After six and a half films in the span of a decade, what, really, is left to write about the Harry Potter series? The final installment provides the ending the series needed and deserved. For the first time in the whole series, I’m approaching a Harry Potter film the right way. I’m not concerned with its merits as an adaptation of the book. That’s a debate for another time and another website. I’m focusing on the technique, execution and realization of this story on film. With that as my starting point, I can proudly report that Harry Potter goes out with a crowd-pleasing bang.
After learning about the Deathly Hallows in Part 1, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out to locate Lord Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes. Their journey is beset on every turn by danger. The young-adult wizard school pals stage a break-in at Gringotts Wizarding Bank and set their sights on a final good-vs.-evil throwdown with Voldemort and his army of dark wizards in the corridors of Hogwarts.
I doubt I could spoil this film for many people at this point. If you’ve read the book you know what happens. Same goes for anyone who already saw the movie. If, for some reason, you wanted to see this movie but haven’t yet, all I will say is that you are in luck. Unless you’re a purist to the books and live in a bubble where only tiringly literal adaptations like Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets make the grade, you will be pleased with what director David Yates fits into its 130-minute runtime.
On its own, Deathly Hallows Part 2 still comes up short simply because it is half a movie. While Part 1 was mostly build-up, Part 2 sees all of that energy released in a flurry of action, battle sequences, and hundreds of the magical spells and enchantments that we’ve come to expect. I wasn’t crazy about where the first installment left off because it lacked appropriate momentum. Part 2 makes up for that in droves. While there is still uncertainty about the location and appearance of the remaining horcruxes, gone is the sense of aimless wandering. Urgency is the theme for both sides in the looming magical war. This sense of urgency ratchets up the anticipation and the tension.
As with all the other Harry Potter flicks, Part 2 uses a bit too much CGI at times. Unlike some fantasy adventures, this film lucks out because the magical world is largely separate from the real world, making some of the less than stellar effects amenable. If your story is supposed to take place in the real world, audiences expect things to look real and interactive. Pure fictional settings are a gift and a curse because you can set your own rules. This leads to some filmmakers going overboard though. Since Harry Potter’s world is half-real and half-fictional, the filmmakers are able to blur the line of expectations quite well, giving them all the latitude they need to tell their story.
We had to wait several months for this concluding chapter in the Harry Potter film saga. It is well worth the wait and Part 2 undeniably improves upon Part 1. The truth is, though, that they are companion pieces. Neither film tells a complete story, so you have to take them both in at the same time to really get the full picture. In time I plan on re-watching all of the Potter films in order to give them objective reviews uninfluenced by my memory of the books. At that time, I plan on rating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- the complete version, not as a two-parter. This way I can judge it not as a sum of its parts but as the epic conclusion it was always destined to be.
I’m starting this review off with a disclaimer: this is going to be an incomplete review. The reason? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is an incomplete film. Unlike the first six Potter flicks, Hallows Part 1 is an unfinished story. After seeing Part 2 in July 2011, I will be able to give you a true assessment of the last and most ambitious installment to one of the biggest franchises of all time. Until then, please accept these reflections of the first half of the tale…
In the wizarding world, adulthood comes at age 17. Harry has been on the fast-track to maturity his whole life, but the cutesy fun and enchantment of Hogwarts is behind him now. Lord Voldemort’s strength and influence are growing beyond measure. After a daring escape from his aunt and uncle’s house, Harry teams up with his pals Ron and Hermione on a secret mission to locate and destroy Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes, artifacts that contain pieces of his soul.
The road is long, dangerous, and pushes the teenagers to their limits. Relationships must be mended, obstacles overcome, enemies defeated. In many ways, this is the Harry Potter film I have been waiting for. No more silly school scenes with ghosts romping through the hallways; no more lessons from alliteratively-named professors involving absurd-sounding spells; and no more help for Harry. The young wizard and his friends are out of their element and totally clueless about what to do. Harry has done a good job relying on instinct and improvising over the years but reality hits him now like a cold brick in the face.
Hallows Part 1 is interesting because there are stretches of time that are slow and sprawling while other parts all but suffer from information overload. It’s an intriguing balance because the film never feels as long as it really is. This is good because the audience doesn’t get restless, but bad because, when the credits roll, we’re still capable of taking in more. It doesn’t help that the cutoff point is also unsatisfying.
