Feature: Best of 2011 - The Contenders

January's nearly over, and I still haven't produced the annual Filmverdict Top 10 Films of the year.

Never fear! I have a good reason for this: I simply haven't seen as many of the best reviewed films to come out in the UK in 2011 as I like. I am, however, slowly catching up, now that several of them are being released for home viewing.

Well, that's not the only reason. I also haven't settled on the order yet. I find, when looking back, certain films I perhaps didn't love initially have grown on me, and others have gone down in my estimations, so the rankings may not reflect the star ratings I gave at the time, if I reviewed them.

Anyway, with the Oscar nominations having just been announced, I thought I'd offer a list of 'nominations' currently vying for a place in my own personal Top 10 Films of 2011. These are ordered alphabetically so that the order does not indicate preference.

• 127 Hours
• 13 Assassins
• The Adjustment Bureau
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
• Animal Kingdom
• Arrietty
• Black Swan
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• The Fighter
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Green Lantern
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Morning Glory
• The Next Three Days
• Paul
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
• Source Code
• Super 8
• True Grit
• TT3D: Closer to the Edge
• The Way Back

I may have forgotten a few films from this list, and I expect more to be added as I watch them.

The countdown commences...

Cinema Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The craze for 'Nordic Noir' has been sweeping the nation in recent times, thanks largely to Danish TV show The Killing - already remade in the US - and, especially, Stieg Larsson's bestselling "Millennium" trilogy of novels, beginning with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Having already been adapted to film in its native Sweden, now Hollywood has jumped on this bandwagon too. Normally the prospect of an American remake of a successful foreign film is likely to induce groans and scorn, but this time things seem a little different, thanks largely to the man in the director's chair, David Fincher. Never a simple director for hire, Fincher evidently saw a story that he felt able to put his stamp on, and financial backers Sony were only too happy to oblige him, coming off the critical heat of The Social Network.

After the departures of The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, this does have the air of Fincher getting back to his old stomping ground of the gritty adult thriller. For those who have, like me, managed to avoid both the books and the Swedish films, the plot revolves around a murder mystery. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is recruited by an elderly corporate magnate (Christopher Plummer) to investigate the unsolved disappearance of his daughter forty years ago. Plummer's Henrik Vanger lives on his own island, which is also home to many members of his dysfunctional family, and Blomkvist moves into an empty house there to commence his investigation. Where the titular Girl comes into it is uncertain for a good half of the running time. During this period, Fincher frequently cuts back and forth between Blomkvist and tattooee Lisbeth Salander, their plotlines remaining separate until he eventually recruits her as his research assistant.

The search for an actress who could play this extremely complex, forbidding character - she's a outcast loner rocking a goth/punk look, declared socially incapable by the state, and a computer genius, her frightening exterior hiding a vulnerable, sensitive soul - was legendarily extensive, but Fincher eventually admitted that the best choice was an actress who he worked with in The Social Network, Rooney Mara. Great choice. She is incredible, completely submerging herself in the character, managing to be completely convincing in her every skill and nuance. There's an incredibly fine line to walk with this character, but Mara balances on it like an expert. Noomi Rapace received stellar notices for her original take, but I find it hard to believe Mara fails to equal her.

Fincher exhibits a confidence throughout that evinces justified faith in the source material. An attention-grabbing title sequence that recalls the similarly creative openings of Se7en and Fight Club starts us off with unexpected gusto, but the ensuing opening of the film proper is a little bewildering, throwing several characters at us, thickly accented dialogue (although Craig keeps his own natural accent) and some apparently unmotivated intercutting. Never fear, though, for we are in the hands of a master: before long the plot chrystallises and its grip tightens like a vice as the temperature plummets. As soon as Blomkvist's interest is piqued on learning of this missing girl, so is ours. Just try turning away from the screen during the next two hours.

The cross-cutting between Blomkvist and Salander for the first half does make for an occasionally lurching pace, but the rhythm soon settles down. The tempo feels akin to Zodiac, as does Fincher's masterful use of time-compressing montage, but this is a film whose thrills are more immediate, though no less intense. Its fictional origins also allow its mystery to be solved in a way that Zodiac's couldn't be, and it's a resolution that's unforeseen, satisfying, and slightly convenient all at once. The search for the killer proves, ultimately, to be a little bit of a red herring, as the film continues for a stretch after the big reveal. It is then that the film reveals itself to really be about its lead pairing, whose relationship is fascinating and perfectly judged. Structurally, the shape of the narrative doesn't quite fit the template, but that is presumably down to the source. And anyway, what would Fincher want with something conventional?



Summary
Fans of the novel and/or the Swedish film(s) may have a different perspective, but The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is utterly compelling, and looks a lot like a new Fincher masterpiece. A word of warning, though: its original Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, gives a clue to its uncompromising content.

Cinema Review: War Horse (2012)

Steven Spielberg has said numerous times that one of his favourite films is Lawrence of Arabia, so much so that he supposedly watches it before starting production on every movie he makes. War Horse is perhaps the first time that Spielberg’s reverence for David Lean has clearly manifested itself on screen. Its moments of Leanesque grandeur – especially a massed cavalry charge that recalls Doctor Zhivago, albeit with less snow – sit comfortably with more intimate character beats, as exemplified in Lean’s epics. Spielberg is a director whose own style is far from anonymous, however, and he adds his signature crowd-pleasing bravado and penchant for sentimentality to the mix. That heady concoction coalesces to form one of the more satisfying films in the director’s recent career, and a pleasing throwback to old-fashioned Hollywood in the best possible way.

War Horse has its origins in a Michael Morpurgo children’s novella, but the catalyst for this film was the acclaimed West End stage play that gave Spielberg the belief that this narrative originally told from a horse’s first person perspective could be transformed into a film. It’s a real weepie too, wearing its heart on its sleeve as to few films have the confidence to do any more; some moments teeter into mawkishness, especially in the early going, but the sheer sincerity wins you over. The story follows horse Joey from birth in rural Dartmoor through battle in the First World War. During this time he is owned/adopted by numerous people, from farmhand Albert (newcomer Jeremy Irvine, endearing if over-earnest at times) – whose father buys thoroughbred Joey despite his being utterly unsuited to ploughing work – who is the film’s main human protagonist, to an English officer, to a pair of young deserting German solders. Keeping its attention for the most part on Joey, the film is unavoidably episodic but it doesn’t prove to be a drawback in this instance as each individual episode is heartwarming and/or gripping within its own right.

