Project Potter Part Two

Ok, so here we go with the second half of the Harry Potter phenom.

..And The Order Of The Phoenix

This one starts with a fairly creepy scene, although it did take me time to work what was going because the actor playing Dudley had changed so much and at this stage I has assumed that Harry basically wouldn't be with the Dursley's again and would be living with the Weasleys. Just something that doesn't quite make sense for me at this stage since they hate him, he hates them and it's surely exactly where everyone would look for him.

Anyway it is a nicely creepy attack. After this I think this is possibly the weakest of the later films and it's possibly down to it being very much a mid story arc sort of affair and what I suspect it's main purpose in novel form is essentially edited out, that of introducing and establishing the Order's members that we only see briefly like the wife of Remus.

It is surprising however just how dark things do get though in places (such as Umbridge's torture punishments, the notion that witnessing death changes your perception of things) and Bonham-Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange is a enjoyably demented character. To be fair the last section within the Ministry of Magic and the confrontation with Vodlemort is well realised but to some extent just highlights the lack of any real drive in the rest of the film.

I also feel that whilst Luna has potential as kooky character it's hobbled by Evanna Lynch's performance in the role. Sometime the glassy eyed quality works but often she comes across pretty woodenly.

So very much a bridging effort this one and probably my least favourite after the first two and marks the point where you can really tell large parts of the tale are being exercised.(Also not enough Gary Oldman!)

..And The Half Blood Prince

A nicely understated opening shows director David Yeates really starting to get to grips with the franchise and in a strange way it almost reminds of Zack Synder's work on Watchmen.

Again things are getting darker, the cursed student fairly early on being notably creepy and Snapes meeting with Bellatrix shot through with rain and gloom with an added sense of dread. Although it does feel like the storyline of Draco is not emphasised as much as it could have been. At the end it's clear Draco is struggling with what's expected of him but sadly I don't feel enough screen time is given over to him (and I think Tom Felton is one of stronger performers amongst the kids too)

It's hard to tell if Broadbent's slughorn is supposed to be just plain naive or blinded by his desire to 'collect' people as we discover his involvement with educating Tom Riddle on how to make himself seemingly unkillable.

Whilst again the main plotline seems to stutter until the final reel (it takes Harry a long time to realise he can use the luck potion to find out what he needs to know), the Half Blood prince reveal seems almost like an afterthought when it comes, things are better this time round as there is more to generate interest. In particular Hermione and Ron's relationship as the two struggle to actually say what they want to the other.

And in truth Watson and Grint are much better in this installment than Radcliffe who just doesn't sell the idea that Harry is able to lead the other students with any real conviction. Though to be fair he does fair better in the final scenes as he forces his mentor to drink the enchanted water.

So stronger than the previous entry but a little weak as a standalone film and much more a building block, although this is somewhat to be expected at this stage.

..And the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I know this one seems to be often criticised as being an exercise in exposition before the fireworks start but I actually really enjoyed this one, even the camping trip parts.

It's just really well made with a lot of attention to detail. For example this film is much darker not only in content but the hue of the film itself is washed out, greyer and darker than the previous entries (and for the duration not just the opening two minutes; pay attention Verbinski!). And of course on top of that we have things like the teacher pleading with Snape to save her, the torture and marking of Hermione and the general genocide of mudbloods vibe running through things.

I admit the notion of the corrupting pendant is a little bit of a steal from Lord Of The Rings but it isn't overplayed so I'm happy to let it go and does play nicely with the relationship of the lead trio as Ron suddenly finds himself over aware of Harmonie's interactions with Harry. And the soul of Voldemort's attempt to use to this it's advantage is well realised as Ron goes to destroy the locket.

The animation for the tale of the Deathly Hallows is also a good move helping to put across an important part of the story in an imaginative way. You get the feeling if Chris Columbus was still in the chair he'd just of had somewhere read out to screen for five minutes.

