Escape to the Movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

[tiredinnuendo]

The biggest thing to stand out at me about these films was that someone somewhere in this production dropped the ball as relates to how the Power Trio interacts. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have absolutely *zero* chemistry, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have such powerful chemistry (which the director is clearly playing up at times) with Daniel Radcliffe. It really does seem like the filmmakers decided that Hermione and Harry should be the ones in love, so they deliberately fade Ron to the background and always zoom in on Hermione staring lovingly at Harry. In the book, their kiss was sudden. In the movie it's completely out of nowhere.

It also doesn't help that Harry has zero chemistry with Bonnie Wright.

- J

 

[JoelChenFA]

The biggest thing to stand out at me about these films was that someone somewhere in this production dropped the ball as relates to how the Power Trio interacts. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have absolutely *zero* chemistry, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have such powerful chemistry (which the director is clearly playing up at times) with Daniel Radcliffe. It really does seem like the filmmakers decided that Hermione and Harry should be the ones in love, so they deliberately fade Ron to the background and always zoom in on Hermione staring lovingly at Harry. In the book, their kiss was sudden. In the movie it's completely out of nowhere.

It also doesn't help that Harry has zero chemistry with Bonnie Wright.

- J

Its not easy to have charisma with Bonnie Wright. She is like the girl Harry banged cause Ron called dips on Hermione.

 

[JoelChenFA]

He has not read the books...
He just lost all nerd-cred with me.
ALL of it.
And he made himself sound stupid by saying that.
Now I hear him droning but...
He
has
not
read
Harry
Potter

What has his review on a MOVIE got to do with the book? I never read the book either and was seriously consider reading the series until i watched the final installment. One "Abbacadabra" to many broke my brain.

 

[JoelChenFA]

I really enjoyed the movie. Very emotional (Snape's scene had a manly tear or two coming out) at times and a good watch. I missed a couple of details from the books, but oh well.

It's a bit of an odd feeling for me. Having spent quite literally two thirds of my life with Harry Potter in it, it's bizarre. It came out just before I turned 7 and ends just before I turn 21. I grew up with it and it's over. But I considered it truly over when the 7th book came out, so I'm not too fussed now. Also the movies, I thought 1-4 were just fucking dreadful. David Yates made it worth watching again.

I got this feeling that scene was touching more due to good acting than good writing.

 

[JoelChenFA]

I stopped watching the movies after two when they were coming out because my younger self was quite the pretentious "adaptation-purist", and refused to read the last book after 6 because Half-Blood Prince is one of the worst written and most boring novels I've ever been unfortunate enough to read. However, when Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 came out my fiance dragged me along to it, and I was impressed as hell! That movie was amazing in a ton of different ways. So I'm definitely looking forward to this last one, probably going to see sometime in the next week.

I think even if you hated Harry potter the novels for being boring and cliche, its very hard to hate Harry Potter the movies. Cause they are awesome.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I liked this movie more then the other harry potters. Of course the books were way better though.

 

[Juliamon]

Went to the midnight premiere.
It's by no means perfect (there were at least two scenes that the entire theater erupted in laughter at although it was clearly meant to be dramatic, and more than once my sister turned to me to hiss "WHAT. But that doesn't exist/they don't exist in the movie canon!") but it's still a solid piece of entertainment. I didn't "grow up" with it, hell I didn't even start reading the books until I was in 12th grade and the first movie was coming out (at which point I was basically peer-pressured into it), so I don't have the same attachment as my sister and friends. That didn't make it any less fun. I even started to tear up a bit when they walked through the great hall filled with the wounded and dead.

I think what I enjoyed most about it was seeing how the films have evolved over time. We'd spent the week watching the other 7 movies and basically tearing them apart for fun, so they were all pretty fresh in my mind and I could appreciate that any iffy CGI or acting in 7b was STILL vastly improved from 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, to tie it to LotR a bit more effectively: Dumbledore the White. That is all.

 

[silent-treatment]

so its finnaly here and i dont care. for the first time i feel old(in only 14)

LOL i just did the math, and I got into Harry Potter in first, or second grade, so I was 6ish, I am now 20...that's 13 or 14 years. Good job kid, you have made me feel old lol.

YOU feel old? I was 11 when the first book came out, meaning I was about the same age as Harry was meant to be. Didnt actually know about the series till the second one, which means I was in 7th or 8th grade. Now Im 24.

Kinda cool to see how HP has entwined itself in all of the age groups huh.

 

[WonderWillard]

I'm glad that the movie is good and all, but I just have this resentment towards Harry Potter now. Because I read the books when they came out 10 years ago or whatever in elementary school, and everyone thought it was nerdy, and made fun of you for reading it. I didn't really care at the time, just rolled my eyes and kept on reading the books. Now, it's all trendy and popular to love Harry Potter.

For example, my stupid, preppy 13-year old sister now has a bunch of friggin Daniel Radcliffe posters all over her room, and was all giddy and excited for the last 2 movies to come out. And then at work at the ice cream shop, they were talking about Harry Potter and the last movie coming out, and I said that I'm not really in to Harry Potter, I'm much more interested in the Song of Ice and Fire . Someone went, wow haha, you're such a nerd. ... Normally I wouldn't care, but in this particular situation I was just irritated.