Never shy of a barnstorming set-piece, Spielberg delivers some humdingers here. The aforementioned horse charge is superb, as the British cavalry emerge from fields of tall wheat and sweep through a German encampment. There’s also a prolonged detour into the Battle of the Somme, one of the few times the narrative departs from Joey, which, while owing something to Kubrick’s Paths of Glory as with every subsequent film featuring trench warfare, instantly brings to mind Saving Private Ryan: there’s still no-one better in the business at shooting war. Having said that, War Horse doesn’t replicate the gritty, washed out look that everyone copied after Ryan; it takes a very beautiful classical approach, and is probably the most gorgeously lensed film to come from the Spielberg/Janusz Kaminski partnership. Some could criticise it for being too romanticised, with Dartmoor perpetually bathed in golden sunshine, not to mention the most perfectly cinematic sunset since Gone With the Wind, and even the trenches have an eerie, ethereal beauty.

Spielberg may not quite have the box office clout he used to but he’s still a master manipulator of the emotions. He plays the audience like a fiddle throughout, eliciting laughs, shocks, and a few tears with perfect timing and judgment. One standout scene is a quiet one in which an English and German soldier team up to free Joey from some barbed wire is funny but completely natural and human, not to mention really moving, highlighting the basic insanity of war. Seeing War Horse with a full audience is a joy, as the audience gasps and laughs along in unison. Only the best movies sweep you along as War Horse manages to. It never flinches from the harsh reality but remains a cross-generational crowdpleaser. It’s what event movies used to be like.



Summary
Just as with his recent Tintin, I find myself using the word ‘old-fashioned’ when describing Spielberg’s War Horse, but it’s a word I use in an entirely complimentary sense. War Horse is grand, thrilling entertainment, providing the sort of excitement, emotion and catharsis for which the cinema exists.

Blu-ray Review: Transformers - Dark of the Moon (2011)

For his third bite at the Transformers cherry, Michael Bay has gone back to the drawing board, or at least made a gesture in that direction. After the cacophonous Revenge of the Fallen, a film Bay himself has admitted some shortcomings of (which can’t have been helped by the writer’s strike forcing a half-written script to be produced), Dark of the Moon feels slightly more in the vein of the first, successful, outing. Bay certainly hasn’t reinvented the wheel, and indeed this third instalment is no less bombastic than its processor (more, perhaps, if that’s possible), but it is less muddled and convoluted. In fact, after misguidedly trying to forge some sort of epic mythology in the second film, this time it’s relatively more streamlined, with a more straightforward plot. The opening ten-minute prologue sets it all up nicely, showing how an Autobot ship crashlanding on the moon was the catalyst for NASA’s Apollo missions. A clever melding of actual archive footage and CG-assisted reconstructions delivers the necessary exposition efficiently, allowing the rest of the film to move forward without getting too bogged down.

Unfortunately, but predictably, the first hour or so thereafter is largely uninspiring. We’re back with Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky and his new implausibly hot girlfriend played by English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Bay and Megan Fox having had a public spat. Her replacement is not quite as awful as you might expect in the acting department, but her role is as token as it gets (look great in spotless white clothes while running though scenes of massive destruction). LaBeouf has marginally toned down his manic antics and thankfully a lot of the dead weight characters from the prior films have been dropped, replaced by a some enjoyable newcomers like an orange John Malkovich, smarmy Patrick Dempsey, and the grizzled voice of Leonard Nimoy but this first hour still feels slightly aimless. Also trimmed is the writing team, Ehren Kruger now receiving sole credit, but that hasn’t eliminated the traditional Transformers propensity for gaping plot holes. As suspected, it proves largely to be just treading water to delay the grandstand finale, which consists of an hour or more of alarmingly scaled carnage.

Bay knows how to put his budget on screen like few others. The finale basically sees the whole of Chicago engulfed in mechanised warfare, and it’s thrillingly staged, if a little overextended at points (e.g. when an enormous Decepticon worm-thing demolishes a skyscraper, which goes on far too long). It’s spectacle in its purest form, narrative cast by the wayside in the quest for ever bigger bangs, which could be a good or a bad thing. For my part, I must admit, on a visceral level I found it extraordinary. It’s rare to see scale this monumentally huge, and despite all Bay’s detractors, he can certainly construct an action scene. For the most part the geography remains clear and concise, and he tends to hold back slightly from his music video cut-cut-cut style, allowing each shot a bit more time to breathe and the viewer more time to take it all in (it’s hardly Kubrick, though). This may be a consequence of his employing 3D for the first time. It’s a combination that seems a recipe for a headache, but Bay’s wise easing of his more ADHD tendencies pays off, even when watching in good old two dimensions. Strangely, given all the bombast, the end is again abrupt, as if Bay is saying, “Right, you’ve got what you paid for, so I’m done.”



Release Information
Country: UK / Region: Free / Version: N/A / Discs: 1 / Distributor: Paramount

Presentation
As you'd expect, the disc is a treat for the eyes and ears - an advert for Blu-ray. The film was mostly shot digitally in native 3D (this Blu-ray is 2D), but it looks very filmlike throughout, albeit retaining Bay's usual penchant for extremely saturated colours. Detail and clarity is beyond reproach and the effects are seamless. The soundtrack comes in Dolby TrueHD 7.1 - Paramount being one of the only studios preferring Dolby to DTS-HD these days - and it's fantastic, making some of the best use of surround sound I've ever heard. With endless depth, impact and nuance, it's beyond reproach.

Extras
Nothing whatsoever - Paramount are saving them for the 3D edition.



Summary
A definite improvement over the second film, Dark of the Moon is no revelation but it does deliver everything most fans could want out of a Transformers flick, never skimping on the phenomenal action.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Epilogue

After watching all eight films in the space of a week, I feel like I've known Harry Potter for years. I do slightly regret not seeing them before now, and particularly I can imagine seeing the final film with a cinema audience could have been a great communal experience. Also in my sprint through the films perhaps I slightly missed out on the anticipation that would build from film to film, but on the other hand, I feel that the wait between each instalment might have been too frustrating, given each film's reluctance to be truly satisfying in its own right.

I definitely have a newfound respect for J.K. Rowling after watching the series; her imagination is extraordinary. Even if many of the individual elements of her mythos are familiar fantasy tropes, they've never been combined in this way before, and I'm certain that her saga is unique and will probably remain so; it's unlikely that something similar will come along again.