Elsewhere though there were a couple of things that felt a little under explained like the significance of Lucious losing his wand to Voldemort and again Draco's struggle to chose where his loyalty really lies isn't focused on as much as it could be.

So it's a thumbs up for this installment overall and I am starting to worry that it says something about me that the darker and grimer things get the more I find to enjoy.

..And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

And we're onto the big finish. First of all I'll say I saw this on the big screen in 3D and would actually say although as far as I know it's a conversion job it's the best example of the new 3D technology I've seen, it impressed me far more than Avatar did.

Onto the film in general as a closing installment I thought it worked well and although I was initially cynical about the need for two films to complete the final tale I would say there is enough material here to justify the move.

A lot of fairly cool moments here such as Neville's tauting of the wildmen, the coming to life of the statues, McGonagall turning out to be kick-ass, the rampaging fire, the dragon back escape but in the end amongst the spectacle it comes down to the character moments.

Whilst it is true some of the characters are undeserved such as Remus and his wife I think the major moments are captured. Ron and Hermione's relationship comes finally comes to a resolution and works well, especially in those moments where she realises he has been paying attention all these years.

Harry's interlude with those he loves manages to be quite moving and avoids falling into saccharine as it could have easily done (and yey, more Oldman) and his face offs with Voldemort are quite tense. Oh, Ralph Fiennes is excellent as the evil wizard. Creepy, slightly deranged, cruel and in this installment managing to combine this with a growing desperation.

I admit I don't quite follow though what exactly allows Harry to live after going to his death in the forest nor really the significance of the wands and their owners. But I did quite like the visual of the ghostly Kings Cross.

Key to the heart of the whole film tough is that flashback of Snape's story (and my I bet his death scene has caused a few nightmares in younger views as it's really quite brutal even if it is indirectly seen) as he turns out to be one of the most tragic character's ever. Also turns out Dumbledore is a bit of git. But that works as the mentor is show to have his faults whilst we learn the mean man was the one to sacrifice the most in the end, basically every shred of his happiness.

Although again I admit I've not put my finger on the significance of Snape having the same patronas as Harry's mother.

One thing that does disappoint is that in the end Voldemort seems to go down quite easily and in fact it feels somewhat anti-climatic when Harry defeats him (the same goes for the end of Bellatrix too).

The closing scene as the gang years later families in two is probably the expected way to conclude (at least there is only one ending as opposed to LOTR's like twenty) but it does feel a little flat in the end, but having said that I'm not sure how it could have been approached differently.

Conclusions

So overall I've enjoyed Project Potter. It's a slow start with a bit of wobbly middle but it's a pretty good ride and a fairly strong tale in the end. I don't think there is too much lost from not having read the books until the final stretch where it seems some of the details to really get the nuances of aspects of it seem to have been skipped over along the way. But I don't think it's enough to really spoil it all.

In the end I still think Radcliffe is the weakest actor of the lead three but certainly does get better as things go along and is solid enough as to not take you out of things. I stand by my view that Grint is the most natural performer but I do suspect it might be Watson who goes on to really establish a career away from the franchise (well if she doesn't get too busy with this fashionista stuff).

Of course the supporting cast of luminaries are all excellent (and of course Bill Nighy appeared eventually) but of those I think it's David Thewlis and Gary Oldman that stand out and seem to really commit to their roles.

Thankfully David Yeates proves a strong guiding hand for the last few installments but it's definitely Alfonso Cuarón's work on the third film that really kicks the franchise into life and I think he is probably the one that ensured there was enough life in it to see things get to the conclusion.

I would also in the end Rowling's writing and storytelling turned out to be stronger than I was expecting it to. Starting off simply it did introduce a number of interesting elements and I think should also be applauded for taking what is essentially a children's series into some very dark places.

So to those like me who've never seen these I would recommend the series both in terms of the tale told and that there is some quality filmmaking to be found here.

(And this is my brief thoughts on things for a fuller musing on thing's you'll probably actually need to talk to me I'm afraid!)




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