jkchang

Millions reinforces the fact that Danny Boyle cannot be pigeonholed as a director. One does not expect to see the director of acclaimed drug abuse and zombie movies come out with such wholesome entertainment. Though this is accessible for the family, do not let that mislead you into thinking the movie does not have weight. The sincerity of this film saves it from becoming too lovey, and Boyle's personal connection with Manchester certainly adds to the depth of the environment. The story is told from the children's' point of view, bright with color, and those children give extraordinary performances. The use of stop-motion and accelerated exposures is characteristic of a style Boyle enjoys, and it accents the scenes where it is employed well. I highly recommend this film, and only wish it had been released for the past holiday season.

Of course, the book is better, but the movie stands on its own rather well. They did an excellent job of translating as much of the book as possible, editing smartly. Still, the pacing felt rushed to me, and there was never any real sense of the kids learning, no montage sequence of them in classes. Additionally, Quirrel was non-existent. there was no reason to fear him, nor Voldemort. The sense of danger must be developed in the following films. Still, I throughly enjoyed the movie.