Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jim Broadbent
Written by Steve Kloves
Directed by David Yates
Written by Steve Kloves
Directed by David Yates
The Potter movies have never been my cup of tea. My favorite (if you could even use that term) was Prisoner of Azkaban, and I didn't even think that one was better than average. I never made it through more than two of the books, either, so they hold no special place in my heart. So, I wasn't expecting a ton from this sixth movie. And, while it wasn't anything to necessarily rave about, it was definitely the best of the series.
Part of the reason for the winning nature of this flick is David Yates' direction and Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography. The film looks rich and decadent and there were some scenes that really did look beautiful. The muted tones and colors really create an eerie atmosphere, despite the fact that this seems to be the most lighthearted of all the Potter flicks.
It's that lighthearted nature that brings the movie down a bit. It's not that I didn't enjoy the high school melodramatic romances that are going on in this movie, but at 2 hours 45 minutes, I could've done with a ton less of the love triangle of Ron-Hermione-and some other chick. Once again, not like this aspect was bad, but it all just seems like filler...and then, when the really important stuff starts to happen, it feels like it's compacted within the last 20 minutes. Now, this could be what the book is like, too, but it doesn't make it good.
Still, despite my issues with the (lack of) plot, there are some winning performances here. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore is a treat to watch. I also love Alan Rickman's Snape...so utterly nasty that you can't help but love him. The best performance here is from Jim Broadbent. His dim-witted Professor Slughorn is great...a treat whenever he's onscreen. All the kid actors (who aren't really kids anymore) have come a tremendously long way since the first flick, particularly Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. If anyone still needs to work on their acting chops, it's the title character. Mr. Radcliffe is perfectly adequate, but he's such a dud onscreen. This could be an innate problem with the character, but Radcliffe's Potter is just boring.
So, overall, I'm pleasantly surprised with this Potter flick. It's still nothing excellent, but I have hopes that director David Yates can continue the improvements he made in this sixth film in the upcoming two-part finale to the series.
The RyMickey Rating: B-
I actually really want to see this.
ReplyDeleteTwo other things: I'm about 2/3's of the way through Magnolia and if it keeps up the quality it may be my favorite movie of the year so far.
And you probably aren't interested but I'm letting you know anyway; 30 disk United Artists "Essential Collection" here for 50 bucks(http://www.woot.com/) until about 1am on friday. Description of what is in it at the bottom.
Also. Way to choose a poster with the wrong release date. :-D
ReplyDeleteA) Totally would've bought that set if it wasn't already sold out.
ReplyDeleteB) Like I said, it looked really good, but for the most part it felt the most "fluffy" of all the films. Still, I enjoyed it the most, so I'm not sure that was a huge problem for me.
C) I've heard from multiple people that Magnolia is really good.
D) I wanted to be different, hence the poster choice...
jeff you're actually pretty right about this one. shocking.
ReplyDeletethe meat of the story was too packed into the last 20-30 minutes.
but almost everyone seemed to step up acting wise.
The problem was that I almost wanted to see some of these people more than i did. it was so focused on the little love triangles and such that the secondary characters we've come to "care" about are almost non-existent.
Gambon improved. I haven't really liked him too much before this one. He's improved with every movie. I don't think a better actor for Snape exists than Rickman. You have to read the book the see how good he is in the role. best casting of the entire series in my opinion.
radcliffe is the weakest of them all. and the more he grows up the less he seems like the potter I grew up reading about. although this is the first movie where he didn't act like a complete douche.
While I enjoyed the movie and certainly felt it was long enough, I still came out thinking "isn't there more story" but maintained the feeling of "this is the best one and I'd probably watch this one when it comes on TV."
Gregory...there really should be no shock that I'm right on this one. The shock is that you agree with me.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't talk much about it, so thanks for commenting. That being said, since we agree, I'll just leave it at that.