Rückkehr nach Hogwarts - 20 Jahre Harry Potter

Ich kann sagen, dass ich ein Fan der Harry-Potter-Filme und -Bücher bin - ich bin praktisch mit ihnen aufgewachsen, daher konnte ich mir das Wiedersehen mit den Darstellern und Machern nach all den Jahren nicht entgehen lassen. Gleichzeitig hatte ich gewisse nostalgische Erwartungen, die nicht ganz erfüllt wurden. Der Dokumentarfilm ist über anderthalb Stunden lang, doch ich fand ihn die meiste Zeit über flach und rein auf Effekt ausgerichtet. Die Filmemacher spielten zu sehr mit den Emotionen, und die Schauspieler selbst waren in dem, was sie sagten, oft weniger glaubwürdig als die Figuren, mit denen der Zuschauer sie seit Jahren verbindet. Wie auch immer - Helena Bonham Carter war charmant verrückt, und bei Robbie Coltranes letzter Bemerkung über Hagrid habe ich sogar eine kleine Träne vergossen, wie ich es tue, wenn ich mich an verstorbene Schauspieler erinnere. Die Archivbeteiligung von J. K. Rowling tut einem leid - zumindest haben andere Beteiligte oft über sie gesprochen. P.S. Ich musste während der Vorführung keine Taschentücher herausnehmen, aber Rupert Grint und seine verstopfte Nase hätten sich sicher über welche gefreut. (01.01.2022)

I was a bit worried it might end up like the Friends reunion, which felt a bit too much like a product of its time. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. Sure, there's a lot of self-congratulation about how well everything was done, but honestly, they did a great job, so why not let them celebrate it? Even though it’s been over a decade since the last film, it was a joy to see all the actors and directors again. The nostalgia was strong, as expected, and by the end, I was fighting back tears. The tribute to those who have passed was genuinely moving, the scene with Helena and Daniel was hilarious, and I even learned a few new tidbits. Overall, it was a well-done reunion that I thoroughly enjoyed. (02.01.2022)

A flight through the world of Hogwarts and the legacy it left in the hearts of the young cast. There is a lot to bite into, but we learn almost nothing new and we are thrown into nostalgia, which must prevail, period. Rupert Grint himself says that he doesn't feel old enough to need to do a recap – none of the people involved did, but why not, ten years on, reflect on the great literary phenomenon that spawned the grateful coming-of-age fantasy films, and point out how great and friendly all the colleagues and creators were? At least an elementary effort to distinguish the motivational development of the series, which was subordinated to the visions of various directors, provides a somewhat supportive structure for this appealing special. And to its credit, it can also be considered more of a chronological documentary, recounting the background, casting, and creative decisions regarding the development of some of the characters, rather than a cheesy self-reflexive advertisement and reminiscing. I'm a huge fan of the books, and I quite like the films (though I'd really only single out probably three and five), but this failed to enrich me in any way, either emotionally or with the behind-the-scenes stories, of which I expected considerably more – and if anything, considerably better researched, as in the case of Emma Watson's teenage crisis, which was only barely mentioned. It would require taking off the rose-tinted glasses and coming up with themes about the production of the Potter films, their social resonance and their role in the lives of the actors that would actually be worth documenting. This is just nice glossy fan-service with some interesting observations and parallels between the child actors and their characters. 55 % (01.01.2022)

I'm not that much of a Potterhead to look forward to this film like a little kid, and as I was skeptical at first that it would just be an emotional wringing of the viewer without any added value simply to revive the HP concept after years, but it turned out to be the exact opposite and the documentary surprisingly adds a lot of value! Besides the nostalgia, we learn a lot of behind-the-scenes information, the acting beginnings of the three leads and footage of their rehearsals, we see a bunch of funny moments from the shootings, the attitudes of each of the directors towards their work and other works by other filmmakers, and we are directly drawn into the atmosphere that prevailed during the filming. The result feels very natural and skilful and reveals a lot of information, relationships and opinions and even what it means to play Voldemort. In short, I had a good time and I didn't expect it to be such a good showcase of the whole HP 20 years later. I wouldn't be afraid to go for it at all, whether or not you're a Potter fan; in fact, this documentary enhances the overall idea of the films by outlining how precise and careful the choices were made over all the escalating "spookiness" within each episode, and how the whole concept worked its way from a children's film to the culmination of the most famous universe in film history. (01.01.2022)