Having read the book, I had a few ideas of how the film could be split with momentum to bridge the gap. No matter where the filmmakers decided to make the cut, Part 1 was always destined to feel incomplete but I think they got it wrong here. Harry’s progress is limited at best and we fade to black with a tragedy for Potter & company but a triumph for Voldemort. It’s a pessimistic and deflating way to say ‘come back next summer for the conclusion!’ Maybe I was foolishly hoping for a Lord of the Rings kind of ending because those films found a more organic jumping point than strict adherence to the books would have dictated.
Staying true to the book is a noble task, even though a myriad of minor details and set pieces are either rushed over or changed, but it may also hurt Hallows in the long run. There is no self-contained story arc within the first half of this tale. Discovering the truth behind the Deathly Hallows is the closest thing we get but that only develops in the second half of this film. Despite a minor victory or two along the way, nothing is resolved and we leave Harry just as clueless as when the film began.
There is also a problem of perception for the audience to work past. Fans of the book series, especially those who read the book shortly before taking in the film, will be dissatisfied by some of the little changes. Comparing a movie to its source book is inevitable but it’s also wrong to do. Film and the written word are two entirely different beasts. Even I have to admit that, all along, I have been basing my ratings for the Harry Potter movies partly as adaptations of the books.
This is unacceptable as a movie lover because books are almost always better because they allow you to create your own artistic vision for the story. When watching (and in my case, reviewing) a movie, you should only be concerned with whether or not the film functions properly and tells a good story; don’t let the details they leave out from the book affect your opinion of the movie. How good was the story the movie told? That’s all that matters.
As far as movies go, Hallows Part 1 does pretty well. Most of the visual effects look sharp and the use of more handheld cameras really pays off in capturing the gritty reality of Harry’s new life in hiding. The locations selected for Harry’s cross-country trek are beautiful and haunting in their isolation. Finally, the young stars of the series carry themselves differently this time. They’re clearly up for the challenge of making a more adult Harry Potter film.
More adult it certainly is! With a little more salty language and a surprising scene involving some supernatural sensuality, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is not for anyone under the age of 15 (at least that’s my opinion). It’s a pretty bold departure from the tone and style of previous installments but it’s the right move. After a little bit of stalling and a fair amount of set up between Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, we finally come to the meat and potatoes. We have to wait until next July for the rest of the main course, but at least it is finally here.
I don’t know if I will re-watch every Harry Potter film before seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2, but at some point I will definitely need to re-evaluate them all. This way I can be sure that my ratings for each film reflect their accomplishments as films and not as adaptations. I’m reserving too much judgment on Hallows just yet because the story isn’t finished. I did dock it a quarter-point though for not explaining the existence of the mirror fragment Harry gazes at throughout the film. I know where it’s from (and so will anyone who has read the books) but this was the first appearance of it in any of the films.
I will probably grade Part 2 as a stand-alone component as well and then write up a true review for both halves combined. One consistent review for one consistent storytelling and filmmaking vision only seems right. Until then, you better believe I will be eagerly awaiting the final chapter.
For all the clamoring about James Cameron’s Avatar during 2009, there were always audible whispers about this gritty little war film. Critics loved it and lined up in droves to throw their annual society honors at it. Sure enough, The Hurt Locker became something akin to The Little Engine That Could. While war films are by no means strangers to Oscar glory, this eventual Best Picture winner took a long and winding path to playing David to Avatar’s Goliath.
For Sergeant First Class William James (Jeremy Renner), war is a drug. As frustrating as his duties may be, diffusing improvised explosive devices in post-invasion Iraq is what makes the man tick. James takes over as the team leader of a three-man Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit after the previous leader was killed in action. His new partners, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge get more than they bargained for with James. He knows his stuff and is willing to take on risks that his crew views as reckless and a danger to all of their lives.
The rest of the film is a series of vignettes, each one showing a dangerous assignment or encounter that befalls the EOD squad. As Sanborn and Eldridge get closer to the end of their tour of duty they become increasingly frustrated with James’ wildcard antics and tempers flare. From diffusing a number of frighteningly complicated artillery bombs to being ambushed in the middle of nowhere, there is very little rest for this war-weary trio.
To call this film intense is an understatement. Director Kathryn Bigelow and her team of filmmakers pull out all the stops to present an in-your-face experience. The opening segment presents you with the grim reality of war- there are no guarantees that anyone gets out alive. We take this prologue into our journey with James and his new partners. Never are we given the option of taking comfort that all three will make it to the end of their tours. This leaves you with a constant unsettled feeling that is frustrating to no end but also a terrific achievement.
