Deathravin
07-15-2011, 10:50 AM
So I took two days off of work so I could go to a 2 day Harry Potter marathon. I saw each movie (even sat through those abysmal first two) in order in 36 hours. it was a long, long process that I really enjoyed - just watching them again with a theater full of die-hard fans was very cool.
We then went to another theater (the marathon one didn't have digital projectors, good sound or stadium seating... which was blasphemous to say the least) to watch the finale.
It may have been the two days of living in a movie theater, eating more popcorn, candy and soda than a normal human being should consume in a year, the exhaustion of sitting in an uncomfortable chair for 18 hours, or the pro-HP vibe in the theater... but I thought the first 3/4ths (from the start to where Neville cut the head off the snake in the BOOK) was phenomenal.
Shell cottage was great - conversation with griphook and olivander. He really showed that he had grown up a lot after dobbie's death.
Why Herminone was chosen to be Bellatrix is beyond me. In the book she at least sort of pulls it off, but in the movie she's as anti Bellatrix as you can get and she didn't play that part well (Herminone as the actress, not the actor in the movie, she did great)... but that was a bit unbelievable that she could be that out of character and be not instantly tackled. Maybe that's a testament to how feared Bellatrix is.
The whole Gringotts vault was fantastic. Escaping on the dragon was great. I liked that he was more in-tune with the horcruxes than he was in the book. It makes sense that he could feel them and fits in very well. The only incongruity I'd see was why didn't he feel that way in the 2nd book with the diary.
The Aberforth scene was good as was the meeting up in Hogwarts. Everybody seemed properly excited... I very much enjoyed how Snape was driven from the castle by McGonagall. I would have liked to see the scene where the Slytheryns point out Harry and each of the other houses raise their wands in defense. It was a very powerful image in the book.
I thought the shell of defense was very cool. I would have liked to see each of the teachers gathering their specialty in making a defense, also that they didn't evacuate the young students was a problem for me. In the running around the castle Harry must have staged hundreds of students to just run against him... there's only ~150 students in Hogwarts (4 houses, 5-6 students per house per year, 7 years of study), even less in the 7th year as all the muggle-borns weren't there. Yet there seemed to be a tide of students to run against Harry where-ever he went.
The diedem and room of requirement scenes were fine. Everything perfectly in order, almost exactly book cannon. As was the snape death scene, although I remain confused why having his snake kill snape would be an acceptable death for the allegiance of the elder wand - or why voldemort would have been okay with allowing for that chance. A killing curse would have been 100% sure to transfer allegiance - but then you don't get the snape death staring into Harry's eyes.
OKAY... about Harry's eyes. They're somewhat blue, they should be green, fine... but this whole bloody story hinges on the fact that he and his mother have the same eyes. Snape fell in love with Lilly, so having her eyes is enough to fight for Harry in snape's mind. But none of the actresses they chose have blue eyes, they all have brown/black eyes. I mean, with all the CGI, you couldn't just CHANGE them? Serious oversight IMO.
Now, the pensive scenes were fine, his death - I would have rather him toss on the cloak and walk out just like the book, only stopping to tell Neville to kill the snake... His death was fine other than that, the king's cross while a silly scene in the book, was very similar so fine.
NOW... we get to my only real gripe.
Book:
There's a whole 'love magic' thing that keeps Voldemort from affecting any of Harry's friends - very silly, basically states that nobody dies for anybody in the wizarding world, so it's uncommon.
Voldemort, after 'killing' Harry Potter, feeling he's invincible from the rest, unprotects his snake, and taunts the Hogwarts fighters. Harry sneaks off in his cloak (i think) and in the seconds of confusion that followed, Neville is able to kill the snake with the sword.
A fight with highly experienced wizards breaks out so Voldemort has no choice but to fight. He would be tracked if he left (and maybe you still can't apparate out of the grounds).
Even with all of his horcruxes gone, he must fight. So it comes down to a lot of talking then a final attack where the elder wand betrays Voldemort and his killing curse rebounds upon himself.
Movie:
No 'love magic', which is fine, as it was pretty silly.
Harry has a poignant little exchange with his friends and doesn't tell Neville to kill the snake.
So after Harry 'dies' and is brought back... When Harry gets up and scampers off, Neville doesn't kill the snake!
Now instead of Voldemort grabbing the snake and fleeing as he probably would (his first and foremost instinct is to protect himself). He would have hidden the snake and come back... That's the whole point why the snake has to die so instantly and in so much chaos.
The exchange of battle is just silly. It's still voldemort, still the man who took on Dumbledore and lived to tell the tale. He could have killed Harry in a heartbeat.
The snake lives! And Voldemort sends it to attack a group of people who have just gotten through with a horcrux killing-spree. They just destroyed 4 horcruxes, I'm sure they won't kill my snake too, he'll be FINE. Let's just leave him.
That was so very silly. And for what? to add a bit more drama to an already very dramatic situation?
Anyway, other than that, fantastic movie. Great ending to the franchise (or at least this chapter of it).
