Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part One Review *SPOILERS*
Oh. My. God. I did NOT know they were going to end it there.
Overall, I was happy with this adaptation of the first part. I think DH is a remarkable book up to the stupid epilogue so my expectations were much higher and I still left the theater relatively as pleased as I was leaving HBP (where I expected basically nothing). But I thought they were going to end the movie where they get busted by the Snatchers, like at the gate of the mansion, so I did not know I was going to have to watch Dobby die this time, nor did I expect to see Dumbledore's tomb violated (which upset me in the book and was even more chilling in the movie). So yeah. I was bawling.
Strengths
-The acting basically all across the board. I'll address a few below, but no one disappointed me (well, Bonnie didn't IMPRESS me, but she was in all of two scenes actually speaking, and it wasn't much speaking at that, so it wasn't like last time) and nearly everyone impressed me. Yates can pull good performances out of these actors.
-I thought this was the strongest work yet with the trio as a whole. This was noticeably Rupert's best work to date, he was fantastic, and my DanRad was more wonderful than ever. Those two impressed me the most of the three, but Emma also had some really strong scenes, especially when Hermione leaves her home.
-the actors who played the trio in Polyjuice disguise at the Ministry! OMG, they were wonderful, and I wasn't expecting that sequence to be so powerful! The actor who was playing Harry in disguise was FANTASTIC, that scene where he's glaring at Umbridge as he slowly walks towards her in court had me on the edge of my seat. And the actor who played Ron in disguise really nailed Rupert's body language and demeanor.
-again, Tom Felton, who I thought was the weakest of all the kids in CoS (if absolutely adorable in interviews), really stepped up with some terrific performances. The scene where Malfoy and Harry are staring at each other before Malfoy refuses to ID him as Harry was especially strong- you can tell Malfoy truly knows it's him.
-"Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him." Thank GOD that line was kept in.
-While the lack of a certain scene will go in another section, as always David Thewliss is amazing, and was terrific in the few scenes he did have in the beginning.
-Snape's entrance was SOOOOOOOO badass, lol. Alan Rickman is LOVE. His acting in the scene where the doomed teacher pleads with him was flawless.
-Oh, Dan and Emma. Why, lol. Why you gotta be so GOOD together. Because it really is so noticeable to me, how much MORE chemistry they have with each other than their respective love interests. Other than the gutwrenching scene where Dobby died, I thought the dancing scene and the grave scene (which is my favorite Harry/Hermione scene in the books) were the most emotionally powerful scenes in the movie. The dancing scene was just beautiful- reminding the audience that they're still kids, and showing the strength of their friendship which has now lasted for so many years virtually untouched. And the grave scene did not disappoint. When she created the wreath and he opened his mouth to thank her but just started crying instead, and she put her head on his shoulder and he finally told her Merry Christmas, it broke my heart.
-Wow. That kissing scene...wow. LOL. They...were naked. And there looked to be...some tongue action going on. LOL. I did not expect to have a kiss in HP that I truly wondered if it was appropriate for children to see.
-Also though, the heart of this movie is the Harry/Ron friendship and Dan and Rupert never disappoint. That hug in the beginning just GOT to me. And while I think Rupert was more IN the scenes with the R/Hr than he has been in the past, I still just end up "meh" on those scenes, because they're forced. Rupert and Emma have lovely friendship chemistry, but when it tries to go romantic, it doesn't work for me. I thought the "ball of light in the heart" was eye-roll worthy until Harry flipped it back around. I did LOL every time Hermione glared at him after Ron came back, though. That was funny.
-Dan was fantastic in the scene with all the Harrys. I LOLOLOLOLOLOLed.
-Neville and his awesome moment with the Death Eaters. LOVE!
-Helena Bonham Carter was once again perfect as Bellatrix. The torture scene was chilling.
-the scene where the Snatchers couldn't see Hermione was FREAKYYYYYYY.
-The explanation of the Deathly Hallows was wicked cool! Man, they get good actors to play the Lovegoods, lol. Evanna is as wonderful as ever and the actor playing Xenophilius was terrific.
-Loved the "Kreacher and Dobby catch Dung" sequence.
-still can't talk too much about Dobby's death:( But Dan was amazing.
-As much as the grave-robbing scene freaked me out, Ralph Fiennes was really wonderful in that sequence, the way he literally crawled over Dumbledore's body.
Weaknesses
-Mainly stuff cut. The biggest disappointment was the loss of the Lupin/Harry confrontation which Thewliss and Dan EARNED, dammit. Then the loss of Dudley's redemption. Relatively minor, but I didn't like the cut of the Scrimgeour/Harry final confrontation moment- "It's time you showed some respect" "It's time you earned it." That's a really good line. I also missed showing Luna's room with all the pictures.
-Dan and Bonnie continue to have no chemistry, and that scene was especially awkward when taking into account the very steamy HHr kiss. But George saved that scene by being awesome.
-I wish there had been more of a sense of regret from Ron directly for what he did to Harry, which I saw in the books but didn't so much feel in the film.
-Pretending Harry just met Bill was incredibly awkward, given how much time the films have shown Harry spend at the Weasley house.
-Oh, and the loss of the encouraging words on the memorial at the ruined Potter house.
Just Plain Freaked Me Out
Um, BATHILDA BAGSHOOT. OMG. She REALLY looked like she'd been dead for weeks.