The success of the series in both the filmic and literary worlds still seems remarkable, despite the evident quality of both. Few film series have manage to last so long and hold onto so much of their core audience, especially in such a serialised format that discourages new viewers mid-series (as it did me). The fact that the final film was the highest grossing film in the series shows that the filmmakers and Rowling certainly got a great deal right, and even before the big finale, the box office consistency ($900 million worldwide or thereabouts each time) is unparalleled. Sure, if you were being pedantic, you could argue that accounting for ticket price inflation the audiences gradually decreased in number, but that doesn't lessen the achievement.

The first film launched soon before that other blockbuster fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, and compared to the Peter Jackson trilogy Potter was never as successful in its adaptation of the books so suffered in comparison; the critical acclaim and awards recognition that the former received has never been quite matched. In some ways, you could say screenwriter Steve Kloves had a tougher job than Jackson and his collaborators in that he was adapting a series that was still being written and so did not know what elements would later become important, thereby making the necessary trimming that much more difficult. The first two films were accordingly very conservative adaptations; it's only when the books grew longer and the directors more adventurous that the stories became truly filmic.

From the third film onwards, Potter managed to come into its own. Azkaban was the first film to really gave hints of the heights the series could attain, and remains a high water mark five films later. Looking back, though, it probably isn't quite my favourite one. I'd rank them in this order, worst to best:

8. Philosopher's Stone - The hesitant first steps, hampered by poor acting from its inexperienced lead actors, cheap looking effects and a lack of purpose and plot.
7. Chamber of Secrets - A big improvement from the first, but still slightly lacking in terms of pacing and narrative construction.
6. Order of the Phoenix - A downbeat middle chapter which I find I like more in hindsight than I did while watching it.
5. Deathly Hallows Part One - Too meandering for its own good, but an engrossing and enjoyably character-driven set-up for the finale.
4. Goblet of Fire - Seems to be unfairly maligned by hardcore fans, but I found it a fun, action-packed adventure with great drive and humour.
3. Deathly Hallows Part Two - The emotional, epic finale delivered just about everything I wanted.
2. Prisoner of Azkaban - When Potter really started to mean business. The most beautiful film of the series with a superb second half, a real sense of threat and great acting.
1. Half-Blood Prince - The Potter formula honed to its most thrilling and gripping point. Darkly compelling, with a killer (literally) ending, entertaining character beats and everything you'd want from a year at Hogwarts.


That's that, then. Twenty years of work from the author, ten years by the filmmakers, and a week for me to watch. I do regret not seeing the films before now, but I'm glad I finally have. Their success is deserved. It has been fun.

Cinema Review: Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

From the classic TV show theme tune, to “your mission, should you choose to accept it”, Mission: Impossible has all the great building blocks of a long-running franchise, but its fluctuating fortunes have followed that of its star, Tom Cruise. In 1996 he was an A-lister, a status confirmed by the success of the first film, while by 2000 he was a megastar, propelling M:I-2 to the series’ highest gross. The third instalment, however, came after Scientology and that Oprah moment, and seemed to signal that Cruise’s days as box office dynamite were over. Another five and a half years later, Ethan Hunt is back again, this time not with a number in the title. There have been mutterings that this is the film where the star passes the torch to his successor, Jeremy Renner, but in fact it’s as much Cruise’s show as ever, with no hints that he’s running out of steam. Quality-wise the series has not conformed to the box office numbers: J.J. Abrams’ M:I:III was an accomplished action blockbuster, significantly improving on John Woo's earlier effort. This fourth entry, produced by Abrams but directed this time by live-action first-timer Brad Bird, continues in similar form. It’s exciting, spectacular stuff, if never quite doing enough to linger in the memory as anything more than an efficient diversion.

The only scene, really, that does linger in the memory is a central set-piece that involves Cruise scaling the outside of the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It’s a stunning sequence, vertiginously shot and with a pleasing reliance on keeping everything as real as possible. The series has never been short of thrills and spills – often involving the star dangling from something – and this is one of the highlights. Ghost Protocol’s weakness is in its plot, which gets short shrift, and is a bit of a throwback involving a corrupt tycoon trying to start World War III between old enemies America and Russia, first by bombing the Kremlin and then, come the film’s finale, by nuking San Francisco. The film eschews J.J. Abrams’ personal approach where Hunt’s new marriage was the driver of much of the story in favour of a more stripped down style. There’s barely a pause for exposition or character, barring the slow reveal of Renner’s backstory in a couple of scenes, which ties into that of Hunt. Without anything more to enjoy than a succession of bombastic, effectively staged action (with typical ridiculously exaggerated sound effects, where punches sound like blunderbusses), it gets slightly wearying at times.

The saviour is Bird’s commitment to building suspense, which he does several times to real nail-biting extremes. An early scene where Cruise and comic relief Simon Pegg sneak into the Kremlin with the help of some nifty gadgetry is a great example, as is the sequence following the Burj ascent where Cruise and Renner impersonate two baddies in a tense exchange. The suspense is heightened by the film’s refusal to rely on that old M:I staple of the impossibly perfect disguise, which is written entirely out of the plot. To be honest, it removes a little bit of the fun, but after M:I-2’s exhausting reliance on it, the gimmick does not have the novelty it once did. Cruise’s commitment to putting himself in harm’s way continues to be beneficial, giving the action more of a hardhitting reality than it would have if it relied more on CGI and body doubles (although I’m sure the contribution of the stuntmen here is still extensive). The lack of a good villain, however, proves to be a hindrance by the end; Michael Nyquist probably has about 5 lines and he isn’t particularly threatening as a briefcase toting businessman. The menace of Philip Seymour Hoffman is certainly missed.



Summary
The slightly awkwardly titled Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is overflowing with first rate action but is slightly lacking in substance to back it up, a drawback that stems from the pursuit of the constant adrenaline rush that audiences seem to expect. Nevertheless Brad Bird’s first directorial effort outside of animation proves that he is, as expected, more than capable behind a real camera too.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 8

YEAR SEVEN
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two

I apologise in advance. This is going to be a long one. Also, for those who care, beware of spoilers - I've tried to avoid them until now but it's going to be impossible here.

Whether it’s a trilogy or, in this case, an octology (a word I just made up but it sounds right), the final film in a series always has an almost impossible task to live up what has come before. When a series has the life, popularity, and massive worldwide fanbase to make it a cultural phenomenon, that task becomes even tougher. Can Harry Potter manage that Herculean feat?

My verdict: Yes. Mostly.

