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Renowned wizardry student Harry Potter has come under fire for using magic in the real world. During the trial, he explains it was to save lives, but the court refuses to believe it. They assume he is lying, just as he is lying about the return of the evil Lord Voldemort. In order to make sure Harry doesn’t spread this vicious rumor anymore, Dolores Umbridge is appointed by the minister as a teacher with nearly unlimited authoritative control. Harry must fight an uphill battle against the government and his detractor peers if he’s going to stop Voldemort from taking over amongst all the ignorance. But although he’d like to, he can’t do it alone.

Well, another year and another Harry Potter movie. At this point, especially after seeing this latest installment, I have to say that there is no longer any desire to really see how this all turns out. Now, keep in mind, I’m speaking as a person who has never cracked one of the series’ books. I would hope the books are entertaining, expansive, exhilarating page-turners that leave you aching for more. The movies…not so much. “Goblet of Fire” saw the saga take a steep tumble down into the mundane and “Order of the Phoenix” does nothing to salvage it. I hate that Harry still has this wide-eyed wonder at all things magic. Dude, I know you haven’t seen every single permutation sorcery has to offer, but seriously. You may not feel like you’ve seen it all, but I have. Why would I want you to be the leader of my underground army of kid magicians when you’ll probably just sit and watch in awe as Voldemort’s pretty magic beams kill you?

I can’t help but think that the movies are simply phoning it in at this point. They’re guaranteed to be blockbusters. Nearly the whole audience has read the book as well. Those of us who haven’t aren’t left feeling lost, but I for one certainly can’t tell what the fascination is anymore. Every movie feels the same. There’s a new teacher that ends up being bad in some respect and Harry has some major test of will and power against a destructive entity. There are also all kinds of little other things going on that never get resolved or explained, assumedly to attempt to appease the readers. At times it even feels like magic is taking a back seat to hitting some thing that happened in the book. But the thing I really have the most problem with is that there is still no development of these characters. Where’s the depth? Where’s the characterization? Maybe it’s just that the kids are actually really bad actors – because they are.

I’m sure established fans of the books will eat this up. Probably a lot of you that have only seen the movies will be equally thrilled. This series has completely lost me thanks to these two most recent entries, despite the first three strong films. I can only imagine that next year’s installment will bring another haphazard presentation of the same tired themes and loose mysteries. It’s “Lord of the Rings 2” all over again.

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