[HPFGU-Movie] SPOILERS (point by point movie review)

[Chris M. Dickson]

In message <9sf45d+dpi6 at eGroups.com>, cassandraclaire73 at yahoo.com writes
>This is an almost scene - by -scene commentary on the film, so if you
>don't want to know...don't read it. I saw it yesterday in NYC at a
>press screening, so...

Yay! I've been waiting for this - someone else who's seen the movie to
discuss it with ;-) The spoilers below are really very precise and
explicit in places, explaining some of the highlights in quite a lot of
detail, so proceed at your own risk. Seriously. Think about it. Hard.

Please might I borrow your

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? Thank you, how kind. I have combined all three parts of your message
into one, for reference.

Loved the review, by the way!

>It is very hard to judge this movie objectively. As a passionate fan
>of the books, every detail and every word are ingrained into my
>memory, and simply seeing them brought to life in a film is such a
>thrilling feeling that it's hard to look past the initial giddiness
>to really ascertain whether the movie is a good one or not.

Agreed. My opinion of the movie the next morning was a little less
favourable than it was the night before - there's a real reluctance
because you don't want to accept that the film is anything less than
perfect.

>It is honestly rather odd to see these two robed and hatted
>individuals standing in the middle of a suburban Surrey street.

Yes; this was very effective.

>When the glass vanishes, Dudley falls into the snake
>cage, only to have the glass seal up behind him, trapping him inside.
>Amusing, if non-canonical, moment.

Agreed, but it was at least as satisfying a way of communicating the
Parseltongue and "makes magic happen without control" themes that of the
book. The CGI was weak here, though.

>Harry touches his forehead -- it is one of a very few
>glimpses of the scar we get during the film.

Mmm - at this point, there seemed to be a hair-position continuity
issue. We didn't see Harry move it from the relaxed, covering-the-scar
position  to the visible position. (Could well be confusing this scene
with one of the others, though?)

>We cut to King's Cross station, where Hagrid hands Harry a ticket for
>the Hogwarts Express.

Aside: the public aren't habitually allowed to use the overhead bridge
which we see. Lucky old Harry and Hagrid!

>Ashley claims she saw Neville and his
>grandma, although I missed that.

So did I. There's something to look out for next time...

Also interesting that there seemed to be no mention of GNER (Great North
Eastern Railways) in the credits. Their blue-and-red-stripe livery was
very clear on both the trains in the background and the guard. (Or was
there? Again, another thing to look out for next time.)

>The train scene was the first scene that really made me squeak in
>glee. The Hogarts Express is a gorgous train --we've all seen it, it
>looks like a red jellybean.

Yes. I thought it looked rather unexceptional in the stills and trailer,
but it's really, really nice in action.

>My inner H/H shipper was charmed by the glasses business.

Yes :-) It communicated Hermione's character well, not making it clear
whether she was doing it as a gesture of benevolence or as a gesture of
showing off. It makes up, in part, for the lack of a big "Thanks" scene
after the mountain troll, which I thought was one of the book's smaller
but definitely positive highlights.

>The Sorting Ceremony left something to be desired. Only five students
>are sorted: Susan Bones, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Draco.

Yes - Susan to Hufflepuff but nobody to Ravenclaw. Strange!

>There is no
>indication that things are done in alphabetical order and it is
>unclear while Harry has the hat on his head whether everyone can hear
>what it is saying to him, or if only Harry can.

I interpreted this as that the first years and the people at the
staff-table end of the hall would be able to hear what was going on very
faintly, but the majority would only be able to hear the shouted final
word. Does it make much difference?

The Sorting Hat on Draco was a particular delight, too!

>Ah, almost forgot. As Hermione heads up the stairs to the Sorting
>Hat, she mutters to herself under her breath to kleep herself from
>being frightened.

Yeah - this was just one of the beautiful little things that she got
right.

>I have forever been cured of any
>inclinations towards Percy/Neville by this film...they look revolting
>together

Heh heh heh :-)

>The next day Harry and Ron are late for class, and McGonagall
>threatens to transfigure them into pocket watches so that they'll be
>on time. Draco looks pleased, and Hermione looks disgusted.

Another very nice scene - and you've left the reasons why as an
extremely pleasant surprise... :-)

>His ribbing of Harry is pretty excellent; too
>bad that's just about all we see of it for the whole film.

Agreed, but this is a pretty direct consequence of it being a
two-and-a-half hour film. At least we can have a LOT of fun imagining
all the rest!

