My review of Deathly Hallows part 2

*It's been out a month. Hopefully I've waited long enough for everyone to see it, so I'm not ruining the fun for anyone. Just to be clear, this is a super spoiler alert- like, almost every scene!


Are you ready??  This is going to be exciting!

First, all the good stuff:

Since this is a Happy blog, and we're talking about Harry Potter here, I am going to start with all the good stuff from the film, and there was a lot of good stuff! (This is more or less in chronological order, not in the order of what I loved best).

Dobby's Grave

The last movie ended on the saddest moment in all 7 books, arguably the saddest moment in any book,  Dobby's death. It is ridiculous how sad it is, Rowling uses all the right words to ensure maximum weepage. And Dobby's death was sad in the movie as well, although, like most of the cinematic character deaths, it certainly didn't hit me as hard as it did in the book. I thought part 1 ended in a beautiful spot though, at Shell Cottage, with the trio surrounding the brave little elf who had just sacrificed himself to save them from sure death. But when the movie ended without showing the grave Harry made for Dobby, I got worried. Surely they wouldn't cut that out of the movie!


So, when part 2 opened and showed the writing on the headstone, "Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf" I smiled (through misty eyes) and sighed in relief. Thank you, movie makers, for adding that important scene. And for making Dobby's departure span both movies. He certainly earned it. 

Inside Shell Cottage

I have a real thing for the homes in Harry Potter. The Burrow, 12 Grimauld Place, Spinner's End, not to mention all of the wonders of Hogwart's Castle. I get lost in the sense of each place, and I think that the movies have done a great job making Rowling's words come to life on the big screen. Shell Cottage was beautiful. I loved the exterior shots that we got to see at the end of the last film, but I was so happy to get to go inside in this one! It was cool and sparse but still so lovely and homey. I enjoyed all the little details, the rough walls embedded with shells, the delicate lace curtains, the starfish on the windowsill... so peacefully beautiful and perfect. Just perfect.

Hermione as Bellatrix

I love each and every polyjuice scene, from Chamber of Secrets onwards... and this one is no exception. Helena B.C. did such a fantastic job playing Hermione playing Bellatrix! Her movements were wonderful- poised and yet awkward. The scene showed us how brave Hermione had to be, to mask herself inside a most nasty woman and venture straight into danger. And just to make sure we knew it was really Hermione and not Bellatrix, we got to see her stumble in those witchy heels, twice ;)  

Gringott's Vault

The journey in the cart down into the depths of Gringott's was great fun. It certainly got a little make over since Harry's first visit with Hagrid! And inside the Lestrange's vault was well done too. Sure, they didn't make the treasures scalding hot, but bravo on the gemino curse. All those duplicating plates and cuffs made for good watching!

DRAGON!

The dragon scenes inside of Gringott's blew me away. I am not one to get too excited over special effects just for special effects sake (I can be entertained by the hokiest cinematic tricks). But this dragon was amazing. He looked so real! His movements were so lifelike and his papery-white skinned looked as though it had been for ages locked deep below the earth. I couldn't believe how subtly they showed his fear of the goblins. It pulled on my (dragon)heartstrings to see him cower as they approached, making the clanking sound. And then his liberation! (Not sure exactly why they made him kill one of the goblins, but truthfully that part didn't impact me much.) His ascent to freedom and had me cheering! I was nervous for him as he clumsily climbed up the cavern, proud of him when he busted through the lobby floor, and that moment when he finally reached the open sky, atop the bank's highest dome and breathed his first breath of fresh air in who-knows-how-long...?? Pure magic. I breathed it in with him. I'm doing it right now just thinking about it! Well Done, Dragon!

Hermione's cleavage

I threw this one in there because there were a few hoots and hollers in the theater when Bellatrix, in her gothic tart dress, turned back into Hermione and we get a glimpse of boob. It was kind of funny. In this picture, it looks like Harry wants to grab 'em. 

Aberforth

This wasn't the most gripping scene in the movie, but I am glad it was included. The movie fell short on giving some characters depth (see my critique of Dumbledore and Harry in King's Cross station) but at least here we get to see that there was a bit more to the headmaster than meets the twinkling blue eye. Introducing us to Aberforth touches upon the idea that Albus has a past, one with tragedy and mistake and even shame, and that was so huge in the book. Of course I wanted for the movie to explore it more, but at least this scene made the cut. Aberforth was well casted and the dialogue followed what was in the book pretty closely- and I liked seeing upstairs in the Hog's Head (more interiors!) and Adriana's portrait.

The Room of Requirement

Whether it is a hide out for the résistance, or all aflame, the Room of Requirement is breathtaking. I want to sleep in one of those hammocks! I want to wander around the towers of hidden things that have been stashed there for ages. I want to spend time there. So happy that in this film, we got to enter it twice!

Luna guides Harry to the Grey Lady

Little dreamy Looney Lovegood does what it takes to get the great Harry Potter to listen to her. She knows what he needs to do to find what he's searching for and if it weren't for her speaking up, we'd still be one horcrux short of taking down the Dark Lord. Luna is one of the greatest characters in the whole series, and I love how cool she is- when explaining her mother's death, or talking about how other students take her belongings, and even when she has been held captive in the Malfoy's basement... but here she ditches her breathy voice for a commanding holler and I loved it. Isn't is wonderful how those who rarely yell pack such a punch when they finally do? And it was great how she immediately returned to her regular self, and guided Harry to the Grey Lady.

