In something like eighteen hours I’ll be going to see the newest Harry Potter film and I felt I should outline some of my thoughts going in to the picture so that they can stand as a record for comparison on my thoughts after seeing it. And in the interest of total forthrightness I feel I should begin by saying that I am no fan of the Harry Potter franchise.

It isn’t for lack of trying, though, I promise. I’ve seen the four previous films. The first I found to be almost unendurably tedious, due probably 40% to the hugely expositional nature of the bulk of the film and 60% to the lackluster directing of Chris Columbus, a man who continues to get work despite the fact that he directs films about as well as his namesake finds the Indies. The three that followed were, in my eyes, more successful to varying degrees. I didn’t really enjoy them, but I didn’t find them offensive as I did the first. But my lack of enjoyment stems mostly, I think, from the fact that this kind of thing just isn’t really my cup of tea rather than an abundance of flaws on the part of the films.

So, while I didn’t enjoy them, I came close to enjoying the fourth entry in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. While the first three stories basically played as little more than magical Hardy Boys, the fourth largely abandoned the “there’s a spooky man out there, find out where he is” plotline, which was a welcome change of pace. Furthermore, as the actors and characters age, they gave in Goblet of Fire the first glimmerings of becoming real characters rather than just cutouts; people who think and feel rather than exist solely as a showcase for magic tricks.

All this means I’m actually going into the next film with a pretty open mind. If the trend continues as it has, I may finally be presented with a storyline I find engaging and the characters will be fully realized enough for me to care about them. I’m very interested to see how it plays out.

If You Hated This, You Will Also Totally Hate:

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Sodomite Teacher
• Is Dumbledore Gay?
• J.K. Rowling: Sort of a Liar