Having had a couple of days to reflect since watching it – unlike my previous critiques, which have been written almost immediately after watching – I don’t think it’s my favourite of the series, an honour which goes to either Prisoner of Azkaban or Half-Blood Prince, but it is a triumphant finale worthy of its predecessors. The decision to split the final book in two may have been primarily motivated by cynical quest for cash, but it does have a positive effect on the film. Hallows part one may have dragged in places for some viewers (it held my attention though), but this whole film is a practically breathless dash for the finish line, but a dash that doesn’t feel truncated due to having to cram too much in. It certainly has plenty of ground to cover even just being the second half of a book, but the pace of the plotting feels brisk rather than stupidly rushed. It still adds up to the shortest film of the lot.

After the non-ending of the first part, this one picks up straight away. There’s a small breather while Harry talks to Ollivander (John Hurt), but as soon as the trio decide they have to rob Gringott’s bank, where a Horcrux is being stored, the action never lets up. The bank heist is superb, and it’s satisfying to see elements introduced so long ago, such as Ollivander and the bank, come to have some important function in the plot. The sequence feels straight out of an Indiana Jones film or Star Wars (I had distinct trash compactor flashbacks when the characters started to get crushed by multiplying objects in the vault), and it’s as confident a set-piece as this series has ever staged, complete with great CGI and a very annoyed dragon.

But this film is really all about the long awaited Battle for Hogwarts, and the film doesn’t take too long to put the pieces in place, including Harry, stepping foot back onto the hallowed ground after spending an uncharacteristic film away from it. Harry and co reach it via some help from a new character, Dumbledore’s brother (Ciaran Hinds), who has apparently been glimpsed once before in the films – he owns the pub in the village of Hogsmeade – but has never had a line (and there was played by a different actor). He answers some mysteries brought up by DH1, in the process making one of Harry’s escapes in that film feel like much less of a convenient Deus Ex Machina.

As Harry reaches his friends holed up in Hogwarts, it’s accompanied by the most rousing statement of Hedwig’s Theme since John Williams was writing the music, and it did make me miss Williams’ presence here and in the recent films, despite solid work by his replacements. Alexandre Desplat continues on from DH1 and does enjoyable if forgettable work, livened up by more utilisation of the original themes than in his first effort or his predecessors’ (Patrick Doyle and Nicholas Hooper). I particularly enjoyed the full concert arrangement of Williams’ theme at the start of the end credits. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

It’s great fun seeing all the pieces slot into place for the big showdown. In particular Maggie Smith’s Professor Minerva McGonagall reveals hitherto unseen (but suspected) badassery when she boots Snape out of the great hall and summons a load of protection statues – another callback to Philosopher’s Stone (the chess pieces) – and squeals in delight like a little girl at being able to cast that spell. The first assault starts quite quickly, and before long Voldy’s Death Eaters manage to break through the protective cocoon that the Hogwarts professors have conjured.

In the meantime Harry has to find another Horcrux by meeting an elusive ghost, and Ron and Hermione visit a familiar Chamber to recover a Basilisk tooth, which finally leads to their big first kiss, which must have been a cause of some cheering for cinema audiences (it’s about time, and it’s nicely played). Harry’s quest takes him to the junk-filled Room of Requirement, rather larger and even more cluttered than I remember it previously, where he confronts Malfoy and outruns a massive fireball in another impressively scaled set-piece. There’s definitely no expense spared on this film.

The first round of the main event has no shortage of excitement, but ends quite unpredictably when Voldemort calls a temporary truce, asking for Harry to come forward and sacrifice himself. There’s enough time to give Snape a death scene and finally reveal his moving backstory in a lengthy, and deserved, flashback. We now know how Rowling convinced Alan Rickman to take the part, filling in him in on his character’s future arc, and it is a humdinger. Rickman has been a joy in the role and Snape is finally revealed to be one of the best, most intriguing and most complex characters – just as we always knew he would be. Good old dearly departed Dumbledore also gets some face time in flashbacks, revealing further depths and motivations to his character too, making him far more than just the benevolent grandfather figure as originally embodied by Richard Harris. Michael Gambon proved to be an able replacement for the late actor, making the role his own especially when he got more to do later on.

Harry’s mano-a-mano with Voldemort – Feinnes is more chilling than ever – in the haunted forest is clearly the scene Rowling had been building up to all along. All the suspicions about whether Harry dies reach fruition here: the answer is a resounding ‘sort of’. Yes, Voldemort casts the fatal spell, and Harry visits the afterlife, a spectral King’s Cross Station, where he meets Dumbledore again, who basically tells him he isn’t dead if he doesn’t want to be. There’s also a bloody foetus of Voldemort lying under a bench. Yeah. This part I wasn’t sure about, and it’s really the only development I wasn’t entirely happy with.

Naturally, Voldy, thinking he’s won, marches back to Hogwarts triumphantly, Hagrid in tow carrying Harry’s lifeless body. Given the previous scene it’s all a little predictable – you know Harry is going to come back to life. That said, it’s still a satisfying moment when he does.

The final duel between the pair is slightly brief and feels a bit easy, but in hindsight I’m not sure what else the filmmakers could have done. Really, after all that buildup, there was no way it for it not to be a slight anticlimax. Harry Potter has never been purely about the action, which is one of its virtues, yet this film delivers as both a pure action spectacle and an emotional farewell. There are numerous heartstopping moments of awe and pathos, some laughs, at least one cathartic redemption and several deaths, albeit all of minor characters. There is as much a tangible sense of threat as there could be, given the prior certainty that the villains are never going to win, and the deaths do give it some consequence. In that sense it delivers pretty much everything I personally hoped for or expected, without much truly surprising.

In the end it worked out well having David Yates direct the last four films, as it’s obvious that he increased in confidence in his handling of scale since Order of the Phoenix. Indeed, DH2 could be described as epic. He’s also at home with the characters, and the actors are evidently at home with him given the strength of their performances. He seems to share my distaste for the Dursley scenes, as Privet Drive only featured in two of his films, and any speaking roles for the Dursleys themselves only remain in Phoenix. (Their final scene was cut from DH1.) He has also lightened up a bit in the visual department since Half-Blood Prince, this final two-parter actually having an attractive, if still subdued, colour scheme. I have a few niggles regarding geographical inconsistencies in Hogwarts itself – the main square where much of the battle takes place in this final instalment has been conspicuously absent in any prior film, which is a little jarring, for example, but hardly that important.

DH2 ends with the 19-year-later epilogue, which I did know was coming, having heard spoilers when the book first came out. Although I thought the concept sounded cheesy I actually think it was quite well done in the film, with relatively convincing age make-up on the young actors.