I just had to get that off my chest, and it feels much better - thanks for reading if you did.
TLDR The final battle was illogical, the rest of the movie was great.
We then went to another theater (the marathon one didn't have digital projectors, good sound or stadium seating... which was blasphemous to say the least) to watch the finale.
It may have been the two days of living in a movie theater, eating more popcorn, candy and soda than a normal human being should consume in a year, the exhaustion of sitting in an uncomfortable chair for 18 hours, or the pro-HP vibe in the theater... but I thought the first 3/4ths (from the start to where Neville cut the head off the snake in the BOOK) was phenomenal.
Shell cottage was great - conversation with griphook and olivander. He really showed that he had grown up a lot after dobbie's death.
Why Herminone was chosen to be Bellatrix is beyond me. In the book she at least sort of pulls it off, but in the movie she's as anti Bellatrix as you can get and she didn't play that part well (Herminone as the actress, not the actor in the movie, she did great)... but that was a bit unbelievable that she could be that out of character and be not instantly tackled. Maybe that's a testament to how feared Bellatrix is.
The whole Gringotts vault was fantastic. Escaping on the dragon was great. I liked that he was more in-tune with the horcruxes than he was in the book. It makes sense that he could feel them and fits in very well. The only incongruity I'd see was why didn't he feel that way in the 2nd book with the diary.
The Aberforth scene was good as was the meeting up in Hogwarts. Everybody seemed properly excited... I very much enjoyed how Snape was driven from the castle by McGonagall. I would have liked to see the scene where the Slytheryns point out Harry and each of the other houses raise their wands in defense. It was a very powerful image in the book.
I thought the shell of defense was very cool. I would have liked to see each of the teachers gathering their specialty in making a defense, also that they didn't evacuate the young students was a problem for me. In the running around the castle Harry must have staged hundreds of students to just run against him... there's only ~150 students in Hogwarts (4 houses, 5-6 students per house per year, 7 years of study), even less in the 7th year as all the muggle-borns weren't there. Yet there seemed to be a tide of students to run against Harry where-ever he went.
The diedem and room of requirement scenes were fine. Everything perfectly in order, almost exactly book cannon. As was the snape death scene, although I remain confused why having his snake kill snape would be an acceptable death for the allegiance of the elder wand - or why voldemort would have been okay with allowing for that chance. A killing curse would have been 100% sure to transfer allegiance - but then you don't get the snape death staring into Harry's eyes.
OKAY... about Harry's eyes. They're somewhat blue, they should be green, fine... but this whole bloody story hinges on the fact that he and his mother have the same eyes. Snape fell in love with Lilly, so having her eyes is enough to fight for Harry in snape's mind. But none of the actresses they chose have blue eyes, they all have brown/black eyes. I mean, with all the CGI, you couldn't just CHANGE them? Serious oversight IMO.
Now, the pensive scenes were fine, his death - I would have rather him toss on the cloak and walk out just like the book, only stopping to tell Neville to kill the snake... His death was fine other than that, the king's cross while a silly scene in the book, was very similar so fine.
NOW... we get to my only real gripe.
Book:
There's a whole 'love magic' thing that keeps Voldemort from affecting any of Harry's friends - very silly, basically states that nobody dies for anybody in the wizarding world, so it's uncommon.
Voldemort, after 'killing' Harry Potter, feeling he's invincible from the rest, unprotects his snake, and taunts the Hogwarts fighters. Harry sneaks off in his cloak (i think) and in the seconds of confusion that followed, Neville is able to kill the snake with the sword.
A fight with highly experienced wizards breaks out so Voldemort has no choice but to fight. He would be tracked if he left (and maybe you still can't apparate out of the grounds).
Even with all of his horcruxes gone, he must fight. So it comes down to a lot of talking then a final attack where the elder wand betrays Voldemort and his killing curse rebounds upon himself.
Movie:
No 'love magic', which is fine, as it was pretty silly.
Harry has a poignant little exchange with his friends and doesn't tell Neville to kill the snake.
So after Harry 'dies' and is brought back... When Harry gets up and scampers off, Neville doesn't kill the snake!
Now instead of Voldemort grabbing the snake and fleeing as he probably would (his first and foremost instinct is to protect himself). He would have hidden the snake and come back... That's the whole point why the snake has to die so instantly and in so much chaos.
The exchange of battle is just silly. It's still voldemort, still the man who took on Dumbledore and lived to tell the tale. He could have killed Harry in a heartbeat.
The snake lives! And Voldemort sends it to attack a group of people who have just gotten through with a horcrux killing-spree. They just destroyed 4 horcruxes, I'm sure they won't kill my snake too, he'll be FINE. Let's just leave him.
That was so very silly. And for what? to add a bit more drama to an already very dramatic situation?
Anyway, other than that, fantastic movie. Great ending to the franchise (or at least this chapter of it).
I just had to get that off my chest, and it feels much better - thanks for reading if you did.
TLDR The final battle was illogical, the rest of the movie was great.