My new hobby was to watch the movies lately all over again because as much as they were criticized, they did have an impact on the teenagers.
So i did watch them and tried to remember exactly what i liked about them that made them so special back then and even now. The first time i read the books, i was completely fascinated by them and caught in the world that the author described. So to take it to the next step of criticising them, i’ll have to compare them to the other fantasy movies or books.
1. Most books tend to depict fantasy characters as being very different from the rest of the normal world. They describe them so differently that they seem so far away from real human beings sometimes. Here, the characters are depicted humanly with normal reactions but with a spark of magic. They don’t describe their personality as being different from a normal being but actually quite simmilar. Harry has the personality of the orphan boy that is unwanted by what’s left of his family. Ron is being described as the boy that comes from a poor family with lots of insecurities and Hermione as the typical smartass. Most of the characters have a pattern of personalities that they follow so when the books describe Hogwarts, it only seems like a normal school space filled with teenage conflicts.
2.Unlike other books, there is no concept of different worlds. The world is simply one and one only differenced only by the concept of normal and fantasy. The book actually brings together the ideea of binding what seems normal with the concept of fantasy so because of that, the idea influences you that somehow there’s a big possibility that all of this could be real.
3. Eventhough in the boooks, Harry is described as being the chosen one, there actually is no chosen one. There never is a chosen one because it’s always a triangle and the chosen one doesn’t have special powers that he was born with. It’s all described as being the process of several actions. It’s all described as a process that could easily be redone and could easily create more chosen ones. The only thing that makes Harry the hero is his personality, hero complex and his thirst for vengeance. If you also pay attention, the negative character is not special either but merely intelligent enough to make himself be special.
4.The conflict is a general one found in many movies and that is the battle between good and evil. That is the main conflict but besides it, the movies contain general teenage conflicts. One of the things that makes the movies good is the fact that the conflicts come so naturally because of the characters well described personality. One of the most natural conflicts from all the movies was when Ron became jealous of his friend for the fame, attention and lack of attention. Why was it so naturally? Because it came from Ron’s fear of loosing his friend and the author did not overdue this conflict. In most teenage movies, this conflict comes with backstabbing and becoming enemies for a while. The author did not do that because it was not in Ron’s nature but also because usually these things are exaggerated to catch more attention.
5. The movies actually let the characters evolve and grow mature. You don’t see them go sideways and have 180 degrees changes but natural changes. Their personality grows and flourishes due to the circumstances in which they are put in without affecting any personality traits.
6.The fantasy animals from this movie do not stray from their mythological knowledge. You don’t see dragons acting like cats or spiders acting like puppies. You don’t see snakes acting scared but mischievious and cruel as they are in the normal world.
7. Eventhough they were 8 movies, the books stopped in time and the adventure finished without exaggerating, straying from the story or loosing it’s substance.
Overall, the movies were good but the books were better so there are a few cons that i want to specify about the movies.
1. The main actor was not that great in the first three movies and some of the reactions were poorly acted.
2.Relationships flourished too quickly and some vanished as quickly as they came not really showing the normal changes or psychological reactions they had on the character, for example: Krum and Hermione or Cho and Harry.
3.The movies leave no room for clues or presumptions. In the book with the half blood prince there were many clues that actually led you to believe Proffesor Snape was him but the movie did not gave us any of those.
So these are my main thoughts, enjoy! I do recommend any kid or teenager to see these movies because it’s a pleasant imaginary experience.
miculcritic 