Overall I was highly impressed with the film. I must admit, I did actually miss the old Harry Potter formula in this climactic brace - Half-Blood Prince turned out to be the last time we’d see all the familiar beats, like catching the Hogwarts Express, meeting a new professor, playing Quidditch etc. Luckily Prince did that as well as any of them, having finally refined the formula into something properly filmic. In hindsight Hallows does feel too extended in its first half – some of the meanders in the plot turned out to have little real relevance – and it became a little bit contrived, but I’d imagine it works well edited together as a 4.5-hour single film. It certainly does not feel like it staggers over the finish line having expended all its energy. It’s still a series with more to give, which is probably exactly the right time to finish.

I’ll write one more entry to finish my marathon, looking back over the series as a whole.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 7

YEAR SEVEN
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One

Huh. A Harry Potter film without Hogwarts. Never thought we'd see the day.

Deathly Hallows is the first film in the series to completely throw out the now established template and it's actually quite invigorating. No longer do you have the reassuringly familiar tropes of a typical year at Hogwarts - ride on the train, Dumbledore's introductory speech, new Dark Arts teacher, and so on. It's all absent here, replaced by the Potter variation on a road movie. The complete unpredictability gives it a whole new lease of life.

In the very first minutes you know we've reached The End. (Well, Part 1 of the end.) The Dursleys move out (I wonder if that's the last we see of them - if so, they did prove to be mostly pointless after all, except for establishing Harry in the first movie), Hermione leaves home (and tragically wipes her parents' memory of her), and Ron looks pensive at The Burrow. This is followed by the main title, after which we visit some hereto unfamiliar mansion as Snape arrives. It turns out to be a meeting of Voldemort and his lackeys, in something akin to the meeting of the villains in the Bond movie Thunderball. Given V's physical absence from Half-Blood Prince it comes as a bit of a surprise.

Next, several members of the Order show up at the now deserted Privet Drive to meet Harry, which means a role call of many of the characters, including Brendan Gleeson's Mad-Eye Moody, missed in the last film. Six of the characters take Polyjuice Potion so they all look like Harry, as a decoy for the Voldemort's followers. Hagrid has the task of transporting the real Harry in his motorbike sidecar to the relative safe haven of the Burrow. What follows is a great action sequence, probably one of the best in the series to date and the most adrenaline pumping, as Hagrid and Harry soar into the sky only to be immediately confronted by Death Eaters. They eventually make it to their destination but not after a scrape or two, and we quickly learn that not all the characters were so lucky. This sure isn't just a simple children's story now.

With Hogwarts no longer safe and the Ministry of Magic overthrown by the baddies, Harry is forced to go on the run searching for the Horcruxes, enchanted objects that hold fragments of Voldemort's soul, and of course Ron and Hermione tag along too. Numerous set-pieces follow, including several close shaves and an infiltration of the Ministry; there are never any moments when you feel the characters are safe. The Ministry transforms into a fascist organisation like something out of Orwell's 1984, adding to the film's at times post-apocalyptic feeling that is certainly new. The highly episodic quest narrative brings in a sense of repetition at times - each big event involves Harry and co visiting someone, only to narrowly escape a Death Eater attack a short while later. However, most of these set-pieces are excellent within their own right and extremely suspenseful at times, particularly when Harry and Hermione meet an old lady in the village of Harry's birth.

After the first act, the entire dramatic burden of the film falls on the shoulders of the young leads, and I was duly impressed with how they take the strain. All three are practically unrecognisable in terms of acting skills compared to when we first met them, and they are completely convincing in their roles. The middle section of the film has been criticised as slow and padded as it turns to a character-centric approach, but the three actors totally held my attention. Their friendship feels completely genuine at this point, making moments like when Ron (under the influence of a Horcrux) leaves the group actually a bit heartbreaking. A scene where Radcliffe and Watson share a melancholy dance in a tent is a well judged, poignant moment.

Dividing the film into two parts (beyond being a money-spinning move by Warner Bros) has allowed the script to include more from the source novel, which probably means that the film's narrative shortcomings (i.e. its at times rambling episode nature) can probably be traced back to Rowling. The film does also rely on a pretty good recollection of previous films - easier when you've watched them all in the previous week - and no doubt, once again, the book would fill in some moments that seem unexplained on screen. A first-rate adaptation still eludes this series, but still the moments where the earlier planning become evident are satisfying (such as when plot elements introduced several years prior come to the fore), proving that Rowling and the filmmakers have been careful to think ahead. There are inconsistencies, such as geographical ones, but overall it's impressive how cohesive the series is in its plotting.

Naturally, being just Part 1 of 2, this instalment inherits the series' previous habit of delivering inconclusive endings and amplifies it, but that was to be expected, and does not prevent Deathly Hallows Part 1 from being a gripping adventure that dares to deviate from the norm.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 6

YEAR SIX
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

We're getting to the business end, and it sure feels like it.

Carrying on from where Order of the Phoenix left off, David Yates crafts Half-Blood Prince into a tightly wound suspense piece. There are not as many wham-bam pyrotechnics as Goblet of Fire but certainly more than Phoenix, which means it strikes a pretty good balance. It's also a bit longer than Phoenix, which I did not mind at all, because I'm well and truly hooked at this point.

Like so many films in this series, though, I was uncertain about the start. However, it's not, this time, because of the Dursleys (they don't appear). One of the opening scenes depicts a bunch of flying Dementors causing the Millennium Bridge in London to collapse, in a scene that could come from a disaster movie. Though the scene itself is fine, it just feels out of place, and seems to have little plot relevance. I keep finding that I'm always uncomfortable when a Harry Potter film turns to the real world, and I can't quite put my finger on why.

Nevertheless, soon Dumbledore whisks Harry off and it's back to a degree of business as usual. I say a degree because Yates pushes his tonal choices further still. Dumbledore's little journey with Harry to meet Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), who becomes the latest new professor, is so darkly lit it's almost funny. Does Yates have something against lightbulbs? Anyway, you can't accuse him of not having a unifying vision. I can't say I'm a complete fan of his colourless styling - well, colourless except shades of brown - but it's distinctive to say the least. The VFX are certainly better here, which is a relief. I notice ILM seemed to have a bigger role this time round, and they continue to be amongst the best in the business.

Discussions about the visuals out of the way, I can get to the important stuff. Prince unfolds with a layer of mystery which is compelling viewing. Although Yates again leans off the accelerator pedal compared to Newell and Cuaron, the slower pace is counteracted by a subtle intensity that really drew me in. I know something big is around the corner, but not really what that will entail, which is enticing. As the early scenes unfolded I found myself glued to the screen, especially when Snape made an appearance. Rickman has his biggest part yet and is captivating with his ambiguous motivations (and signature pauses mid-sentence). Also Draco Malfoy's role is enlarged, actor Tom Felton having been somewhat on the sidelines in recent outings, and his arc goes in a fascinating direction.

