Man, but this is a good year for
geek movies.
The Lord of the Rings next month,
Star Wars: Episode II sometime later this year, and just last weekend,
Harry Potter.
I am not including any spoilers for the movie for the simple reason that it is exactly true to the book - if you've read it, you'll know what to expect.
So, what's it like? Well, to put it simply: not too hot. Yes, visually it's breathtaking. And yes, the casting is a work of pure genius (except for Mrs. Weasely - can't see that one at all). And, again, yes, every bleeding edge cinematic technology on the face of the planet - makeup, animatronics, CGIs, image grafting - was amply and brilliantly employed to create a world so convincing that one feels bound to walk straight into it on leaving the cinema. And they were very, very true to the book.
And yet... We've all read the book. It's a new book, so we've all read it quite recently. And I'm sorry, but knowing exactly what is going to happen at every turn in a movie you are watching for the first time is a very dissapointing experience! A little bit of creative wrangling of the script (not just cutting out of details to fit it into the screening time, which is what they did) would have gone a long way to make it more suprising and a lot more gripping.
In a way, even the oh-so-clever casting works against the film - the fact that the actors chosen are all so well known (to us on the distaff side of the pond, anyway), and that the cast list was circulated so widely before the movie was released meant that there was even more of the predictable about the movie. We all knew what Alan Rickman was going to be like as Snape, and it doesn't take a leap of the imagination to see Maggie Smith as McGonagall. In a way, the marvellous acting abilities of all these actors were completely wasted on roles which basically didn't require them to act.
Special mention however is due to Fiona Shaw, who brought the almost caricature-like character of aunt Petunia to life in a brilliant and, for me, unexpected way, and to Zoe Wanamaker, who injected large amounts of personality into Madame Hooch, who is not really described in the books in any depth.
As for the kids, who are the only big unknown of the cast list: Rupert Grint as Ron is fantastic, Emma Watson as Hermyone is prissy and far too pretty, and Daniel Radcliffe is heartbreakingly cute but wooden. To be fair, some of the scenes had to be dubbed (by Joe Sowerbutts) because Daniel's voice broke some way through filming, so that might be why. Fred and George, who don't have a big part in the first book, are nevertheless unconvincing, and Neville is somehow too normal and together. The big discovery for me was Sean Biggerstaff, playing Oliver Wood, who was not nearly as earnest and obsessed as the book character, and one hell of a lot sexier. I look forward to that young man's future career!
If you've read the books the movie isn't going to innovate anything. The visuals, though beautiful, are predictable, as are the plot and dialogue. The Quidditch match is wicked, though - it made the whole thing worth it for me. And yeah, it was fun dressing up as a witch, complete with broomstick and top hat, and going to see it in a crowd of fifteen avid Harry fans. A good night out, but not a great movie.