First thing you need to know about me is that I am a huge fan of the Fantasy genre. I have seen since I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings when I was nine. This is why I started a sci-fi/fantasy book club seven years ago (and it is still going today). What I love about fantasy is that the premise is usually about people banding together to fight for the greater good. The actual greater good and not just one person’s definition of the greater good…which can get a bit confusing as it were.
I remember when the Harry Potter books first came out and I was reluctant to read them at all because they were children’s novels. I am not someone that does things because everyone else does. But then I went and saw the saw the first movie and I was enchanted. Now ten years later, seven books, and eight movies later…it may finally be over.
I love the books. I truly do. Like everyone else, we grew up with these kids. First in the books, and later in the movies. Yeah, not all of the movies were as good as they could be (especially Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire), but overall I still enjoyed them. Last night we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. I really enjoyed Part 1, regardless of the fact that It was a bit slow from time to time. But I am also a huge fan of the book…so those things do not bother me as much. But with something you love, you really want them to end it on a high note. Whether you are reading a book or watching a movie.
So, my thoughts on the movie? I really enjoyed it. To be fair, I am a bit of an emotional guy, and the movie got me pretty good on that regard. So, there were a lot of moments in the movies that really hit me. I think the first one last night was when they got back to Hogwarts and see all of their classmates and then a bit later when the Order of the Phoenix arrived (Go prof. McGonagall).
From the time they got to The Room of Requirement to The last battle with Voldemort, it was done about as well as I could have hoped. A few stand out moment?
· After they left the Room of Requirement, there is a scene where the three of them get caught up in the battle. I loved this because the music was amazing and had a sense of almost hopelessness to it. Just proving again how vital music can be in helping a scene.
· How they handled Snape’s memories and what actually meant to Harry. This was amazing and powerful scene.
· I know it was silly, but it was great to Ron and Hermione kiss.
· The CGI for different things. The room of requirement and the killing of the horcruxes.
· Neville! Yeah that changed how he came to do it, but damn it was awesome to see him get his moment.
· Mrs. Weasley getting to get her moment in the sun as well. I even did a bit of a fist pump. J
· The Dragon was sweet!
I loved this movie, but there a few nitpicks.
· How they handled the last fight between Harry and Voldemort. I am someone that likes CGI, but only to add to a scene. I feel like they used CGI to make it a completely different scene totally, and it just felt that way. It wasn’t horrible, but I would have rather seen something more like the end of the book.
· Also, it would have been nice for the fight between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix to be a bit longer.
· The amount of wizard that attacked Hogwarts was a bit too much like helm’s deep.
So my final thoughts are that they did a great job with finishing the series. Yeah, a few things here or there could have been tweaked, but overall I loved it.
I honestly think this was the best of the movies. Admittedly, I've only read book 7 once, so it's by far the fuzziest. But, I felt like they really hit a lot of things really right. I loved how they handled Snape's memories.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you on wanting to see a longer Molly/Bellatrix fight. I kind of understand that they had time constraints, but I could have done with a minute less of Harry and V.
I'm not entirely sure they handled the Malfoy subplot well. Since I remembered it all from the book, the emotional beats really hit home. My wife didn't remember that bit, though, and was quite confused by a lot of it.
You know, I think you may be right. I think it may have been the best of them. I think it is so esay to go back and find things wrong with this type of movie/story. We all do it. But I also know the movie was right abound 2 hours and that is turning into a kind of cut off point.
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