The Harry Potter Saga: A Muggle Review
Spanning eight titles and running for a decade, the Harry Potter saga is the longest and undeniably the most exciting movie experience to date. It may well have ended years ago, but the magic will linger forever in the minds and hearts of Muggles the world over.
I can clearly remember when I rented the first movie on VHS. It was just out of curiosity. I’ve never heard of the critically-celebrated novel from where the movie was adapted. I even wondered if it was it just a movie trying to be as awesome as The Lord of the Rings that came out around the same time. Sadly, I was a true-blue Muggle– blind to the existence of such a magical universe.
It took two more sequels to finally turn me into a Harry Potter fan… and I’m glad to have become one. For Harry Potter isn’t just another wizard/witch movie with people dressed on cloaks and pointed hats while traveling on brooms and with black cats as sidekicks. Its story dares to be more. Behind the adventure, action, drama and light comedy in each installment is a complex story line that slowly unravels to reveal a darker, more sinister plot. It touches on topics such as world domination, destruction and death—rather heavy for a movie that targets a younger audience—and succeeds effortlessly.
It all starts when Harry turns 11 and discovers that he is a wizard and has received an invitation to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The rest, as they say, is history.
The first two installments are lighter and could stand as individual movies but it is quite obvious that the mood starts to change on the third installment until finally the magical world flips upside-down upon the rebirth of one of the nastiest villains in movie history. From then on, each succeeding movie becomes a series filled with mind-perplexing mystery—the next one better than the one before it—that anyone can only imagine how everything will end on an even greater scale—which it does, sealing one of the most intense cinematic conclusion there is.
While some may argue that the movies pale in comparison to the novel, there are some scenes that turned out to be even more intense such as the Snatchers chase in the final installment. There is also the need to show other character perspectives, not just the main protagonist’s and a clear example of such is Ron and Hermione’s trip to the Chamber of Secrets to destroy one of the Horcruxes. Then, there’s Malfoy’s secret inside the Room of Requirement.
But ultimately, there’s no denying that the film is the extension of the imagination. Thanks to the latest computer technology, everything in Harry Potter has sprung into life: The settings are solid; the magical creatures become not just mere figment of the mind; and charms and jinxes feel real… amusing… lethal.
It is these spells and an entire world of vocabulary unique to the series akin to that of J.R.R. Tolkien that separates Harry Potter from all others. Fortunately for us non-magical folks, some of these words successfully made its way to our world (such as muggle), challenging and improving the ever changing English language.
Nevertheless, all of these would be meaningless without the well-loved characters. Portrayed by great actors, they have become closer to becoming real people. They give the Harry Potter saga the heart that, just like a phoenix’, will never stop beating. For Harry Potter isn’t just a movie. It is a life experience, etched forever in the memory by pure film-making magic.
***JHAJR***
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I had the first film on VCD.. haha!
I watched the first movie on VHS as well! I became an insane fan about 10 years ago. I miss Harry so much.
Thank you so much for the comment! Long Live Harry Potter!
Imagine, in the next few decades, we might see an even better HP movie (with a story that’s more faithful to the novel)!
And with even better effects. Maybe they’ll have real flying brooms too lol
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