Also, if it becomes "cool" and popular within the next couple years, to watch the HBO adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, I am going to be pissed.

 

[Gatx]

I love how all the bright colors are gone from the posters starting from part 3.

 

[Zing]

Yeah I found it anti-climatic. Good movie, but anti-climatic.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm glad it's over.

After the third film this series started limping like a one-legged walrus. Mainly due to it being the same fucking movie everytime: Harry returns to Hogwarts and discovers an evil plan by Voldemort. No one but Ron and Hermione believe him, but in the end the truth reveals itself and Harry is proven to be correct, only to be disbelieved again in the next movie. Wash, rinse, repeat.

That and the fact that David Yates lacks any form of cinematic vision.

Yes, the movies are just so horrible.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone/ 80%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_chamber_of_secrets/ 83%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_prisoner_of_azkaban/ 91%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_goblet_of_fire/ 87%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_order_of_the_phoenix/ 78%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_half_blood_prince/ 83%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_1/ 79%
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_2/ 97%

I'm glad someone agrees with me,... instead of posting links to Rottentomatoes in place of an actual counter argument to why they disagree.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Good thing I've read the book, so I don't need to worry about spoilers...

Although, I haven't read the final book in a long time, so I'm still a little confused about the whole "Elder Wand being Harry's" business...

*SPOILERS*Malfoy disarms dumbledore and snape kills him, but since snape was on the same side as dumbledore and it was according to plan malfoy actually had the elder wand. And then harry defeats malfoy at the house were dobby dies, therefore it's his. Voldimort doesn't know about snape being a double agent, and kills him thinking the elder wand is now his, but it isn't. Understand it now?

 

[Thunderhorse31]

Ending discussion spoilers ahoy!

Spoiler

The final confrontation between Potter and Riddle in the film is very different from the book. In the book, it was written as a Battle Royale in Hogwarts' main hall involving hundreds of people at once, whereas in the film it's mostly just Potter and Riddle one-on-one, with occasional cut-aways to various other fights throughout the castle. In one sense, the film is an improvement, because the book has this long piece of exposition between Potter and Riddle as they circle each other in the main hall surrounded by everyone else waiting to see what happens. For me, it was easily the most awkward part of the book and clearly needed to be re-worked. However, the film is also almost anti-climactic, as there's essentially nobody present to witness Potter defeating Riddle. Even Potter's victory feels bleak.

The only thing that disappointed me about this movie was how much the ending was changed. I wanted Harry's big speech before killing Voldemort, with the subsequent massive celebration. Instead, Harry and Voldemort dueled alone and Voldemort was killed quietly, and nobody even seemed to acknowledge it!

Overall a good movie, but the ending was a shame.

I, like JeanLuc here, preferred the book ending to the movie ending. Harry's explanation about how he had become the Master of Death, that the Horcruxes were gone, calling him "Tom" (a la Dumbledore) instead of Voldemort, etc. - it all made Harry seem pretty badass. And he did it in front of all those people!

Plus there wasn't any lengthy, counter-jinx, maybe-he-wins-maybe-he-loses drama, it was just BOOM! Tom's dead. Proof of how little Riddle cared to comprehend "old magic," proof of how far Harry had come in his maturity and the success of his quest, etc. I know they kinda had to stretch it out and bloat the scene for a movie, but the scene in the book did a much, MUCH better job of showing the characters come full-circle.

Like you both pointed out, it seems like the movie ending exchanged a bang for a whimper.

 

[SniperMacFox]

I watched the film at midnight so it's probably kinda predictable on how I feel about the movie, but I just want to say thanks to Moviebob for creating such a good, balanced review from his neutral standpoint. Having read the books and been so hyped about watching it I found it hard to really tell others how good the film is. The vast majority of the points made are completely spot on and the parts that I disagree with are more than probably caused by mixing up the book canon with the film's canon itself.

So, I wonder if they can spell O-S-C-A-R next year...

 

[Nfritzappa]

Part 1 was a big disappointment, so I better enjoy Part 2.

By huge disappointment, I meant it was way too gritty, overenthusiastic with it's use of the rule of thirds, and if you didn't read the books, you were lost in all of it. I had read the books, but still.

I never read any of the books and I loved Part 1. I guess you think the source material is too hard to grasp without reading the books? Because its really not.

 

[Nimcha]

You can simply ignore it if you don't enjoy it.

You have any idea how hard that is for someone who loves movies and books but not Harry Potter? >.>

 

[Norix596]

Don't worry, MovieBob - The Malfoys getting off scott-free doesn't make any more sense if you read the books either ^^

 

[MB202]

Good thing I've read the book, so I don't need to worry about spoilers...

Although, I haven't read the final book in a long time, so I'm still a little confused about the whole "Elder Wand being Harry's" business...

*SPOILERS*Malfoy disarms dumbledore and snape kills him, but since snape was on the same side as dumbledore and it was according to plan malfoy actually had the elder wand. And then harry defeats malfoy at the house were dobby dies, therefore it's his. Voldimort doesn't know about snape being a double agent, and kills him thinking the elder wand is now his, but it isn't. Understand it now?

Someone else already answered the question for me.