Unless you’ve been living on the moon, under a rock or in an oppressive religious cult you know the final “Harry Potter” film is almost here.
Yes, we’ve watched seven installments of the boy wizard’s life, a yarn leading up to the final showdown with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes sans nose), “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2″
So, are you eager to see the final Harry/Voldemort smackdown starting July 15? Or, will you be glad to watch Harry fly his Quidditch broom off into the sunset?
I’ve always admired the “Potter” franchise more than adored it. Author J.K. Rowling’s imagination seems boundless, and the minds behind the series hired some of the best character actors around to flesh out Harry’s evolution from wide-eyed student to wizard extraordinaire.
What other film series boasts the likes of Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith and Jim Broadbent in supporting parts?
But I rarely left the theater thrilled or even sporadically dazzled. And that last installment, a slog through tedious jealousies that barely advanced the narrative, cooled my ardor for the final chapter.
One issue with this kind of mega-franchise is keeping up to speed on all the characters, sub plots and motivations between the key players. I’ve seen every “Potter” film but can’t recall much about them beyond vague impressions. Am I really supposed to hole myself up and watch all seven – again – before July 15?
The “Potter” films print money as is, so there’s no need to tweak the formula to please one befuddled critic. But who wouldn’t love seeing each new chapter open with a recap prologue? It would leave longtime fans giddy with anticipation, and the rest of us could mentally prepare for the story ahead.
I can’t even imagine what a Harry Potter newbie would think wandering into the final feature.
Once Harry and Voldemort square off at the end of “Deathly Hallows” all the back story and context should fade away. It’s good versus evil, Rowlings style, and this film critic hopes those final franchise minutes are good enough to make me reconsider the series in toto.
(Photo: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort in Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy adventure “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad Harry & Co. bring so much joy to so many. I wish I was one of them.
Count me as someone who cannot wait for the end of these blasted Harry Potter movies. It’s kind of depressing to see so many great actors (Rickman, Fiennes, Smith, etc.) wasted in such utterly silly movies.
When Harry Potter is gone, Twilight will become the franchise I’m most eager to see end. For heaven’s sake, they don’t even bother with good actors in those and the scripts are so bad, you can’t even laugh at them.
I give the filmmakers credit for being able to keep the enthusiasm for the series high through god knows how many films now. On top of that a series of films that everyone knows what’s going to happen before walking in, there are no surprises.
In the end though I can’t get past guys riding brooms and Rowling’s decidedly late delcaration to suddenly reveal that one of the characters was gay. It seemed a bit of an overt attempt to use her creation to promote the issue of the day by suddenly, out of the blue saying a major character was really gay.
To be clear, I’m not against a character in her story being gay,just the cheap way she decided to inject it into the story.
Paula – Well said. There’s a great crack against the “Twilight” series in the new trailer for “Crazy Stupid Love”
Opus – you’re right. The series could have appreciably declined in quality over time and still make a bundle. Instead, they kept that enthusiasm stoked through eight movies. I haven’t followed the gay character issue, but it does seem like a clumsy addition. Let Potter fans process the characters and make their own discoveries. For better or worse, the lure to get on a soap box when you’re as powerful as Rowling is must be substantial.
Couldn’t. Care. Less.
But if that’s what floats yer boat, I hope eveyone has a good time and enjoys the show.
I read the books, and I can promise that the end of the movies will be just as anti-climactic as the books. Okay, more people die, the rest is trop.