Increasingly these films are getting quite grown up. Not only are the actors aging - and a little faster than their on-screen characters, which you can tell (the producers got lucky that Daniel Radcliffe never had a growth spurt) - so is the primary audience, and the filmmakers have adjusted the tone accordingly. It even gets downright scary in a sequence towards the end, where Dumbledore takes Harry to a mysterious coastal cave and they are greeted by some denizens that are not far off the walking dead. The set-piece is superbly handled by Yates, making up for (once again) the slight lack of an ending.

Yates absolutely nails one epochal event, however. I felt he slightly muddled the major death in Phoenix but this time he handles it brilliantly. Even though, having read spoilers in the past, I had a vague idea what was coming, it was still a major hold-your-breath moment for me, and this time Yates lingers on characters' reactions, making it so much more moving.

I felt Prince had a slightly looser structure than previous entries, which I quite enjoyed. Each prior film has had a very clear feel of putting all the building blocks in place for later relevance; you know if some object or creature is introduced in the first act it's going to be made use of come the third. This time there's less of that predictability. There is still, however, a frustrating omission of some important explanations, but I've come to accept now that I would only glean these details from the books. The main one that I still fail to have grasped is Voldemort's motivation.

There's more emphasis on relationship stuff here, which some may scoff at, but I must admit I enjoy that stuff and was pleased to see it make a bit of a return after Phoenix. It makes their story much more relatable than it would otherwise be, despite the soap opera connotations. It's all pleasingly played and with truly likeable characters, so in my book it's time well spent. Rupert Grint is especially entertaining, going from unlikely Quidditch hero to hilarious unwitting victim of a love potion.

My first reaction once the credits rolled was that I'd just seen a damn good film. May it continue for the remaining two-parter, when I finally reach the Deathly Hallows.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 5

YEAR FIVE
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

So, I'm down to my last new director of the series - David Yates is the man behind all the remaining movies. I think I'll actually miss seeing more new interpretations of the Potterverse; one of the things I've really enjoyed so far is the different flavours each director has brought (even if that flavour in Chris Columbus' case was vanilla). With the knowledge that Yates would be seeing the series out, I crossed my fingers that I would like his take. After Cuaron and Newell, Yates was another offbeat choice, having had only TV work (albeit acclaimed) under his belt.

Again, it's immediately obvious that the new director has brought a new aesthetic and character. The colour palette is desaturated and heavy on the shadows; the trend that has gradually seen the series get darker continues. It's tonally darker too. The wide-eyed whimsy of the early years seems a distant memory now (even though I only started a few days ago!), replaced by some serious, heavy-duty stuff. The occasional moments of humour are swamped by the pervasive gloom. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

There's quite a lot of introspection in this film, right from the start. The first scene begins with a wordless Harry just contemplating. It demands more use of Radcliffe's acting muscles, and he lives up to the challenge, improving all the time. Throughout this film Harry is a troubled soul - it even approaches psychological horror territory occasionally - and Radcliffe delivers a performance of authority and conviction.

Having had a film off, the Dursleys return this time, much to my chagrin, but Yates' handling of them is for me the most successful yet. This time they're reasonably like real people rather than clownish caricatures; indeed the muggle world scenes have a sense of realism that's new to the series and makes them a better fit. In fact much of Yates' approach seems to revolve around this realistic approach, his Hogwarts being grounded in an earthy verisimilitude too. The only exception is the Ministry of Magic, a location not thus far seen in the movies, which looked too fake to me, with its shiny black tiles and glowing green fireplaces. It's the first time I have found myself questioning the production design in the franchise. Admittedly, when later we return to the Ministry for the finale, it makes for a good arena in which battle can commence.

Phoenix takes a bit more time to actually get to Hogwarts than recent instalments, mainly because Harry is forced to stand trial for use of magic in the presence of a muggle (a normal, non-magic-using person, for those not keeping up). Surprisingly, the film as a whole feels in less of a rush than the last two - surprising because this is the shortest film yet, made from the longest book. It's interesting that the necessary condensation required to squeeze a 700-page novel into a film was far more evident and obvious in Goblet of Fire than it is here. Phoenix actually goes about its adaptation with efficiency and grace, its narrative never feeling too compressed. It probably reflects that the book is more padded, longer but with less incident, than its predecessor, but I also wonder what part the screenwriter played. This is the only film in the whole series not written by Steve Kloves, Michael Goldenberg taking over instead.

Characters really seemed to take a front seat this time, with the plot being less of a relentless driving force. The lead trio really have found their groove now, and supporting characters receive more time in the spotlight, from the terrific Gary Oldman's Sirius Black to Alan Rickman's sneeringly entertaining Professor Snape. This year's latest new professor is Delores Umbridge, played with delicious relish by Imelda Staunton. Permanently clad all in pink and with a sunny demeanour hiding one of the most detestable personalities J.K. Rowling could have possibly come up with, she makes Lord Voldemort look like a pussycat.

The big V is back again this time, remaining in the shadows (and Harry's dreams) most of the time only to again take corporeal form for the climax, which is another great showdown. Phoenix is pretty light on action - particularly compared to the last two films - so the battle at the end comes as a relief. Having said that, I'm increasingly getting the impression that I would have found it intensely frustrating to watch these films when they were originally released, each more than a year apart, because none of them has been quite satisfying within its own right. I guess the fact that I want to find out what happens next is a sign that the filmmakers are doing something right, but none of the films have managed to work as single entities. The feeling was exacerbated here, as Phoenix is all buildup; the tension is released somewhat by the ending but there's not quite a payoff.

Despite generally liking Yates' artistic direction I did come away with some grumbles. I still miss the touches of the fantastic that Cuaron used to bring Hogwarts to life, Yates' drab palette having sucked out some of the magic. The CGI effects are actually a slight step back overall, particularly a friendly(ish) giant who just doesn't work at all. The film is lacking some action in the midsection; the relentless pacing of Goblet is replaced by a lot of brooding, which works to increase the tension and sense of imposing doom but lessens the excitement. A game of Quidditch wouldn't have gone amiss. Also the death of a character is slightly bungled, to the extent that I questioned if he had actually died, so abrupt was the event. Even though he was a great character I felt no emotional tug when he died, mainly because I wasn't sure what I had seen.

