FINALLY!!!
Harry Potter versus Star Wars
After watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I compared the movie to one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies of all time, Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back. I explained my reasons, and felt the two movies shared a similar story arc, great writing and a perfectly imperfect ending. After reading many people felt the same way, I read something else, that Harry Potter as a series is about to become the highest grossing of all time, beating James Bond, Lord of the Rings, even Star Wars. That jarring stat got me thinking there are 6 Harry Potter movies currently, and 6 Star Wars movies; it’s only reasonable to compare the two, both are great franchises, but which is better? Let’s break it down, piece by piece and see which takes the cake.
The Hero:
Luke versus Harry is kind of tough. Both have had their battles to overcome, and both were raised by their uncles and aunts, and both rose very quickly to power. For me, I have to go with Harry. While he did spend a bit of time complaining about his lot as the savior of mankind, he has really taken that role on, and run with it, all while dealing with raging teenage hormones; while Luke cried at the thought of his daddy being the bad guy. It’s no secret I always thought Luke was a bit of a weak hero, despite blowing up the death star and kissing his sister.
Winner: Harry Potter
The Villain:
Voldemort and Vader; a classic duel for the ages between two of the best bad guys in film. Both have their truly evil side, and both are seen killing people, and torturing their own men, and ironically, both of them have their hand in removing another persons right hand (that’s weird), but it seems Voldemort is often scared and runs away from Dumbledore, while Vader actually hunts his old master, Obi Wan and slays him. Besides, the cool breathing mechanism, and the fact Vader is truly the evil presence in all the films, gives Vader the win.
Winner: Star Wars
The Supporting Characters:
Yoda, Obi Wan Kenobi, Leiah, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Padme makeup the supporting cast for Star Wars, while Hermoine, Ron, Dumbledore and Snape make up the cast for Harry Potter, so which has the better support? Even though Han Solo and Chewbacca didn’t make their appearance until half way through, I have to give them the credit for turning the tide towards Star Wars. I think Ron, and Hermoine are a great, strong cast, that do so much more than stand there; even the great Alan Rickman, who is my favorite character in the series can’t topple Harrison Ford, and Yoda.
Winner: Star Wars
Jar-Jar vs. Dobby
The battle for the most annoying character in the franchise goes to Jar-Jar Binks, for killing the once powerful franchise, known as Star Wars. Most Star Wars fans rest the blame squarely on his shoulders, but they should look elsewhere, because there is plenty of blame to go around. Dobby seems to mimic Jar-Jar completely, but since he has far less screen time, and you actually felt kind of sorry for the little house elf, he can’t compare to Jar-Jar.
Winner: Star Wars sorta
The Franchise:
Overall, both franchises will go down in history for their contribution to cinema, and both will have their devoted fans, but in Harry’s favor, the magical franchise clearly has a better story arc, spanning 6 movies (I’m sure it will in the seventh, but its not out, so I can’t tell), where there are several things mentioned in the first movie that come back and are referenced again in the sixth movie. The movie also has a great overall arc of Harry growing, maturing and accepting a role as a hero, along with many other characters progressing as well (Draco’s progression was one of the best parts of the 6th film).
On the other hand, you have the original trilogy of Star Wars, standing in stark contrast to the prequels, and even the first Star Wars. The fourth film has the feeling that it was made as a standalone movie, only to be expanded on, once the money came in, and the prequels feel like someone went around and tried to conveniently tie everything up neatly, far down the line, despite what Lucas claims.
Winner: Harry Potter
Money:
Here is where the most important stat lies, but don’t kid yourself, numbers are anything but foolproof. If you go to boxofficemojo.com and look at the numbers for each, you find Star Wars with a commanding lead over the six Harry Potter movies due to Star Wars being released multiple times over, along with that terrible animated movie. However, if you just count the original release of the six main films, you will find Harry is triumphant. So, who wins this battle? I’m going with the originals on everything, back when Han shot first.
Winner: Harry Potter
Now, if you tally it up, it looks like we are tied. Now, in every list, there should be a winner and loser. So, let’s go into the lightning round, where the points are double, and the winner, well, wins, and the loser…you get the point.
Magic vs. The Force
Here is the one deciding factor you all have been waiting for: the powers that give the hero and the villain the means for good and evil. On the Star Wars side, you have the Force powers, with the awesome ability to shoot lightning out of your hands, choke people out, throw shit around the room, convince Storm Troopers these aren’t the droids you are looking for, and jump tall distances in a single bound.
On Harry’s side, you have the killing curse, the torture curse and the “make you do whatever I want” curse. You also have a lot of levitation, and changing stuff into a cat, you have teleportation and riding a friggin’ broom, and overall coolness. Unfortunately, you also have the “stupefy” spell, which just sounds, well, stupid. Finally, you find out that Harry’s greatest magic trick is the love his mother has for him, which protects him against evil.
Winner: I have to give it to Harry for riding a broom, and being able to shoot lightning from his wand, and create a light-moose, and all kinds of limitless possibilities. Besides, I also want one of those invisibility cloaks.
Well, there you have it, the winner, by tie-breaker goes to Harry Potter.
I have to be honest, I am a huge Star Wars fan, and when I wrote this, I wasn’t sure which way to go, because I like both franchises, and I don’t think either one should lose, but, when I got to the tie-breaker, I had to pick one, or it would be a let down. I think the thing that hurt Star Wars the most was the prequels. I mean, they were really sub-par to the rest of the franchise, especially The Phantom Menace, while Harry may have had some ups and downs, but everything stayed consistently good.
So, who would you chose between the two amazing franchises?
