Somewhere Between the Pages & the Screen, the Magic Was Lost.

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2002)

May Spoil Somethings, You've Been Warned:
I like most movies I see. If I don't like them entirely, I can pick out good parts, & I focus on the good stuff, rarely the bad. Book-turned-movies are the major exception. LOTR wasn't bad, I think it was as good as it could be. But Harry Potter... I start to question the ability of Chris Columbus to direct when I see this movie.
I went on premiere night (Nov. 15th) and knew in my heart, of course it wouldn't be perfect, but I prayed it'd be significantly better than the horrifyingly disappointing first. The acting scenes while Harry's at home are sad, even as movies go (not to mention the inaccuracies from the book)... Most lines were completely recited.
Not only do I question Chris Columbus' (director) directing skills, I also notice that I begin to question the actors' as well. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) was reciting his lines. I understand, he's only 12, I don't expect him to give an Oscar-worthy performance (Though Haley Joel Osment of The 6th Sense happened to at that age..) But Radcliffe doesn't seem to be able to give a heart-felt performance. He's not the character. He looks like him, he talks like him, but there's a missing piece which seems to be his lack of acting ability. He had sparks of genius, where I said "Yes, he IS Harry Potter." But they were little second increments, which made the rest of his acting look worse.
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) was adorable as always. She's a great Hermione & she does feel her part, but I think she over-exaggerated most of her lines to the point where she's just annoying. There was a spark of a true actress in one scene, though the awful directing of Chris Columbus made her movements look overly rehearsed, but she did a relatively good job comparatively.
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) was funnier than his first performance. He kept comic relief, but his acting still was rather amateur. I've seen school plays with more convincing acting! His lines & movements were overly rehearsed, and though I hate to admit it, the comical parts where he's "scared to death" still seem to be a bit spoken rather than felt, no matter how funny they may have been.
Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) & Richard Harris (R.I.P.) (Headmaster Dumbledore) are both extraordinary actors, but neither of them gave this movie even a fraction of their talent. Smith recited the majority of her lines & Harris (he was ill during the filming as well, I presume) didn't seem to be in good health throughout the movie, which took away from his character's personality.
Not everything in this movie was bad though, the performances by Jason Issacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Christian Coulson (Tom Riddle) were very felt & never had a disappointing moment. Even Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) was good, though there was one moment which was rather disappointing. All three of those actors stayed completely true to their character's personality...

Mark Williams & Julie Walters (Mr. & Mrs. Weasley) were very good for the parts they played, though Williams wasn't quite what I had imagined for his character (being the obsessed fan of the books that I am)... they both gave convincing performances and kept the "magic" alive.
Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) was great in this movie, as he was in the first. He wasn't perfect, but he was one of the acting highlights in this production, that's for sure. Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle) was perfect as her character, though I can see people who are not familiar with the books taking a dislike to her personality.
The movies lack the magic that the books had, that's for sure. When I read the books, my imagination would soar to new heights, I'd be dreaming of the future installments, & imagining the characters & scenes with no hesitation or doubt. The movies came along & sort of destroyed the magical element. I apologize, but this movie isn't worth seeing more than twice in the cinema. For sure, I'm not paying to see it again until it's out on video/DVD.
As movies go, this was alright, 3 out of 5 stars. As a book-turned-movie, it's an insult to the writing ability of JK Rowling & I give it 1 star out of 5. No wait, HALF a star out of five, & I hope that the next one isn't quite as disappointing, since it's got my favourite character in it.

Make A Nice Day -Dagny-