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Harry Potter a 4-star movie with 2-star special effects By
Bryce Casselman I'm spoiled -- this I know and do not have a problem admitting to. I am spoiled along with millions of moviegoers around the world are spoiled when it comes to incredible special effects in movies. An incredible live-action movie is one that marriss good acting with a strong story and believable special effects throughout the entire movie. But, special effects evolve with technology, so a person must look at movies in the time they are created and use the standard for the day as a measuring stick. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was so innovative for its time that it completely took audiences by storm. Before and even shortly after Star Wars, special effects of the day were similar to those in Clash of the Titans which were nothing more than claymation, obvious blue-screen shots and any number of slight-of-hand technology that the director and special effects teams could think of. As a kid, I devoured every special effect that was set before me. Some of the obvious special effect kings were E.T., Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and the first two Superman movies, all movies that combined creative special effects with great stories and good actors to play them out. But, those days are gone and the special effects royalty of today are lead by The Matrix, the Jurassic Park films and still, the Star Wars series. So where does Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone fit into the picture? Well, the first Harry Potter movie has the benefit of utilizing the creative powers of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the special effects company created by George Lucas, which has developed the special effects for The Mummy movies, all of the dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park films, Twister, Star Wars and Titanic. Harry Potter also used United Kingdom-based special effects company Cinesite, whose resume contains such films as the recent James Bond flicks Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough. Unfortunately, the special effects in Harry Potter were decent, but not up to par with the today's leaders by any means. Let's begin with what special effects were good in the film. There is a part in the story where Harry is taken to a bank run by goblins. Although it is pretty obvious that the goblins are little people with prosthesis masks and coverings, their facial expressions were extremely good and overall very believable looking. Harry meets up with a three-headed dog a couple of times in the film, which was also very well done. Probably one of the best special effects in the movie was the villain, Lord Voldemort. As for the bad special effects, unfortunately there were more than a few. It seemed at times that it was so important to stick to the book, that some of the effects in the film fell by the wayside. There are several creatures in the film like the troll and the centaur that looked the part, but had a fake, claymation feel to them, similar to the creatures in Clash of the Titans without the jerky motions. If we can produce dinosaurs in movies these days whose skin moves when they breath and muscles quiver when they walk, why not in an epic tale like Harry Potter? But, probably the biggest special effect disappointment in the movie were the broomstick flying effects. Although many of the flying sequences were well done during the scenes where Harry's class learns to fly and also during the Quidditch match (a mix of rugby, polo and capture the flag on broomsticks), there were many scenes where there was much to be desired. For example, when Harry is almost knocked off of his broomstick during the Quidditch match, there are several quick scenes where his arms look long and stringy, an effect that is not acceptable in our digitally run world. In the long run, it is Harry Potter's story and strong presence that make it a four-star movie. The special effects on the other hand rate only two stars.
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