Not a complete triumph in my book, then, but still overall an engrossing effort with plenty to offer. The stakes are clearly being raised now - I just hope the remaining films can live up to the potential.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 4

YEAR FOUR
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Another year, another director. This time Mike Newell takes the reigns - another slightly surprising choice given he had previously mainly done small dramas and comedies. Like his predecessor, though, he proves adept at stepping up into the blockbuster realm. Again, he brings a slightly different tone; there are fewer visual tricks and the slightly Gothic aura has been replaced by something a bit more anonymous but not particularly detrimentally so. Newell's talent, as hinted by his background, comes in the character interaction, from which he draws much humour. This is certainly the funniest of the films yet, but not to the extent that the laughs come at the expense of character.

Straight from the opening WB logo you can sense something different is afoot. This is the first film in the series not to start at Privet Drive; instead, we open with a shadowy, suspenseful scene that sets an engrossing tone immediately. The music - Patrick Doyle replaces John Williams' more whimsical style, only reusing the signature Hedwig's Theme - adds a fresh flavour. It turns out to be Harry's dream, from which he's woken up by Hermione, and it's off to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys. I almost cheered when I realised the Dursleys had been omitted.

The scale is impressive immediately, but there's hardly time to take it in: within minutes (and without even a single game of Quidditch) we leave the World Cup and head to Hogwarts once more. It's certainly exciting and eventful - there's more action in the first ten minutes than the whole first film - but seems a little rushed. The same could be said of a lot of the film. The book was the first in the series that could be described as a doorstop, so the adaptation had to be much more ruthless to fit it all in, and even someone who hasn't read the books can tell that there's a jot of condensation going on. Most scenes are Big Important Moments; plot is the driver of the narrative first and foremost. I can hardly complain - just two films ago I was despairing at the lack of plot and the sluggish pace.

The catalyst for most of this year's events is the Triwizard Tournament, an inter-school competition which comprises three rounds that are more than a little hazardous. Not only does it give the film a clear structure, preventing any aimlessness, it also allows several new characters to be introduced and a little bit of scope to be added to the world. This the first time we've had a sense that Hogwarts isn't the only school of witchcraft and wizardry out there. The scene where the other two schools enter the main hall is a little clunky - the pupils come in with a choreographed dance performance for no particular reason - but their addition to the cast is definitely beneficial.

The three stages of the competition (in which Harry, naturally, finds himself competing) are the action centrepieces of the film. The first in particular stands out, Harry, riding his broomstick, being forced to face off against a rampaging dragon. The others are no less suspenseful and there is a genuine sense of threat which indeed is borne out by the end of the third trial. The death of a character ups the stakes immeasurably; hopefully, this is a sign of daring plot twists to come. Most will know by now that the end of the film finally sees the introduction of the big bad, He Who Must Not Be Named (but often is), Lord Voldemort, played by Ralph Feinnes minus his nose. I must admit I'm still a little hazy on Voldemort's history, and I wonder if that is intentional at this point or a result of some omission of a few details from the books.

The other big thing that happens in this film is the dreaded onset of puberty. The growing up of the characters is really well woven into the story and naturally played by the actors, who clearly relish having some relatable feelings to portray, like the terror of asking a girl to the school dance. Indeed the Yule Ball is a highlight of the film, giving worthwhile time to the characters while the tournament dominates the plot.

This year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Brendan Gleeson's Mad-Eye Moody, and like all his predecessors he gets a fantastic role to chew on, not to mention this time a cool physical accoutrement (a very well done combination of practical and digital effects). It's a shame that few of the returning cast like Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman get much of a look-in, but there has to be some trade-off for running time's sake, and this is still the second longest in the series.

Overall I'd say that Goblet is a less intricately plotted affair than Azkaban and doesn't quite boast its predecessor's clever construction or dramatic fireworks, but is another highly competent entry in the record-breaking series. I'm beginning to see why this Potter thing caught on.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 3

YEAR THREE
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

From the 25 directors who were apparently vying to helm the first Potter, the studio eventually plumped for one of the safest bets in Chris Columbus. The same cannot be said when he decided to step down for the third instalment. Alfonso Cuaron was a bold, rather leftfield choice, the director having made Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien previously - an excellent film, but a decidedly more adult one than a Harry Potter adventure. He's since made the extraordinary Children of Men, one of my favourite films. So could he add something similarly special to Hogwarts?

Yes. Yes, he could.

Living up to its reputation, Azkaban is by some way the best film in the series to this point. It's the first that actually feels like a film rather than a slavish transcription of a novel. Steve Kloves returns again on script duties, so much of the success must to be down to Cuaron. There's an energy far beyond what we've so far seen, with a real sense of urgency throughout and a moody, imposing atmosphere thanks to a darker visual palette and some creepy plot additions (like the black-cloaked Dementors). With its intricate and actually quite gripping plot I'm guessing that Azkaban is one of the better books too, which surely helps the film.

But first, there is a hurdle to overcome, and once again, its in the form of the dreaded Dursleys, on whom this film again spends some awkward opening scenes. This time an aunt visits, who ends up inflated like a balloon thanks to Harry's anger. It just jars with the rest of the film, and had me initially uneasy. Then Harry takes a ride on the triple-decker Knight Bus: a neat idea but one that is again a little out of place in execution (the broad slapstick belongs in a different film). Thankfully, when the film leaves the muggle world, we're instantly on firmer ground.

The visual invention that Cuaron brings to the table is evident in the early scene in the common room of the Leaky Cauldron Inn. There are so many touches simply in the background, such as a waiter carrying an impossibly tall pile of plates, that add immensely to the sense of this being a magical world. This is where we learn of the prisoner in the title too, and again, there's a degree of foreboding introduced early. Cuaron takes advantage of the world being well established now to use some shorthand, which lets him get to the point much more quickly; he knows, for example, that we don't need to see how the kids board the Hogwarts Express this time.

When events reach Hogwarts itself, there's definitely a subtly different feel to everything, while remaining in keeping with Columbus' efforts. There's more dynamism to the direction and a more intricately constructed narrative with a natural flow not previously seen. We get far more of a sense of the geography of Hogwarts' surroundings too, as they are properly visited for the first time, making it into a believable place rather than a fairytale fantasy castle. The apparently extensive use of Scottish locations helps a lot. The creative visuals recall the styling of Guillermo del Toro, so it's no surprise to learn that del Toro was originally offered the film (and he's the one who urged Cuaron to make it).

While the first half has a measured but careful pace, the last hour is practically a breathless sprint. The build to the finish line is superb, and far more thrilling than anything in the two earlier films. The acting takes on a degree of intensity from both the youngsters and the experienced thespians. Azkaban adds yet more great names to the roster, including the superb Gary Oldman as Sirius Black - the prisoner of the title - and David Thewlis as Professor Remus Lupin (the clue to his abilities is in his name). The peak in terms of drama occurs when these two share a scene in the Shrieking Shack with Timothy Spall and Alan Rickman. The acting is electrifying, and the reveal of backstory satisfying.