One critical ingredient to The Hurt Locker’s effectiveness is its lack of a Hollywood star on the EOD team. Jeremy Renner became a big deal after this film but he and his co-stars were relative unknowns in the industry, mostly nabbing supporting roles in modestly successful films. This gives the characters an everyman feel. They look, talk and act like regular people, making it easy for audiences to connect with and care for these men. They’re no angels, but how effective would a film about a squeaky-clean bomb squad really be?
The way the film is shot adds to the anxiety and emotion. Rarely does the camera cut away to a safe distance. Instead we are forced to take in all the fear, anger and confusion in an up close and personal way. Time rarely skips ahead in each vignette and when it does it’s never by much. This prolonged exposure to the realities of war is draining and just might leave you as breathless as the soldiers.
We get only the briefest of glimpses into the struggle for soldiers to reintegrate back into society. In this case, war and the skills learned during combat are drugs that cannot be given up. Some may view this as pro-war propaganda but it’s really just a case of ‘old habits die hard.’ Anyone engaging in a specific line of work for a long time will struggle to adjust to a new setting that is fundamentally different. If anything, this should raise awareness for supporting our troops when they return to the States to move on with their lives. While it is certainly frustrating to watch, I think the filmmakers are subtly making valid points for us to pick up on.
Despite laying a few ideas before us, The Hurt Locker does not take any kind of political stance on war. It’s not pro-war even though characters like James enjoy what they do. It is also not anti-war despite all the carnage and frustration we see. This is a rare thing, especially for a film centered on the Iraq war. Several films about the recent conflict have been released but many faltered in their one-sidedness. The Hurt Locker plays out like a polished documentary. The audience is like an embedded reporter, sticking beside the soldiers through all the trials and tribulations. There are no sides to take, no inferences to make; all we can do is digest what befalls us.
Filming on location in Jordan with hundreds of Iraqi refugees as background extras adds an enormous amount of realism to the film. There are no pre-fab sets or obvious special effects to create scenes of desolation and endless sand. The actors aren’t just acting as if they are struggling with their environment; they are living in it. That’s real sweat, real heat fatigue, and real dehydration on the screen. That kind of authenticity can’t be beat.
There are only a few pieces to the puzzle that didn’t fit right for me. There is one scene where James leads his EOD trio on an unauthorized reconnaissance mission during the night. This sort of bold action does not make sense to me. It emphasizes James’ rogue status but it doesn’t feel like anything a real soldier would do. There also aren’t any emotional revelations in dealing with ‘addiction’ to war. The soldiers play it close to the vest and just deal with getting through their assignments. We see growth and development on a team level but not on an individual level.
Perhaps this is what held me back from throwing The Hurt Locker into the upper echelon of my rating scale. It’s expertly filmed, perfectly cast, and the writing flows with spot-on realism. The heat of battle is largely an emotional vacuum (save for aggression and fear) but it would have been nice to see a little more internal struggle. I have not yet seen all of the 2009 nominees for Best Picture but I have little doubt that any of them can compete with the intensity of this very worthy winner.
RATING: 3.75 out of 5
(This film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2008 but did not get distribution in America until 2009, allowing it to compete for the 2009 Oscars)
After the first 10 minutes, this was my favorite film in the Harry Potter franchise. After sitting through the rest of it, however, it’s now tied for last place.
A major credit to the filmmakers is the sense of realism on display in this film. We’ve finally begun to break away from the cartoonish settings and the caricatures that the muggle and wizarding worlds had become in the first four films. We finally see some genuine overlap between the two and their co-existence has begun to become believable. Granted, this has a lot to do with the fact that Potter author J.K. Rowling crafted this overlap in the book the film is based on. But, those first 10 minutes were just marvelous and not all credit is due to Rowling.
The opening is bleak- Harry sits in an abandoned playground that is showing its signs of age. The grass is all dried up because it’s the end of summer and it’s a hot one. The digital grading was also a nice touch- heightened yellow tones and a hint of graininess to the camera made the movie feel like high-grade indie stuff. It was just about perfect.
Finally, here was a Harry Potter I could believe in- a real boy stuck balancing a life in two worlds, neither of which is considerably friendly to him at the moment. For the first time I felt that both the Harry Potter character and universe could be real.
