Harry Potter in Space

Rating: 3/10 (26 October 2013)

I have not read the book, nor had I seen the trailer before watching this movie. But it doesn't take long to realise that this franchise is trying yet again to break into the teen fiction market, with yet another scenario change just enough to make it appear different. But swapping the halls of Hogwarts for a space station, the quiddich game for laser tag, Dumbledore for Harrison Ford, Voldermort for the bugs from Starship Troopers and Hermione, Ron & Harry for three other nameless children is all feel like Harry Potter in Space.
The film is watchable, but I have no plans to buy the Blu Ray. The big twist ending even a blind monkey could predict. The child's problem solving skills were nothing any kid playing GTA couldn't have figured out. They were never a real test of ability and sending in a kid playing a computer game instead of a seasoned General with actual combat experience seemed silly at the end. Maybe it made more sense in the book, who knows. But here, if all they wanted to accomplish was win, send in a stealth nuke and be done with it. The plot made no sense as to why proved tested military weapons of today couldn't defeat them, or why the technology of the future allowed telescopes that could see absolutely everything, everywhere or why AI couldn't do the job better.
The good news is what took Harry Potter eight films to accomplish, they did it in one. The effects were okay and the acting credible. The bad parts - the future looked very much like today. Its military based cadet school for 85% of it and full of young kids so you have to like your army films. Yet children are visibly killed which means you wouldn't really want to show it to your kids. I guess they weren't too sure who to aim the film at in regards to a target audience. Its okay, but i was hoping for so much more and would definitely liked to have seen more of the enemy and there attack on Earth so as to give us audience a reason to hate them and understand the humans motivation for doing what they did. Instead we felt sorry for the aliens and left the cinema on a bit if a downer, which is never good.