One of the things that I've always loved about the "Harry Potter" books and movies is the way the characters seem to grow up with the readers. Every book and movie got more mature and became increasingly more complex and serious, mimicking real life. The characters all go from being young children wowed by all the new experiences and sights they are seeing when they first get to Hogwarts in " Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone " to worrying about what boy or girl they are going to marry or date in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1." It would literally take five to ten pages to compare and contrast each "Harry Potter" movie one by one, so I thought it would be interesting to evaluate the differences between the first and last movie.
When "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was released in 2001, it was compared to "The Wizard of Oz." That description at the time seemed pretty accurate. Both of those movies were full of innocent wonder and we got to see things people could only imagine in their heads while reading the books. It had that "oh, wow!" factor that only seeing Quidditch played for the first time can give a person. There was also a dark streak to both of them - the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz" and Voldemort in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Even with a rather scary ending for younger children, director Chris Columbus did what he does best with the first in the "Harry Potter" series. He created a family-friendly PG-rated movie that pushed the envelope just enough to still be considered safe and mainstream.
By the time "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" hit theaters in 2010, faithful readers had been given a chance to grow up with the characters first through the books and then through the movies. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" still had that Chris Columbus feel to it but with a bit more darkness added to it. Once "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" hit theaters, it pretty much set the course for the next movies as they consistently got more serious as the characters moved into their teens and began growing up.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" is definitely the darkest and most mature chapter in the series so far. Harry is forced to watch his friends and associates sacrifice themselves for his protection. He also has to deal with his romantic feelings towards Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. He grapples with wanting to take all the responsibility of defeating Voldemort on his own. His friendship with Ron is tested much as ours are when we start branching out into the world and making our own decisions about where we are headed in life. Everything Harry has been told he will have to deal with is about to come to realization and he is helpless to stop it.
Although most fans of the boy wizard already know how the saga ends, it will still be interesting to see how director David Yates visually closes out the series with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2." Although it will be a bittersweet event for many, the final chapter has all fans drooling in anticipation. With what looks to be a huge climactic battle between the forces of good and evil, it seems like "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" could end up being the darkest entry of them all.
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