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Johnny Depp has become, in his young middle age, like a star of the movies’ golden period
What our reviewer, a father of two, thought
By Jeremy Langmead, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 07.11.05
Harry Potter: facing new terrors
The demise of one of Hogwarts' more wholesome (and handsome) characters and the darker air that pervades this film have landed director Mike Newell with a 12A certificate.
The rating seems just: we are subjected to the sight of Mad-Eye Moody torturing screaming spiders, a Hungarian Horntail dragon trying to tear poor Potter apart, Ron and Hermione drowning at the hands of some merciless merpeople, a hungry hedge that prefers flesh to fertiliser, and a severed limb.
I took my two sons, aged nine and 12 and neither said that they were bothered by the gloom and gore. Of course they were alarmed by the ferocious dragon, and no fan of Voldemort's antics, but I think the fact that one now teenage character was pulling gooey eyes at a girl was the most disturbing part of the movie as far as they were concerned.
Newell said the 12A certificate was a sign that he had succeeded. He argued that the children who had grown up watching the Potter films were now older and more sophisticated and that the movie needed to reflect that. He's right; and it does.
And at least there's an underlying morality. As well as the conflict between good and evil, Harry learns that friendship is more important than winning competitions, that weedy boys can get dates, and the importance of trust - all of which kept my mother-in-law, who also saw the film, satisfied that this was more than just a Harry House of Horror feature.
