Deathly Hallows Part 2
So, Deathly Hallows Part 2.
I saw a double feature, which was awesome. I love Part 1, so it was a great way to get me in the mood for Part 2.
There were many things I loved, and several things I disliked a lot.
First, things I loved:
1. The Gringotts sequence, especially Helena Bonham Carter. She's such a great actress.
2. Harry, Ron, and Hermione arriving in the Room of Requirement and seeing all their friends there. It was lovely.
3. The scene in the Great Hall. Harry stepping forward, with the Order of the Phoenix behind him. Very epic.
4. McGonagall defending Harry. McGonagall transfiguring the statues. "I've always wanted to use that spell." Just - McGonagall.
5. That Sprout was actually in the movie! Yay Hufflepuff!
6. The Ron/Hermione kiss. Absolutely adorable and perfect. As soon as the water subsided I said "They're gonna make out."
7. Snape's death scene. I enjoyed the change in venue and thought it worked really well. Alan Rickman had me near tears, and I don't even like Snape. I liked the addition of "You have your mother's eyes."
8. The entire Prince's Tale scene. Very well done, explained everything you needed to know, with great acting by Rickman and Michael Gambon.
9. The forest scene. Absolutely perfect.
10. The inclusion of my favorite line from the book - of course this is all happening inside your head, but why does that mean it is not real?
11. Neville being a BAMF.
12. Molly. Weasley.
13. The epilogue. Yes, I said it. Mainly because of John Williams' beautiful music that hit a crescendo at just the right moments. It completely harkened back to the early films and made me very, very nostalgic. Also, I was impressed with how they aged everyone, especially Dan Radcliffe (but not Draco with the flesh beard).
Now, things that really bothered me:
1. They never explained why Voldemort picked the horcruxes. This want back to the sixth movie, when they said that the horcruxes could be anything. NO, THEY WEREN'T. They were important objects that Voldemort deliberately picked. In DH2, they don't even mention that the cup is Helga Hufflepuff's. It's just something in Bella's vault.
2. They never outright stated that Harry had all three Hallows and therefore was the master of death. For a movie called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," I thought that was a very grievous omission. He uses the Invisibilty Cloak once in the film, so astute viewers can figure out that Harry has the cloak - but it's not specified that his is THE cloak in the Tale of the Three Brothers. I really would have liked to see Dumbledore and Harry discuss the Hallows, and the Hallows to have had a greater importance to the film. As it was, they were like a macguffin. All that mattered was the Elder Wand.
3. The final duel. Now, I really don't mind when things are changed that stay thematically true to the source material. For example, Dumbledore's death in Half-Blood Prince. The outcome was the same - Draco disarmed Dumbledore, Snape as seen as a traitor, Dumbledore died. I didn't mind Harry and Voldemort going all over the school and using a lot more magic. It worked for the film. HOWEVER, Harry never explained to Voldemort "the Flaw in the Plan." He never gave Voldemort a chance to "give up." To me, that was a huge, HUGE part of Harry's character and I was very upset it was taken out. This changed the entire tone of the duel and not in a good way.
4. Harry not using the Elder Wand to repair his own. I liked him actually breaking it, and thought it was a nice touch. But with all the emphasis on wand lore and the wand choosing the wizard, I thought it was a huge mistake not to show him choosing the wand that chose him.
5. Not showing Fred's death on camera. He died on the page in the book, and I was expecting a huge moment like that in the film. Seeing him in the Great Hall was sad, but nowhere near as sad as it would have been to see him die. A lost opportunity.
Now, in spite of that negativity, I did enjoy myself. The good outweighed the bad, and I'm sad it's over. But in the end the books are canon, the films are AU fanfic.
I saw a double feature, which was awesome. I love Part 1, so it was a great way to get me in the mood for Part 2.
There were many things I loved, and several things I disliked a lot.
First, things I loved:
1. The Gringotts sequence, especially Helena Bonham Carter. She's such a great actress.
2. Harry, Ron, and Hermione arriving in the Room of Requirement and seeing all their friends there. It was lovely.
3. The scene in the Great Hall. Harry stepping forward, with the Order of the Phoenix behind him. Very epic.
4. McGonagall defending Harry. McGonagall transfiguring the statues. "I've always wanted to use that spell." Just - McGonagall.
5. That Sprout was actually in the movie! Yay Hufflepuff!
6. The Ron/Hermione kiss. Absolutely adorable and perfect. As soon as the water subsided I said "They're gonna make out."
7. Snape's death scene. I enjoyed the change in venue and thought it worked really well. Alan Rickman had me near tears, and I don't even like Snape. I liked the addition of "You have your mother's eyes."
8. The entire Prince's Tale scene. Very well done, explained everything you needed to know, with great acting by Rickman and Michael Gambon.
9. The forest scene. Absolutely perfect.
10. The inclusion of my favorite line from the book - of course this is all happening inside your head, but why does that mean it is not real?
11. Neville being a BAMF.
12. Molly. Weasley.
13. The epilogue. Yes, I said it. Mainly because of John Williams' beautiful music that hit a crescendo at just the right moments. It completely harkened back to the early films and made me very, very nostalgic. Also, I was impressed with how they aged everyone, especially Dan Radcliffe (but not Draco with the flesh beard).
Now, things that really bothered me:
1. They never explained why Voldemort picked the horcruxes. This want back to the sixth movie, when they said that the horcruxes could be anything. NO, THEY WEREN'T. They were important objects that Voldemort deliberately picked. In DH2, they don't even mention that the cup is Helga Hufflepuff's. It's just something in Bella's vault.
2. They never outright stated that Harry had all three Hallows and therefore was the master of death. For a movie called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," I thought that was a very grievous omission. He uses the Invisibilty Cloak once in the film, so astute viewers can figure out that Harry has the cloak - but it's not specified that his is THE cloak in the Tale of the Three Brothers. I really would have liked to see Dumbledore and Harry discuss the Hallows, and the Hallows to have had a greater importance to the film. As it was, they were like a macguffin. All that mattered was the Elder Wand.
3. The final duel. Now, I really don't mind when things are changed that stay thematically true to the source material. For example, Dumbledore's death in Half-Blood Prince. The outcome was the same - Draco disarmed Dumbledore, Snape as seen as a traitor, Dumbledore died. I didn't mind Harry and Voldemort going all over the school and using a lot more magic. It worked for the film. HOWEVER, Harry never explained to Voldemort "the Flaw in the Plan." He never gave Voldemort a chance to "give up." To me, that was a huge, HUGE part of Harry's character and I was very upset it was taken out. This changed the entire tone of the duel and not in a good way.
4. Harry not using the Elder Wand to repair his own. I liked him actually breaking it, and thought it was a nice touch. But with all the emphasis on wand lore and the wand choosing the wizard, I thought it was a huge mistake not to show him choosing the wand that chose him.
5. Not showing Fred's death on camera. He died on the page in the book, and I was expecting a huge moment like that in the film. Seeing him in the Great Hall was sad, but nowhere near as sad as it would have been to see him die. A lost opportunity.
Now, in spite of that negativity, I did enjoy myself. The good outweighed the bad, and I'm sad it's over. But in the end the books are canon, the films are AU fanfic.