GENERAL SPOILER WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I just got home from the movie and just wanted to write off a quick review before I forget my thoughts.
It was great. From a general movie-goer experience, it definitely packed a punch. I saw it in 3D so the effects were amazing, especially the final battle, which had me on the edge of my seat, even though I knew what was going to happen.
The dragon scene was really well done, in terms of effects and also in general. Another scene that stood out in terms of effects was the scene in the Room of Requirement with Draco and the trio, which escalated quite quickly as the fire took a life of its own.
And the final battle? Awesome. Even though they added a lot of stuff with Harry and Voldemort there at the end, it added to the suspense as the tension built. A scene I absolutely loved was when Harry jumps off the bridge with Voldemort (which I thought looked cheesy in the trailer), as they both spiral downwards and then fly all around Hogwarts, shifting and melting into one.
The best performance by far was by Alan Rickman who pulled of Snape’s complexity and heartbreak so well. Again, certain unspoken scenes were added to show the depth of his despair (in the Pensieve) and I felt my eyes well up again as he died and stared up into Harry’s eyes for the last time.
But (you knew there was a but coming!) there were some problems. It was choppy. The transitions sometimes weren’t done well in between scenes so that the flow wasn’t smooth and the scenes just flipped from one to another. I think this goes back to the organization of the plot, which depends a lot on the first half of the movie. The first half had been so condensed, with so much taken out, that even though the second half spanned and stretched the last 100 pages of the book, there was lots missing. It felt like Yates had highlighted main points in the book that he had to navigate in the movie: from a to b to c and then to d. No time was wasted on transitions. This might actually have been the fault of the editing process of this part, since I don’t seem to remember it being in the first part.
Something else that was awkward was the comic relief that was (forcefully) there. I know they were trying to throw some light moments in there amidst all the killing and murder, but at times with the awkward transitioning it just fell flat. The two kisses in the movie seemed in the wrong place, since the scenes following after them were rather serious. Lots of unintentionally funny stuff kept me amusedย throughout, like Voldemort laughing like a maniac when Neville steps forward with a limp.
As you may or may not know, I’m nit-pickey. I tried to forget about all the stuff missing from the book but it was hard to do. There were just so many loose ends. Yates sort of forgotthe movie was called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsย and not Horcruxes. Hallows were sort of forgotten by the end and there was no tying of the knots, other than the dropping of the Resurrection Stone and cracking the Elder Wand (whaaaaat!) in half.
All in all, it was a great movie. Not my favourite out of the 8, but definitely a ride worth taking. There were some beautiful moments, especially at the end with the trio, that reminded me once again that it was all over. Savour it while you can.
That’s all there is; there isn’t any more.
Thanks for reading,
Ikhlas
I really enjoyed your review of this movie. I just saw this movie last night and my two biggest complaints were that it often felt choppy and in several instances the timing seemed off (i.e. when Hermione chooses to jump onto the dragon. It just felt like there should have been a moment of hesitation before she jumped. It was too fast)
I realize they had to chop a lot out but it was so edited that I think it lost a lot of the heart that the book has. There were often many parts where it would have been difficult to understand what was happening and the emotions behind those scenes unless you had read the books (i.e. the room of requirement scene). I agree that the kiss between Ron and Hermione was badly placed and I felt there wasn’t enough emotion between Harry and Ginny.
That being said I had a hard time not crying when Harry spoke to the ghosts of those he loves before he ‘dies’. I also really enjoyed the Voldermort/Harry flying scene, as well as the Dumbledore/Harry train station scene. Voldermort’s hug of Malfoy was hilarious. Most of the people in my theatre cracked up at that point. It was a well done moment of comic relief. I guess I’ve always enjoyed books more than movies so while it didn’t live up to its book counterpart I would say that on the whole I really enjoyed this movie.
Thanks for the great review Ikhlas. I wish you the best in your publishing program and look forward to hearing where you go after graduation.
Thanks so much for your comment, Tikvah! And glad you enjoyed reading the review ๐
I definitely agree with you about the choppiness of the film and the bad editing. I knew what was happening, because of reading the books, but my mom and brother were confused (as they often are during HP). I even found myself getting confused, because things weren’t matching up with the book and certain things had changed in the first part.
The Harry and Voldemort scene was awesome! Loved the effects in that scene; at parts it even looked like they were melding into one person.
Some of the Voldemort scenes also got some laughs in my theatre, which was kind of jarring considering how serious they were in the book!
I feel like I need to watch it again to absorb it all again, because I was so tired on Friday night that I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
Thanks again for your comment and for checking out my website! ๐