I love the Harry Potter books. I’ve read all the books straight through and loved every word of the series!I have no idea how many times I must have read these books.When i heard that the harry potter movies were being made I was very much excited to see it However the movie did not live up to my expectations; to me it
felt rushed and choppy.Good reading sometimes may not always make good viewing
just as the reverse holds good - making films out of popular books is a
hard task itself considering that imagination is a wide canvas
While all the splendid magic in the book comes alive
in the movie because of those jaw-dropping special effects, J. K.
Rowling’s wit and rich characterisation get left behind in her
surprising, lovely prose. The speed and choppiness of
the movie took away from the characters. It was just events and there
was hardly any character development at all
Chris Columbus’s direction is competent but workmanlike. It lacks imagination, something the Rowling books have plenty of. It is shrewdly respectful of the
book, clearly reluctant to alienate any part of the strong reading fan
base, a few omissions and sketchy details notwithstanding. But then the
masterfully made film offers no surprises, to those who have read the
book. As far as Harry knows, his parents were killed in a car crash
when he was an infant and he is left with muggles(non-wizards) - his
uncle and aunt. He is the poor relative relegated to the closet He has to wait on them, a la Cinderella,
and on their obnoxious pudgy son Dudley who gets all the attention and
the presents. But comes Harry’s 11th birthday and everything changes. A
gentle giant Hagrid(Robbie Coltrane) literally crashes into their
lives to inform Harry that he is a wizard by birth and that he has been
invited to study at the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry for
gifted young witches and wizards - a boarding filled with semi-giants,
three headed dogs, owls, jelly beans of every imaginable flavour, and
of course sinister forces. At Hogwarts, Harry is tutored in the art of
potions, spells and riding a broomstick. He is watched by head master
Dumbledore(Richard Harris) a wise, silver bearded man and Snape(Alan Rickman) professor of
potions, the quavering Quirrell(Ian Hart) and pals, Ron(Rupert Grint)
and Hermione(Emma Watson).
Harry also finds at Hogwarts much of what his
pitiful life has lacked - close friends and the truth about his parents
- magical skills unknown to him and recognition of his own worth! He
also gets to be on the Quidditch team(a kind of airborne soccer) an
honour that rarely comes to first years. But then he also gets many
things he didn’t bargain for. The shots of Hogwarts central hallway with its moving staircases
and animated portraits are marvelous. And the Quidditch scene where a
strange game is played on broomsticks is truly gripping - it is fantasy
at its height. And the choosing of the houses? When Harry is being
assigned to one of Hogwarts four houses the `sorting hat’ assesses his
character and then applauds him for `having courage, talent, not a bad
mind and a thirst to prove’ and puts him into the house of Gryffindor
much to Harry’s relief
There are many positive elements in the midst of some
questions about the very existence of witchery and wizardry.For
instance, the evil acts of darkside wizards such as the killing of a
unicorn for its life giving blood- are denounced.Lines spoken by the
bad guys expose the evil side and are swiftly refuted.The footage of Harry’s battle scene is shorter in
the film than in the book, but is far more exciting because of its
visual power.And what about the fact that Harry and his friends sometimes break
rules with impunity though played down in the film? But shorn of all
the questions and taken at the surface level the film is truly worth
seeing.The quality of work that has gone into finding the right faces
for the characters and their costumes is something outstanding. It’s
probably as close to what the author J. K. Rowling imagined while she
wrote the book. Daniel Radcliff who plays Harry is utterly charming.
frank and vulnerable, he tugs at your heartstrings especially in the
scene where he looks into the mirror of the future and sees himself
with his parents. Emma Watson as Hermoine is self-possessed, slightly
imperious and loyal played beautifully and Rupert Grint does full justice to his role
.