Harry Potter and the Abysmal Waste of Talent

Rating: 1/10 (15 July 2007)

I have discovered tonight one of the reasons that I normally DON'T pay full price to see movies! I have just returned from seeing the latest Harry Potter movie adaptation, and suffice to say, I was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!!! The Hollywood movie machine just keeps making progressively worse adaptations of J.K. Rowling's beloved books. I don't know who's making the decisions about this franchise, but whoever they are, obviously never read any of the books, or just doesn't CARE. I mean, who let this slipshod, hacked-up, cinematic Dungbomb get through? For those of you who "just see the movies", and have never read the books, or at least THIS one, you may or may not be disappointed. Those of you who complain that the "movies are just too long" will be happy, as this is the SHORTEST of all the HP adaptations yet. (Frankly, I just think that America's attention span in general is just TOO DAMN SHORT!) However, therein lies one of the reasons it was so awful. The general spirit of the book, that of The Ministry of Magic trying to quash rumors of Lord Voldemort's return, and the subsequent rebellion by Harry and company, is kept alive, but only to a certain point. I went into the movie expecting a whole hell of a lot more for my movie-going dollar than I got. I even had just finished rereading the book to refresh my mind on all the points of the plot, most of which were just.....not there!
The movie's tone retains the darkness that was brought into the franchise in the third film. (Thank you, Alfonso Cuaron.) The special effects, makeup, and production design teams bring the world of Hogwarts to life with their usual sparkling results. First-time film director David Yates gets spot-on performances from the entire cast. (I still think that the Harry Potter franchise is one of the most perfectly cast in cinema.) Daniel Radcliffe turns in his usual well-done performance as the seemingly always put-upon Harry. HP newcomer Imelda Staunton is PERFECT as the Ministry of Magic's iron fist in Hogwarts, the deplorable Dolores Umbridge. Ironically enough, Staunton's performance was about the only GOOD thing about the movie. The rest of the cast, however, are almost reduced to extended cameos, as little screen time as they're given. Rupert Grint's Ron Weasley and Emma Watson's Hermione Granger could almost be part of the scenery, as could all the other members of "Dumbledore's Army," including Evanna Lynch's performance as new character Luna Lovegood. The "Order of the Phoenix" referred to in the title might as well be just a boarding house for people who don't like the Ministry of Magic, for the little we see of it or its members. You'd think that the school year at Hogwarts lasted 2 months, for all we see of the classes! This movie is a waste of a whole lot of actors who've been in BETTER movies, including earlier chapters in this franchise. Aside from Radcliffe's Harry and Staunton's Dolores Umbridge, the rest of the cast might as well almost not be there for most of the movie.
I think a good bit of the blame for this movie being so awful should go to the producers who let this movie get made into the mess that it is. MOST OF ALL, though, I place blame on the hacked-up screenplay by Michael Goldenberg. As not only a Harry Potter fan and reader in general, but also a knowledgeable movie buff, I do realize that SOME parts of every book must be excised from a movie adaptation for sake of continuity and time. This is one of those cases, however, where they took out TOO MUCH! Certain parts of the book which would have made the movie more cohesive have either been omitted, changed, or just plain hacked to shreds!! Goldenberg's script takes the soul out of the movie, and leaves you wanting too much for more. He took a beloved young adult novel, took a chainsaw to it, and put together what was left! This was like watching a bad "Cliff's Notes" version! I left the theatre thinking, "Where's the rest of it?" I mean, the only other movie adaptation that I can say was as BAD as this one, was last year's tragically done adaptation of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. (I only hope that more mercy is shown by the makers of the upcoming version of Angels & Demons.) Michael Goldenberg's screenplay isn't even a SHADOW of its source material, for what little was left in. I think that a severe injustice has been done to Rowling's work, and let's hope that in years to come, this will be a lesson to filmmakers as how NOT to do an adaptation! If this is where the Harry Potter movie franchise is going, count me OUT for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows! Never has the phrase "based on the novel by...." been ABUSED in such a manner!