Harry Potter versus Star Wars
After watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I compared the movie to one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies of all time, Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back. I explained my reasons, and felt the two movies shared a similar story arc, great writing and a perfectly imperfect ending. After reading many people felt the same way, I read something else, that Harry Potter as a series is about to become the highest grossing of all time, beating James Bond, Lord of the Rings, even Star Wars. That jarring stat got me thinking there are 6 Harry Potter movies currently, and 6 Star Wars movies; it’s only reasonable to compare the two, both are great franchises, but which is better? Let’s break it down, piece by piece and see which takes the cake.
The Hero:
Luke versus Harry is kind of tough. Both have had their battles to overcome, and both were raised by their uncles and aunts, and both rose very quickly to power. For me, I have to go with Harry. While he did spend a bit of time complaining about his lot as the savior of mankind, he has really taken that role on, and run with it, all while dealing with raging teenage hormones; while Luke cried at the thought of his daddy being the bad guy. It’s no secret I always thought Luke was a bit of a weak hero, despite blowing up the death star and kissing his sister.
Winner: Harry Potter
The Villain:
Voldemort and Vader; a classic duel for the ages between two of the best bad guys in film. Both have their truly evil side, and both are seen killing people, and torturing their own men, and ironically, both of them have their hand in removing another persons right hand (that’s weird), but it seems Voldemort is often scared and runs away from Dumbledore, while Vader actually hunts his old master, Obi Wan and slays him. Besides, the cool breathing mechanism, and the fact Vader is truly the evil presence in all the films, gives Vader the win.
Winner: Star Wars
The Supporting Characters:
Yoda, Obi Wan Kenobi, Leiah, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Padme makeup the supporting cast for Star Wars, while Hermoine, Ron, Dumbledore and Snape make up the cast for Harry Potter, so which has the better support? Even though Han Solo and Chewbacca didn’t make their appearance until half way through, I have to give them the credit for turning the tide towards Star Wars. I think Ron, and Hermoine are a great, strong cast, that do so much more than stand there; even the great Alan Rickman, who is my favorite character in the series can’t topple Harrison Ford, and Yoda.
Winner: Star Wars
Jar-Jar vs. Dobby
The battle for the most annoying character in the franchise goes to Jar-Jar Binks, for killing the once powerful franchise, known as Star Wars. Most Star Wars fans rest the blame squarely on his shoulders, but they should look elsewhere, because there is plenty of blame to go around. Dobby seems to mimic Jar-Jar completely, but since he has far less screen time, and you actually felt kind of sorry for the little house elf, he can’t compare to Jar-Jar.
Winner: Star Wars sorta
The Franchise:
Overall, both franchises will go down in history for their contribution to cinema, and both will have their devoted fans, but in Harry’s favor, the magical franchise clearly has a better story arc, spanning 6 movies (I’m sure it will in the seventh, but its not out, so I can’t tell), where there are several things mentioned in the first movie that come back and are referenced again in the sixth movie. The movie also has a great overall arc of Harry growing, maturing and accepting a role as a hero, along with many other characters progressing as well (Draco’s progression was one of the best parts of the 6th film).
On the other hand, you have the original trilogy of Star Wars, standing in stark contrast to the prequels, and even the first Star Wars. The fourth film has the feeling that it was made as a standalone movie, only to be expanded on, once the money came in, and the prequels feel like someone went around and tried to conveniently tie everything up neatly, far down the line, despite what Lucas claims.
Winner: Harry Potter
Money:
Here is where the most important stat lies, but don’t kid yourself, numbers are anything but foolproof. If you go to boxofficemojo.com and look at the numbers for each, you find Star Wars with a commanding lead over the six Harry Potter movies due to Star Wars being released multiple times over, along with that terrible animated movie. However, if you just count the original release of the six main films, you will find Harry is triumphant. So, who wins this battle? I’m going with the originals on everything, back when Han shot first.
Winner: Harry Potter
Now, if you tally it up, it looks like we are tied. Now, in every list, there should be a winner and loser. So, let’s go into the lightning round, where the points are double, and the winner, well, wins, and the loser…you get the point.
Magic vs. The Force
Here is the one deciding factor you all have been waiting for: the powers that give the hero and the villain the means for good and evil. On the Star Wars side, you have the Force powers, with the awesome ability to shoot lightning out of your hands, choke people out, throw shit around the room, convince Storm Troopers these aren’t the droids you are looking for, and jump tall distances in a single bound.
On Harry’s side, you have the killing curse, the torture curse and the “make you do whatever I want” curse. You also have a lot of levitation, and changing stuff into a cat, you have teleportation and riding a friggin’ broom, and overall coolness. Unfortunately, you also have the “stupefy” spell, which just sounds, well, stupid. Finally, you find out that Harry’s greatest magic trick is the love his mother has for him, which protects him against evil.
Winner: I have to give it to Harry for riding a broom, and being able to shoot lightning from his wand, and create a light-moose, and all kinds of limitless possibilities. Besides, I also want one of those invisibility cloaks.
Well, there you have it, the winner, by tie-breaker goes to Harry Potter.
I have to be honest, I am a huge Star Wars fan, and when I wrote this, I wasn’t sure which way to go, because I like both franchises, and I don’t think either one should lose, but, when I got to the tie-breaker, I had to pick one, or it would be a let down. I think the thing that hurt Star Wars the most was the prequels. I mean, they were really sub-par to the rest of the franchise, especially The Phantom Menace, while Harry may have had some ups and downs, but everything stayed consistently good.
So, who would you chose between the two amazing franchises?
2 comments:
Ahh, the younger generation wins again! Of course I agree with everything you said, but I am still shocked my Harry won.
BTW - It wasn't a "light moose," it was a STAG!
-Michelle
Thanks for reading, but light moose is more descriptive. It didn't look like a stag to me (not that I've ever seen one) it looked like a moose....made of light...hence, light moose!! ;)
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