I was sort of dreading seeing the movie because then it would all be over. The epic conclusion to my childhood and youth, essentially. Plus the end of the seventh book is full of scenes that induce massive amounts of weeping from me (no matter how many times I read it) and combining seeing those on screen with pregnancy hormones was making me a little nervous.
I of course cried (I'd have to be a heartless wretch not to), but I must confess that my initial reaction to the movie was one of slight disappointment.
Before you boo me off the stage here, let me explain. With all of the previous films I went into things with an open mind, knowing they can't recreate the books and that they would probably make weird changes. With the exception of the third movie, which I can barely stand to watch, I have never been really that disappointed before. But this time around, my expectations were super high since Part One had been awesome and followed the book extremely well, and you know, it's the end, so I thought they'd really get everything near perfect.
Part Two, not as much. And I thought some of the discrepancies were stupid. The things that really disappointed me were:
1. The Snape situation. I thought it was rushed and very unclear, and nowhere near as poignant and tragic as it is in the book. I know they couldn't spend forever on that scene, but I think that is one of the most important moments in the book and I felt like they didn't do it justice.
2. Fred's death. That part always kills me and while they show him dead with all the Weasleys around, I felt like it was sort of cheated because they didn't show it how it really happened.
3. I don't understand why they didn't just have Neville kill the snake in front of everyone. I think it's way cooler that way, how everyone sees him do it.
4. Along the same lines, when Harry kills Voldemort, it's much cooler in the book when they're in the great hall and Harry is talking to him and getting in his head and everyone is around. I thought the scene in the movie was anticlimactic.
You might not agree with me on any of these matters (and there were more things that I didn't like), but I think I was disappointed because these are some of my favorite parts in the books so I was most looking forward to these scenes and I just didn't like the choices they made regarding them.
I really did love the movie though; I think I need to see it again, you know, to fully process things. The battle for Hogwarts was super rad (not as rad as it is in the books, which would have been impossible, so it was okay), I adored every second that Professor McGonagall was on screen, and I thought the scene with the resurrection stone was amazing. So it's not like I hated it, I think I just had higher expectations.
And here I am, wearing my super awesome Harry Potter shirt that I bought in December and vowed to wear to the premiere of the movie. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't fit anymore, but I think it was socially acceptable enough.
Harry's face always looks distorted like that. It's a really ugly shirt, which is probably why it was 50% off. But I thought I'd represent, and it was much too hot to wear my Ravenclaw scarf.Long live Harry Potter. And I solemnly swear I will never stop having Harry Potter nights, even though this was the last "official" one.
4 comments:
Yeah...I agree. A lot. I've been wanting to write about it but I was just so underwhelmed. Most of the people I've talked to feel the same. It's like we're almost apologetic for not liking it as much as we could have because this is the LAST Harry Potter movie, but the fact of the matter is that that it just wasn't that great. (Or, at least, not nearly as great as it could have been.)
I did love lots of it, just not ALL of it. Also, the second time is better.
yay! love your shirt and i think your review is really good, i wish i had read it more recently so i could remember! but i agree with the snape thing, and the crying. I'm not even pregnant and i was crying!
haha oh that shirt. I felt EXACTLY the same way when the movie ended. I was a little disappointed just because my expectations were so high from the first movie, but after I processed it a little more I realized I did like it and they did a fairly good job. McGonagall was my absolute favorite in the movie. She was amazing. My biggest beef with the movie was how little the explained about Dumbledore. Aberforth just acuses him of killing their sister and no bothers to explain what that's all about,so it leaves you feeling like maybe Dumbledore was just a big jerk after all, and I'm sure you know how much I wouldn't like that. I think I too, need to see it again and take it in at face value instead of with super high expectations. I think really I enjoyed it and it was good. It just wasn't FABULOUS. We totally have to keep having Harry Potter nights. Besides, we have to instill this love for HP in the future little ones, which will ultimately require grand Harry Potter parties. Also, I cried at least seven times.
Don't feel too bad about the critique of the movie. I really didn't like how the movie was 100% all about Harry and everything else was either forgotten or brushed aside. Also I loved how they never explained in the movie the curse on Voldemort's name. They said his name in the 1st one and not in the 2nd and never explained why. I was also very upset how they ended it. I loved how in the book how Harry makes Voldemort out to be the fool in front of everyone. I was very angry at the part where mama Weasley kills whatsherface. I was looking forward to that part more than anything else and it was as bland as cardboard. Last thing, I love how the title was The Deathly Hallows and they mentioned how important they were but when it came down to it they really didn't matter at all... brushed aside like anyone else who's not named Harry Potter.
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