even if the characters have yet to admit it even to themselves. Aside from a few lingering stares and questionable comments, I didn't see anything to really imply more meaningful relationships. That is a big damn part of the story, and something you wouldn't think a movie director would miss.
I hope they don't decide to change the actors or anything crazy like that, even if they are looking more and more like men and women rather than boys and girls. Daniel Radcliffe is getting downright hot, and it's not right to feel that way about little Harry. (Although really, by the 6th book, it's perfectly ok to feel that way about Harry, he's almost a grown-up, and pretty badass at that point.) I think they're going to have to do some fancy camera work to keep Ron believable much longer, he's got to be closing in on 6-feet-tall or more by now.
I don't know, I could keep bitching but why bother. Over all I enjoyed it more than the last two, and it can't just be because I was high, I made sure that was true for all of them. I think they were closer to on the right track, but still more concerned with attracting large audiences than telling a story properly. Am I saying I could have done better? Yes.