Then it all went awry.
One of the biggest issues plaguing this film is the pacing. The fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, took a 600+ page book and turned it into a 2 hour and 40 minute movie. It gutted some of the extra stuff and kept more or less only the meat and potatoes. It worked very well.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tries to take a book that’s nearly 300 pages longer than its predecessor and make the movie version 30 minutes shorter. It makes the action a little too frenetic. Instead of feeling like I was walking through the story, I got the sense that I was being pulled through at a needlessly faster pace. The first two Potter films were longer, so why can’t that be the case here? We’re dealing with an ultimately more interesting and engaging story than those early films, so why the rush? This could have been a three-hour film and no one would have noticed.
Here again, however, some blame is due to be directed at author J.K. Rowling. The story is a sprawling hodge-podge of subplots that never really goes anywhere nor adds up to a satisfying A-plot. Aside from being the target of new Headmistress Delores Umbridge, Harry faces no real central conflict. In place of a titular challenge (the Order of the Phoenix is only relevant for about half of the story) we are treated with an irrationally moody Harry Potter. He is bitter at his friends for something that was completely out of their hands to begin with, and he is mad at the world which doubts him and constantly ridicules his true account that Voldemort is back.
Umbridge hides the fact that she’s out to get Harry until the very end, so she fails as a central villain. Outside of awkward teenage romance and haunting nightmares (neither of which are original to begin with) this story has little going for it. Ultimately it feels like a formulaic, paint-by-numbers Harry Potter adventure. There’s Harry dealing with issues, his friends trying to help, and Harry surviving another attack by Voldemort in the end.
Despite several shortcomings, credit must be given for the stunningly gorgeous sets used for the Ministry of Magic, however. The dark green bricks and lavish architecture was a real treat for the eyes. Sadly, this visual splendor was undone by the horrendous CGI character Grawp, a two or three story tall giant. It’s been five years since the first Lord of the Rings film came out and yet the effects in Harry Potter 5 come nowhere close to matching its quality. A shame for sure.
It is also very much evident that John Williams has backed out of doing the music for the series. While the music is said to be based off the themes he wrote for the first three films, some of the musical choices are just too noticeably not on par with either Williams’ work or the music from HP4. None of the score grabs you and holds you. In fact, some of the music in the end credits is best described as noise- jarring high-pitched electric guitars that made my ears hurt.
As far as advancing the seven-part story of Harry’s youth, the Order of the Phoenix feels a lot like filler. The fact that it is rushed filler makes it taste even less satisfying. A few things happen that certainly shake up the tale (the death of Sirius Black is sad because it means the loss of Gary Oldman and his amazing acting abilities), but little is added to the mix that takes you by surprise. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix feels like a tease of a tale, designed to kill some time before the real action begins in the final two books. From an emotional and expositional standpoint, we’re still very much at the same place we left off at the end of Goblet of Fire, except now people believe Voldemort is back.
Maybe all this is a sign that Harry Potter mania is starting to fizzle out, or maybe this just wasn’t a very well thought out production. Either way, this latest Potter flick has lost much of its magic.
Don’t tell Hollywood that I didn’t give Schindler’s List my highest possible rating. I understand the power of the film and the drama that unfolds but the truth is that I feel that I’ve seen better and more heart-wrenching depictions of the Holocaust than what’s presented here.
That’s not to say List is without merit. It certainly is. The black and white cinematography works to its advantage when showing blood, and it allows for some very artistic and powerful use of light/dark contrast. The fact that the story is true also adds weight to the story, knowing that you’re witnessing an artistic depiction of reality.
Everyone can get something out of this film. We are all flesh and blood and we are all repulsed by the atrocities committed during one of the most senseless violations of human rights and of the human spirit in our history. There is a sticking point though. Schindler’s List will mean more to some than others.
Yes, it’s tragic and uplifting. Yes, it displays some of the horrors human beings had to go through at the hands of their fellow man. But, there is a very slight disconnect with the film, I think, if you aren’t Jewish. Jews will take more out of this film than non-Jews, because Jews are able to connect with this movie on a level no one else can understand. This is all our history, but it is a deeper part of their history than anything else.
Perhaps that explains the rating. I don’t know. It’s excellent and worth watching, but I’ll warn you- it is very, very long and may not be suitable for very sensitive people.
