Monday Morning Quarterback Part III

By BOP Staff

July 20, 2011

You were supposed to wear the knickers too, you jerk.

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Matthew Huntley: I've never read the books, but I think now is as good a time as any to start. As for the movies, here are the grades (out of 10) I would give them, along with the rank, in brackets, of where they stand from best to worst in my opinion:

Sorcerer's Stone: 7/10 [#6]
Chamber of Secrets: 8/10 [#2]
Azkaban: 7/10 [#7]
Goblet of Fire: 9/10 [#1]
Order of the Phoenix: 6/10 [#8]
Half-Blood Prince: 7/10 [#4]
Deathly Hallows Part I: 7/10 [#5]
Deathly Hallows Part II: 8/10 [#3]

For me, anything above a 5 is recommendable, so I'd encourage anyone to watch any of the movies, and the entire series is very durable as far as quality is concerned. To give you a perspective on my grading, the reason I like Goblet of Fire the most is because it has the most emotion, character development and strongest plot. It was also this installment where I think the series took a darker, more serious turn and it paid off with our greater investment in the well-being of the characters (coincidentally, the tag line read, "Everything is about to change.").

Like so many others on this thread, I think overall Potter's greatness in film history will have to be measured at a later point. Because it created a world all its own, one with few references to the popular culture or technology of our real world, I think it's safe to say it will be timeless, but as far as re-watch value and influence, I leave my answer pending. Right now, in 2011, I think it's an amazing series in terms of how well it's made and I'm pretty sure I'll buy the entire set when it comes out. I hope I feel the same way in 10 years.




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Max Braden: I haven't read any of the books. They should be my type of material but I think I was turned off by the epic length and heft of the volumes. I also have a general opinion of the movies as "pretty good but not memorable for me." I don't have much to criticize, and I'm happy for people who have been satisfied by the series, but it's just not something that moves me. I have a very vague recollection of what happened in each movie, but I do remember liking the darker mood enhanced by the directing and cinematography in Half-Blood Prince. I might say that I liked Deathly Hallows 1 the least because there was just so much moody angst in it that I thought they were coming dangerously close to appeasing the Twilight crowd. The series has come a good distance since the bright, cheery, adventurous mood of the Sorcerer's Stone.

Daron Aldridge: Samuel, with regards to Sorcerer’s Stone not selling a non-reader of the books on the world of Harry Potter, I disagree. Having not read a single page of any of the books, I was drawn in by the first movie but I admit that I watched at least the first three over a few days. So, it was more like a long movie-going experience that might not be attributed solely to Sorcerer's Stone. I bought into the magical world that Columbus offered and that the subsequent directors have shaped to fit the tone of the stories. For me, it was Chamber of Secrets that hooked me, though, and I agree with Jason that it was satisfying as stand-alone adventure.

Also, I think significant credit belongs to Steve Kloves for deftly handling the insurmountable task of adapting all the books to screenplays (except Order of the Phoenix), which equates to turning 3,230 pages published in the U.S. to 1,041 minutes of screen time. Truly awe-inspiring. My grades for the films would be:

Sorcerer’s Stone – B
Chamber of Secrets – A-
Prisoner of Azkaban – B+
Goblet of Fire – B
Order of the Phoenix – B+
Half-Blood Prince – B
Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – B+
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – A

I am actually looking forward to reading the books now to get a bit more from Rowling’s creation that didn’t make it on the screen.


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