Overall, I was happy with this adaptation of the first part. I think DH is a remarkable book up to the stupid epilogue so my expectations were much higher and I still left the theater relatively as pleased as I was leaving HBP (where I expected basically nothing). But I thought they were going to end the movie where they get busted by the Snatchers, like at the gate of the mansion, so I did not know I was going to have to watch Dobby die this time, nor did I expect to see Dumbledore's tomb violated (which upset me in the book and was even more chilling in the movie). So yeah. I was bawling.
Strengths
-The acting basically all across the board. I'll address a few below, but no one disappointed me (well, Bonnie didn't IMPRESS me, but she was in all of two scenes actually speaking, and it wasn't much speaking at that, so it wasn't like last time) and nearly everyone impressed me. Yates can pull good performances out of these actors.
-I thought this was the strongest work yet with the trio as a whole. This was noticeably Rupert's best work to date, he was fantastic, and my DanRad was more wonderful than ever. Those two impressed me the most of the three, but Emma also had some really strong scenes, especially when Hermione leaves her home.
-the actors who played the trio in Polyjuice disguise at the Ministry! OMG, they were wonderful, and I wasn't expecting that sequence to be so powerful! The actor who was playing Harry in disguise was FANTASTIC, that scene where he's glaring at Umbridge as he slowly walks towards her in court had me on the edge of my seat. And the actor who played Ron in disguise really nailed Rupert's body language and demeanor.
-again, Tom Felton, who I thought was the weakest of all the kids in CoS (if absolutely adorable in interviews), really stepped up with some terrific performances. The scene where Malfoy and Harry are staring at each other before Malfoy refuses to ID him as Harry was especially strong- you can tell Malfoy truly knows it's him.
-"Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him." Thank GOD that line was kept in.
-While the lack of a certain scene will go in another section, as always David Thewliss is amazing, and was terrific in the few scenes he did have in the beginning.
-Snape's entrance was SOOOOOOOO badass, lol. Alan Rickman is LOVE. His acting in the scene where the doomed teacher pleads with him was flawless.
-Oh, Dan and Emma. Why, lol. Why you gotta be so GOOD together. Because it really is so noticeable to me, how much MORE chemistry they have with each other than their respective love interests. Other than the gutwrenching scene where Dobby died, I thought the dancing scene and the grave scene (which is my favorite Harry/Hermione scene in the books) were the most emotionally powerful scenes in the movie. The dancing scene was just beautiful- reminding the audience that they're still kids, and showing the strength of their friendship which has now lasted for so many years virtually untouched. And the grave scene did not disappoint. When she created the wreath and he opened his mouth to thank her but just started crying instead, and she put her head on his shoulder and he finally told her Merry Christmas, it broke my heart.
-Wow. That kissing scene...wow. LOL. They...were naked. And there looked to be...some tongue action going on. LOL. I did not expect to have a kiss in HP that I truly wondered if it was appropriate for children to see.
-Also though, the heart of this movie is the Harry/Ron friendship and Dan and Rupert never disappoint. That hug in the beginning just GOT to me. And while I think Rupert was more IN the scenes with the R/Hr than he has been in the past, I still just end up "meh" on those scenes, because they're forced. Rupert and Emma have lovely friendship chemistry, but when it tries to go romantic, it doesn't work for me. I thought the "ball of light in the heart" was eye-roll worthy until Harry flipped it back around. I did LOL every time Hermione glared at him after Ron came back, though. That was funny.
-Dan was fantastic in the scene with all the Harrys. I LOLOLOLOLOLOLed.
-Neville and his awesome moment with the Death Eaters. LOVE!
-Helena Bonham Carter was once again perfect as Bellatrix. The torture scene was chilling.
-the scene where the Snatchers couldn't see Hermione was FREAKYYYYYYY.
-The explanation of the Deathly Hallows was wicked cool! Man, they get good actors to play the Lovegoods, lol. Evanna is as wonderful as ever and the actor playing Xenophilius was terrific.
-Loved the "Kreacher and Dobby catch Dung" sequence.
-still can't talk too much about Dobby's death:( But Dan was amazing.
-As much as the grave-robbing scene freaked me out, Ralph Fiennes was really wonderful in that sequence, the way he literally crawled over Dumbledore's body.
Weaknesses
-Mainly stuff cut. The biggest disappointment was the loss of the Lupin/Harry confrontation which Thewliss and Dan EARNED, dammit. Then the loss of Dudley's redemption. Relatively minor, but I didn't like the cut of the Scrimgeour/Harry final confrontation moment- "It's time you showed some respect" "It's time you earned it." That's a really good line. I also missed showing Luna's room with all the pictures.
-Dan and Bonnie continue to have no chemistry, and that scene was especially awkward when taking into account the very steamy HHr kiss. But George saved that scene by being awesome.
-I wish there had been more of a sense of regret from Ron directly for what he did to Harry, which I saw in the books but didn't so much feel in the film.
-Pretending Harry just met Bill was incredibly awkward, given how much time the films have shown Harry spend at the Weasley house.
-Oh, and the loss of the encouraging words on the memorial at the ruined Potter house.
Just Plain Freaked Me Out
Um, BATHILDA BAGSHOOT. OMG. She REALLY looked like she'd been dead for weeks.