HARRY  POTTER   III -  A  Narada Film Review

   Harry and
   the 'Big Bird'
       
   Young Sorceress   
     
   The 'Terrible
   Trio of Pubescent  
   Sorcerers
Harry Potter III - 2004   - Alfonso Cuaron -Director   &   Michael Barnathan - Producer
   For the last forty years, moviegoers' collective gluttony for fantasy has continued grow at an alarming rate - overtaking all previous hungers for 'straight' entertainment.   Next time you open the newspaper, have a look at the current movie listings - most films showing today are attempting to satisfy our apparently insatiable craving for the fanciful - be it science fiction, fantasy, ghosts or super powers, we -as a species- are hooked on the make-believe..   HARRY POTTER III is both symptomatic of this gluttonous malaise and part of its cure.
         But how could HARRY POTTER III also be part of the cure?   Here's how - too many Hollywood directors believe the only way to continue to make films of this ilk more satiating to the world's fantasy-gluttons is to make each film even more fanciful than it's predecessors.    Wrong.   There comes a threshold where too many magical characters have too many and varied magical powers, and the director finally gets lost as to which super-magical power can do what, and whether this magical power is 'greater' than that one.   
         When managing 'super-powers', the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) reigns supreme.   It's like the child's game of "Paper-Scissors-Rock", where paper covers rock and wins, rock breaks scissors and wins, and scissors cuts paper and wins.   If it gets any more complicated than this, cinematographically speaking, the director needs to have an I.Q. of more than two digits and an extraordinary ability as a storyteller.   Alas, most films these days, including HARRY POTTER III have been seriously compromised in this regard by their respective directors.    Hollywood has, with the help of directors like Alfonso Cuaron, descended to the level of the mass-produced 'flying kung-fu' movies from Hong Kong.   And unless the movie-going public starts seeing coherent plotting, real stories, fewer false red-herrings and less razzle-dazzle Special Effects for special effects' sake, these would-be directors from Tinsel Town will sooner than later drive off these very same audiences.   See HARRY POTTER III if you must, but unless you are a child fan of the JK Rowling series, try not to be too discerning.
      LEAST Enduring Line or Phrase:  "I'll kill him..."

Copyright © 2004,    Bangkok Eyes / bangkokeyes.com
  • Email me- Click Here

  • FULL             
    RELOAD    
    BANGKOK    
    EYES             
    WEBSITE  ? ?
            ''CLICK & GO'' BACK to Movie Reviews To print this page: *CLICK*