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Originally Posted by Harry Lime
Am I the only one who thinks that Harry Potter is not good storytelling at all? I watched most of the first movie, and one of the halves of the last movie. It seemed to me that the object was to teach kids that if you get into a jam, babbling incoherently at it will get you out.
It was also creepy, from my perspective, that the girl from the first movie seemed to have slept with the other main characters. Did they know that the actress would turn into a supermodel? What if she grew up as a homely slug? Is that not creepy, or was it made ok in the intervening movies somehow?
And I'm a little curious as how the author, Rowling, didn't get sued by Raymond Feist for basically lifting the story completely from Magician:Apprentice and Magician:Master.
I've tried to like Harry Potter, but I just can't get around the fact that there are so many fantasy series out there with much more depth, and rationality. I can't even sit through a movie as an entrance point, because I end up yelling at the screen like it's a BOA game.
Am I alone here?
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I agree that she lifts a lot of narrative and plot devices from other, better writers. However, the world is fun, well developed, and replete with interesting characters. The major theme of childhood development is running under the surface throughout the series, combined with the idea that good and bad can develop with a slightly different series of events. Evil develops from life experiences that lack love and companionship. The idea that Harry Potter could have just as easily turned out bad with a little less mentoring/friendship is an intriguing one.
The first two films are kids stories with an ridiculous amount of Pollyannaism. But as the story goes on the plot and characters get darker and more adult. The children grow into fully autonomous adults capable of handling the very serious challenges thrown at them. I think it's a bit of a slow burn story to get to the more interesting bits near the end. If you only watched the first and last films, you'd experience none of the growth and change of the series.
There's quite a lot to like, and I also think there's a bit too much unabashed love for the series. I consider it to be quite a bit above average, but not to be muttered in the same breath as the great works of the past.