A bit later, the film introduces the plot device of time travel, which can be brilliant when used well. Here it is used very well indeed, allowing Harry and Hermione to revisit previous events and see them from a different angle. It's pretty thrilling to see everything slot into place, including a few unexplained earlier events. My only real criticism is that some expositional connecting tissue from the book seems to have been lost, so it is difficult to keep up with the plot developments sometimes. Fortunately, the hurtling momentum of the film by this point quickly dissipates such concerns.

The CGI continues to move on leaps and bounds; Buckbeak the hippogriff is a wonderful creation and the Quidditch match in the pouring rain is brilliantly atmospheric. Indeed there's a lot more inclement weather this time round, which just adds to the oppressive mood. Funnily enough, this was the first Potter to be released in summer, and despite its quality, it remains the series' lowest grossing instalment. Figures.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 2

YEAR TWO
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Onto round two, the film that I know by reputation is supposedly one of the weakest in the series, which doesn't exactly bode well as I wasn't blown away last time. Straight from the off we're back with the dull Dursleys. I've decided I don't like them because they seem to belong in a pantomime, and thus far have little relevance to the plot. Both films so far start with fifteen minutes or so in Privet Drive before getting to the more interesting stuff - I wonder how long this will continue in the series.

Anyway, straight away things are a little more exciting, as Dobby the House Elf shows up in Harry's bedroom to warn him of impending danger. The CGI is immediately far more impressive this time. Dobby himself is an amusing chap, repeatedly hitting himself on the head for saying the wrong things, and the injection of a sense of threat is immediately a step up from the drama-free first film. Before long Ron turns up in a flying Ford Anglia, and we visit the Weasley household. Again, creative production design abounds, as does hammy overacting from Julie Walters. I like the idea of the car a lot - it immediately comes across like an iconic creation, and allows for an exciting sequence when Harry and Ron miss the train to Hogwarts and fly after it. With a good sense of fun and lively pacing, I'm liking this a lot more already.

Prior to this, we take another detour to the Dickensian world of Diagon Alley, where we meet some of the returning cast and a new face, Kenneth Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart. Branagh turns out to be a real joy throughout, Lockhart's smarmy arrogance and self-importance making him a welcome addition to the roster of Hogwarts professors.

Once we reach Hogwarts, this film's new confidence continues. There's a fun scene with screaming Mandrakes, a manic class with Lockhart, and another Quidditch match, this one a good deal more dynamic and exciting than the first, helped again by markedly improved effects. It doesn't take too long to introduce a plot, either, with reference to the mysterious Chamber of Secrets written in blood on a wall, giving the story a sense of purpose. It's still a bit distended, but despite this being the longest film in the series (a whopping 160 minutes) it feels shorter than the first, and the time passes quite effectively. The Quidditch match is not the only example of improved set-pieces: a spider encounter in the forest and a finale in the titular chamber are both well handled.

The acting of the lead trio has definitely improved too. There's still a sense of reading out the lines occasionally, but the emotions seem more genuine. (Emma Watson remains a little awkward.) The adaptation remains somewhat clunky, though, the script making little attempt to shape the book's events into a more filmic structure. Still, it's a big improvement for me: more intrigue, more plot, and more humour. It has got me looking forward to the next film, Azkaban, apparently the best one.

Feature: Harry Potter Marathon, Part 1

The highest grossing film franchise of all time came to an end in 2011, but it completely passed me by.

It's not strictly accurate that I've never seen a Harry Potter film: I do have vague memories of watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the cinema sometime around December 2005. I barely remember it though, and it hardly meant anything to me. Other than that one exposure I am completely new to J.K. Rowling's world of wizards and muggles. Back when Philosopher's Stone came out I was in high school, and we adopted a dumb Lord of the Rings versus Harry Potter mindset (they were released a month apart): fans of one could not be fans of the other. I defiantly fell into the Rings camp. In recent years, though, I've started to feel like I've missed out on something a bit special. Now I'm going to rectify that.

YEAR ONE
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

So, to the first film. Opening to the unmistakable notes of a John Williams theme, I instantly knew Potter would have at least one thing going for it. I'm less certain about the first few minutes. The scenes with the grotesque Dursleys fail to hit a comfortable tone, though the flurry of owl-delivered letters is amusing. Things pick up when Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid enters, and we get a tour of a side of London not often seen. I really like the idea and design of Diagon Alley, in particular the detailed, textured sets such as Ollivander's (John Hurt) wand shop. Before long, Hagrid leads Harry to King's Cross Station, where he boards the Hogwarts express at Platform 9 and three quarters. And so, our adventure begins.

Except it doesn't. The film has a severe lack of urgency, particularly in its early stages, and plot (rather than setting) seems largely absent. Throughout most of the film there's a feeling of a simple succession of stuff happening: here we introduce Ron and Hermione, here we see Hogwarts, here we play Quidditch, as the script ticks off all the bases that need to be covered. An engaging, developing narrative is nowhere to be found, some semblance of a specific story, other than 'Harry has his first year at Hogwarts', only appearing at least half way through. By then it's too late to develop anything much, so the film comes across as purely a set-up for things to come. That is, admittedly, exactly what it is, but the film is rather clunky in its handling of exposition and setting up of all the elements that will presumably be important in later years.

The acting of the leads is a bit of a stumbling block. None of them are terrible, and you can't ask for much from a bunch of 11-year-olds in their first film, but the line delivery is often stiff, and you can almost hear Chris Columbus directing them from behind the camera ("Look happy! Look scared!" etc). Rupert Grint is probably the most natural of the three at this point, but they are all at least endearing. Thankfully there are no such qualms with the adult cast, who are all great: along with Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Richard Harris hit just the right notes, while Alan Rickman is a hoot as Severus Snape. I can foresee I'll enjoy him in the ensuing films.

One thing that surprises me is how dated the film now looks. The Blu-ray does not sport the greatest transfer, but even ignoring that the film has a fairly drab look with some alarmingly poor CGI effects (blue screen ahoy!) intermingled with some more convincing examples. I can only conclude that the budget for this first film was relatively limited compared to the rest, Warner Bros. being uncertain how big a hit they had on their hands. By the time the credits roll, I was left with a feeling of having been mildly entertained, but not at all gripped. I can't quite see yet why these films have become such a phenomenon, but I still have faith that will come. There's promise.