LATEST movie is
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Becoming the new "Harry Potter" director is something like becoming the next James Bond. The new talent is scrutinized by die-hard fans brutally; their career assessed and judge, their talents called out, and there's of course the inevitable comparison to their successor. And each of the directors (like the Bonds) have always brought something new to the film adaptations of quite possibly the most popular book saga of all time. Christopher Columbus (hack though he was) first brought the wonderful and stellar cast together, and started the series the way it should be started; as an almost wondrous introduction and view of Harry's magical world. Alfonso Cuaron transformed the liter-minded series into a dark, cinematic wonderland; more like a film than a reading, and he imbued it with his own technical prowess and paved the way for coming directors to add their own ideas to Rowling's mixing bowl. Mike Newell of the fourth film gave it a very British feel; a much sharper sense of humor and an even more adult-oriented (and action film) mindset (note the PG-13 rating).
And now we have David Yates; the young prospective blockbuster king who hasn't made a movie for the big-screen yet (but he's got some TV-movies to his credit). And what does he bring to the table? He brings all the knowledge of his forbearer's and his own print of style to create the best "Harry Potter" film yet; likely as close to potter perfection as we'll ever come.
For as we all prepare for the grand finale to Harry's war with sinister Voldemort on the 21st, in the film franchise, that conflict is merely brewing. Harry is still an angered adolescent; preparing for his darkest year ever as new devilries threaten his once escapist world. For one thing, the Ministry of Magic for which all wizard-folk hope to trust, is doing all that it can to discredit our hero and his benevolent mentor, Dumbledore; seeing as how they don't want the general public to go into uproar over He-who-must-not-be-named's return. And they've dispatched a repressive government representative, sneering and overly-girlish Dolores Umbridge, to make sure that reforms are brought to Harry's once fun and enjoyable school; to turn it into an extension of their control. And all while this is happening, Dumbledore's secret organization, the Order of the Phoenix, prepares to counter-attack the growing forces of Voldemort.
Yates has a great deal of help in making "Order of the Phoenix" as good as it is. As the other great new talent not in front of the camera, much credit is due to the new screenwriter Michael Goldenberg. He compresses, he cuts out…(probably to the annoyance and hatred of most purist potter fans, but you know what? I love Harry Potter books. But I love movies too. And I understand the difference between them. I want to see something different in the two translations. I want to see the director add his own brand of inventiveness)…there is a great deal of wondrous detail from the book missing here. So what? The screenplay is tight and focused; some of Rowling's best dialogue is kept, some of Goldenberg's sharper writing is thrown in. The movie flows absolutely smoothly; what took pages is compressed into neat cinematic form (like Snape's memory), some events are rearranged chronologically to better effect (like Sirius' conversation about his family tree), and the whole end result is a fluent, enjoyable, epic and coherent film narrative.
The new director's stamp is also very important. Yates keeps the attention of the viewers by not over-whelming with unnecessary detail. His visual look is wondrous; the sets look great, the effects are astounding, the camera-work is phenomenal, and the action is as first-rates as anything John McLane, Michael Bay, Spiderman or those freakin' Pirates threw at us this summer (especially that final duel between Dumbledor
Answered by
NEVIDITA
, an ibibo Master,
at
9:25 PM on August 01, 2008
