I recently rewatched all of the Harry Potter movies, as one does during lockdown. I was a huge fan of the books growing up, so the movies will always have a special place in my heart despite their flaws (and more recently their author).
Marathoning the movies, it's hard not to notice some glaring inconsistencies:
Underage magic. Witches and wizards under the age of 17 aren't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. In Chamber of Secrets, however, Hermione fixes Harry's broken glasses in Diagon Alley, and Prisoner of Azkaban opens with Harry practicing a spell in his bedroom. Yet in Order of the Phoenix, Harry is expelled after using a patronus charm to save himself and Dudley. The same movie also makes a point out of Fred and George apparating all over the place because they're finally old enough to use magic outside of school.
Voldemort or you-know-who. Everybody knows only total badasses are able to say Voldemort's name without cringing. In Order of the Phoenix, there's a moment when Hermione finally says the name, and it helps Harry decide to teach his fellow students to defend themselves... except the moment falls flat, because Hermione's "Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself" moment from Chamber of Secrets (a line that Dumbledore delivered in the books).
The mirror. In the book version of Order of the Phoenix, Sirius gives Harry a mirror that they can use to communicate. Harry forgets about it, and later rushes off to the Ministry of Magic when he it tricked into thinking that Voldemort has abducted Sirius. Sirius is killed after he and other Order members come to Harry and friends' rescue. The mirror doesn't make an appearance in the movie version of Order of the Phoenix, yet in Deathly Hallows, Harry is somehow in possession of a magical mirror shard that he uses in an emergency to get help.
Those are three of the most egregious ones. We could talk all day about how Harry doesn't repair his wand with the Elder Wand at the end of Deathly Hallows, or the constantly shifting layout of Hogwarts (things get slightly better from Prisoner of Azkaban on) or the dutch angles in Chamber of Secrets (seriously, go rewatch this movie).
To end things on a positive note: set design! Coming from the endless CG blur of today's blockbusters, it's refreshing to see how much of these movies was shot on physical sets - places like the Ministry of Magic and the Burrow really stand out.
Marathoning the movies, it's hard not to notice some glaring inconsistencies:
Underage magic. Witches and wizards under the age of 17 aren't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. In Chamber of Secrets, however, Hermione fixes Harry's broken glasses in Diagon Alley, and Prisoner of Azkaban opens with Harry practicing a spell in his bedroom. Yet in Order of the Phoenix, Harry is expelled after using a patronus charm to save himself and Dudley. The same movie also makes a point out of Fred and George apparating all over the place because they're finally old enough to use magic outside of school.
Voldemort or you-know-who. Everybody knows only total badasses are able to say Voldemort's name without cringing. In Order of the Phoenix, there's a moment when Hermione finally says the name, and it helps Harry decide to teach his fellow students to defend themselves... except the moment falls flat, because Hermione's "Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself" moment from Chamber of Secrets (a line that Dumbledore delivered in the books).
The mirror. In the book version of Order of the Phoenix, Sirius gives Harry a mirror that they can use to communicate. Harry forgets about it, and later rushes off to the Ministry of Magic when he it tricked into thinking that Voldemort has abducted Sirius. Sirius is killed after he and other Order members come to Harry and friends' rescue. The mirror doesn't make an appearance in the movie version of Order of the Phoenix, yet in Deathly Hallows, Harry is somehow in possession of a magical mirror shard that he uses in an emergency to get help.
Those are three of the most egregious ones. We could talk all day about how Harry doesn't repair his wand with the Elder Wand at the end of Deathly Hallows, or the constantly shifting layout of Hogwarts (things get slightly better from Prisoner of Azkaban on) or the dutch angles in Chamber of Secrets (seriously, go rewatch this movie).
To end things on a positive note: set design! Coming from the endless CG blur of today's blockbusters, it's refreshing to see how much of these movies was shot on physical sets - places like the Ministry of Magic and the Burrow really stand out.
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