Faded Boxers

I just came back from the screening (and boy, are my arms tired!). It’s 3 AM over here so I’ll make this short.

Based on the reactions of the people in the theater, I’d say the movie has a polarizing effect. People either hated it or loved it.

The general consensus among my friends was that Cuaron set the bar with Azkaban which Mike Newell has failed to measure up to. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of awesome scenes in the movie, and some were able to strike an emotional pitch that resonates with anyone who’s ever been in high school.

However, the biggest flaw that bothered us was the fact that there seemed to be no coherence in the the movie. It was just a collection of scenes joined together with hardly a transition in between. Of course it can be expected because this is afterall an adaptation of a 600 page book. Personally, I decided to cut Newell some slack just for the reason that he didn’t split the movie into two parts as was originally planned. Nevertheless, I found the experience lacking just the same.

I guess that’s the polarizing part. While some people would appreciate the breakneck pace of the movie, others would argue that the quick barrage of scenes and set pieces could desensitize you from enjoying the subsequent scenes.

Still, I didn’t think it was bad. Just a bit disappointing.

Oh and Katie Leung? When I first saw her, I was like “HOLY CUTE!” And that was about all I could say whenever she appeard onscreen.