After having spent entire Sunday jus’ lazing out, I and my roomie planned to go for HP – 5(unfortunately, when entire world is hell bent on watching couple of young kids flying around with their broomsticks & beating daylights out of some scary bad fellaz, then getting tickets becomes a Herculean task… Still we tried and thanks to lack of foresight of some divine soul, we managed to get tickets cancelled by him over phone booking).
I guess the Harry Potter magic was already working.
I prefer to call it HP – 5 …(No, nothing to do with latest digital printer by a company with same name…)
Since, I haven’t watched earlier sequels/prequels; it was a giant leap from HP – 1 to HP – 5. I know a lot of water has passed under the bridge ever since(considering the fact that itz monsoon, so itz amount must’ve increased threefold in this season); since LOTR and HP came in same year and after watching both I kinda lost interest in HP(no I am not comparing the two films… its jus’ that LOTR was more interesting…those who wish to disagree with me, are advised to remain so…)
As someone rightly said that u need a PhD from Hogwarts to really understand HP – 5(statement was meant for ignorant souls like me), not exactly a PhD but a short term Diploma program might be pretty handy.
STORYLINE:
Those who have read the book don’t need to know the plot and those who haven’t, they are advised to watch all the previous films(or you would jus’ sit there like confused souls trying to guess why everyone around is watching this flick so seriously… ‘Yeah’ the only pleasant sound you would hear is rustling of popcorns).
Things missing… its not any more fun studying in Hogwarts… everyone is either scared or simply pretending that he doesn’t care. No more fun at dining table. No more games. I mean, the genre has moved beyond the stuff that tickles kids(probably the kids have also grown so they don’t want to be tickled).
There ain’t many funny moments or one liners either…
Dark lord(or the shadow of his dark forces) has taken over Hogwarts…. It’s an intense film, where all the characters seem to be hiding a secret and they aren’t very ecstatic about it.
Politics spares no world. be it our real world or the mysterious world of sorcery … ‘Ministry of Magic’ feels threatened by the alleged nefarious designs of Prof.Dumbledore to take over the ministry. So it employs one of their confidante’s(Dolores Umbridge played by Imelda Staunton) to teach at Hogwarts, who eventually replaces Prof.Dumbledore as Headmistress(Therez also a ploy to expel HP from the school, which is thankfully vetoed by the council at ministry).
Umbridge is the kind of teacher who all of us would have experienced in one point or another during our academic years(n’ trust me you are gonna hate her). There is a big thrust on theory, so practical training takes a backseat. Its too much of discipline & less of students’ voice(even existing teachers don’t matter a lot).
A small secret about Hagrid is also revealed(whenever Hagrid is around you feel assured of some light moments in otherwise damn intense tale of good n’ evil).
Hogwarts has given due respect to current spirit of(or the lack of it) tolerance towards minorities and acceptance of multi cultures(so you get to see some Asians around, in fact one of them also manages to kiss HP… There are 2 Indian girls also… I know it makes no sense but gives a strange sense of pleasure… Our ‘videshi desi junta’ has gone beyond the regular servings of ‘chicken curry’ & ‘megabyte microchips’).
It’s a world of secret alliances. HP is convinced that dark Lord is raising an army and to thwart his attack he needs to be prepared.
HP enlists like minded students and thus begins the training of a ‘would be army’ against Dark lord.
Film has many subplots and one should be thoroughly aware of the background to understand it completely OR you can always sit back, munch your popcorns and wait for climax(thatz what I did).
There is also an alliance against Lord Voldemort… film gets itz name from this group.
Ralph Fiennes does a good job of playing Dark Lord …
Daniel Radcliffe(HP) grew with this character. He displays quite a transition from childhood to a confused/scared, vulnerable but resolute teenager and sticks his guns against all the opposition and displays commendable leadership skills.
Hermoine & Ron are always there as true friends but they are also unable to understand what HP is going through(I guess, even HP doesn’t know)
Helena Bonham carter plays a convict who has escaped from prison of Azkaban…(Actually there is a mass escape, so many convicts have managed to escape and have fun in outside world)… and tries to steal most important prophecy from HP n’ his buddies…(A small but impressive role by Helena)
Climax is all action packed, there are some amazing special effects; especially the scene in ministry where all the crystal balls crash on ground, with HP & friends running around.
We also get first glimpse of sheer power of dark lord and his ability to control people and their minds. Battle between Dark lord & Prof. Dumbledore is worth all the special effects.
Here you also get to know the dark connection between dark lord and our HP… they are related …. Somehow… that’s what prophecy says…. And this would make next sequel more interesting and chilling…
Now that stage is set for the final showdown… So, keep your fingers crossed and wait for a full fledged HP vs Voldemort war…
VERDICT: Good film, with perfect blend of intensity and seriousness; it sustains your interest and takes it to a logical conclusion.
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