>Seamus
>seems to be around for comic relief, since he keeps blowing things
>up, but as Ashley pointed out, it wasn't very funny.

I thought it was a nice little scene. It reinforces that the kids are,
well, kids and that kids like messing about. It was also quick, neat and
provided Ron with an opportunity for a cute line.

>The kids line up in rows facing each
>other while Madam Hooch gives orders. Her eyes are bright yellow with
>slitted cat pupils -- what's up with that?

Probably an allusion to "yellow eyes like a hawk". Looked great to me.

>Hermione,
>overhearing, comes bounding over. "Harry, you won't make a fool of
>yourself. You'll be great - it's in your blood." She leads him over
>to a glass trophy case, in which is a brass plaque engraved with
>JAMES POTTER GRYFFINDOR SEEKER 1972.

Mmm, yes, very interesting. Also pay attention to which other names we
see on that plaque, more food for thought. Furthermore, it was a good
indication of the continuing increasing friendship between the three.
(Maybe that's why the "thanks" scene after the mountain troll was deemed
irrelevant?)

>the boys go bolting back to engage in what is actually
>a pretty stirring battle sequence with a fairly unrealistic-looking
>troll.

Oh, agreed.

>McGonagall has a very funny moment where she awards the boys
>100 points for "sheer, dumb luck."

For reference, that's a typo - 10 points (two fives) as per the book.
Yes, it's very funny.

>When Harry's Nimbus 2000 arrives in the mail, McGonagall winks at
>him, making it clear that she is the one who gave it to him.

Again, a pretty direct consequence of a time-limited film. It also makes
the storytelling a lot easier.

>And then we have Quidditch. I've heard the complaint that the
>Quidditch scenes seem CGI'd and they do, but given the state of
>current effects technology I doubt they could have done much better.

Agreed, but it also follows that the scenes are not quite as good as
they really need to be.

>This will either annoy
>you or make you laugh; it made me laugh.

Colour me pretty damn PO'd :-(

>The Christmas Presents scene is actually very sweet.

Agreed - and also with the plaudits for the invisibility cloak. Just two
more nice little touches.

>Lacking the knowledge that Harry, Ron
>and Hermione are devastated over having failed their House, their
>later victory lacks resonance.

Mmm - not sure I agree, but it's a good point and I'd love to know what
someone who wasn't familiar with the books thought about it. There are
relatively few references to house points in the film, but this is such
a big loss compared to the smaller gains we see that it may well get the
desired effect across?

>The winged keys are a great effect, although in this version they've
>been turned into flying missiles that practically take Harry's head
>off while he's trying to catch the key.

It's also actually Hermione who catches the key (isn't it?) though it's
clear that Harry has done the hard work by identification and selection.
More recompense for the absent potion scene, perhaps, though it tends to
imply Hermione has better physical skills than we give her credit for?

>Harry shouts Ron's name but when Hermione
>almost steps off her square, he stops her.

Yes, this was really good.

>It does make the later award of 50 points to
>Hermione for cool logic in the face of danger somewhat mysterious.

Ah - I heard "cool intellect in the face of danger", not logic. This is
a lot more convincing, though maybe not 50 points more convincing.

>Voldemort is one funny-looking guy.

Yes, funny (funny peculiar, not funny ha ha) rather than horrific. Not
scary enough for the Biggest Bad In The Universe. Still, there's scope
for improvement as we go through the movies and he gets closer to power.

>In the final scene, Hagrid gives Harry the photo album with his
>parents' pictures in it as the Hogwarts Express is leaving the
>station.

This isn't quite explained in proper detail, either. It shouldn't matter
to us because we know the story and the reasons, but... ohh, what might
have been! (Arguably, if it doesn't stick in the craw of people who
don't know the story, then maybe it isn't such a big thing after all and
we shouldn't be worrying about it.)

Looking through these comments, there's quite a lot of concentration on
the disappointing elements. However, I stand by what I said about the
movie's many qualities and highlights - a hyper-literal PS movie would
have been both practically impossible and somehow strangely redundant.

Wanna see it again!
Chris

-- 
  Chris M. Dickson, Middlesbrough, Great Britain; chris at dickson.demon.co.uk
  Sport Editor, Flagship PBM mag: http://www.antsnest.demon.co.uk/flagship/
  Labyrinth Games: puzzle and game consultancy http://www.qwertyuiop.co.uk/
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