Anything for money!

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2001)

I'm sorry Harry Potter fans, but this movie was disappointing like no other I had seen before.
I appreciate all movies, especially the ones that can keep you thinking even after the movie is over. I like the ones that can pull you in and keep you there. And even better, when they can do it without extra added frills like special effects.
This is one of those movies that is just plain terrible. I believe it would be just as disappointing to children, even the Harry Potter fans. The only worthwhile part of this movie was the use of special effects, such as recreating the actors and actresses with 3D graphics in order to better make them fit with the other computer generated things, such as riding around on the broomsticks. While this is impressive, they also used WAY too many techniques from early movies, such as... well, forget I said technique. I mean cheap methods... such as 90% of the shots of Harry on the broomstick just from the shoulders up. It makes it obscenely fake looking, and I really think they could've done a better job. You can tell they were in a hurry to make some money... especially since the sequel is already listed on IMDB for 2002! Give me a break. Expect more cheap effects.
Terrible too is the way they delay everything. The only reason the movie is two and a half hours long is because every time something stupid happens, they put the camera on Harry's face for about 5 minutes so you can see his extreme expressions of surprise. Hello? Anyone remember Home Alone? The cute facial expressions thing has been done before. Let's not lengthen a movie by an hour because he's... ahem... cute?
Last, but CERTAINLY not least, is the director's usage of random BS. I love it when movies keep you guessing about what's going to happen next, but I don't like it when the reason you can't guess is because it's completely RANDOM. Everything happens in a sequence, one thing after another, and never dwells on anything from earlier in the movie. Nothing is said or done early on in the movie that makes you say, "Woah, clever." when you near the end. You might say, "Oh, but the viewer's are kids." That's funny. I went and saw it the second day it was out in theatre's, and didn't see a SINGLE LITTLE KID. Not ONE. I'm sure the adults that were there wouldn't tell anyone else to take their kids to see this movie. For the money they spend on taking their kids, they could get them something they would enjoy, like Harry Potter action figures, or even another one of the books in the series. Maybe liven up their brains a bit with some more intellectual reading.
Aside from that, the movie does have a few good parts. I won't be a complete jerk about it. If you have not yet seen this movie, stay on the lookout for the chessboard, the troll, and "Fluffy". These kind of kept the movie interesting. A low, dull sort of interesting, but the only excitement you will find.
Sorry again to all the Harry Potter fans. I was expecting better myself.