McGonagall kicks ass

McGonagall is wise, poised, stern and loyal- but she is first and foremost, a Gryffindor. She is brave, skilled, competitive and protective. The movies haven't shown her in this light too much (we never saw her take four stunning spells to the chest and live to fight another day!) But in the final film, McGonagall takes charge. She assumes the role of Headmistress and organizes the Final Battle of Hogwarts. 

There were several changes from the book to the big screen (the whole, 'Harry steps out of the group of students' scene...) but they all worked pretty well. And much of the good stuff was left untouched. McGonagall defeats Snape, she kicks out that horrible caballer, Pansy Parkinson, she orders the destruction of the bridge, she fortifies the castle- she shows she is a skilled witch and a true leader- and it was awesome to watch!

Ron & Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets
(and their kiss)

OK, here's one place where the movie might have been better than the book... a little. I loved that we got to see Ron and Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets. The destroying of the cup was exciting and freaky and cinematic, and I love the fact that they put it on the big screen instead of only referring to it like in the book! And the kiss... well, it was alright too. It was cute, and seemed pretty natural- like how real 17 year olds might go at it. And the laugh afterwards was endearing! That said, I like the kiss scene in the book better. It's hard to relate to the 'post-horcrux-destroying kiss', but kissing a guy who has just stood up for your cause?? Very relatable. But since they took the whole house elf/S.P.E.W. plot line out of all the movies, and Ron couldn't express concern for Kreacher and the other elves in the kitchen, then inside the Chamber was a pretty good moment for a first kiss.

Snape's Death

Snape's death was terrible, and amazing, and so amazingly terrible! The way it was portrayed in the movie might have been better than in the book. It was haunting and brutal! The fact that we don't see the actual attack makes it more dramatic! Instead of watching the scene in the Shrieking Shack, we are cowering outside of the boat house with Harry, Ron and Hermione, listening to him die, thudding against the glass walls with each of Nagini's fatal bites, barely able to make out his silhouette as he slumps towards the floor.

The moments before the attack, and the moments afterwards were so wonderfully done as well. Alan Rickman is a a titan! These scenes are his, and he delivers. One fan told me that this scene was the best in the whole movie and I might agree with him. It was eerie and sad, exciting and visceral. It gave me shivers. And his dying words to Harry, "look at me"... I'm speechless. 

Snape's memories

Harry's trip through Snape's memories was wonderful.  All very well done. Sometimes I wonder what it is like for a movie goer that has not read the books though, if they are able to understand scenes like this one- because they do feel a little hurried and not explained- but then I stop worrying about those folks, becasue they really ought to just read the books! ;)


Snape's memories told so much important back story-- not just the stuff that we as readers/watchers wanted to know, but the vital information that Harry needs in order to complete his task of destroying Voldemort-- and it does it without it feeling like its there just to move the plot along. It is sweet and shows the beauty in Snape, a character that has certainly shown off his dark side well enough. We see him as a boy, Sev, and we see Harry's mom as a little girl- both so sweet and magical! We see him studying at Hogwarts, awkward and separated from Lilly. We see him desperately plea for Dumbledore's help and then we see his heart broken, as he holds his murdered love in his arms. We see the deals he strikes with Dumbledore, his disdain for Harry and his vows to protect him, to fool Voldemort so that he may be destroyed, we see his patronus is still a silver doe, and will be 'always'... we see it all with Harry, and along with him, we understand. 

Harry goes to die

Every fan has their own set of scenes that stands out to them, and I am sure I am not alone when I say this is one of the most poignant scenes in the series for me. It is, after all, not so easy to die. The whole passage when he bravely walks out to the forbidden forest chokes up, and I was disappointed to see that it was all very different in the movie and, in my opinion far less heroic on Harry's part. However, I know that the movie cannot be an exact screen version of the books, and the movie did capture the essence of the chapter in this scene. Harry, Resurrection Stone in hand, calls up his dearest departed loved ones (with one exception) and tells them he is about to die. And nearly word for word, the movie matches the book. Harry asks if dying hurts, and listens to Sirius's response. He tells Remus how sorry he is that the new father won't be able to raise his son, and listens to his response, he tells his mother and father to walk with him to the very end- and quietly asks his mother, "stay close to me".  Wonderfully touching. 

The Rise of Neville

Ah, Neville. The prophesy could have been speaking about you, you know. For years, you have been the bumbling boy that somehow got placed into Gryffindor. You were the one who fell off your broom during the very first flying lesson, got attacked by the Cornish Pixies in Lockhart's class, and fainted at the sound of your baby mandrake... but look at you now. Basically the head of Dumbledore's Army! 

You've made this fan prouder than your old Gran, and I am so happy to see that you got some proper screen time in the final battle. You brought it! You protected the school, blew up the bridge, taunted some death eaters, bravely challenged He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and gave the good guys a much-needed pep talk-  and you killed the sh*t out of Nagini! And you did it all while wearing a CARDIGAN!

Rock on Neville. You've been showing us what you're made of since The Order of the Phoenix, and in this film you truly found your inner lion and proved to be courageous and brave- I don't think you've got a chance with Luna, but that's OK. You and Hannah Abbott end up very happy together, Professor.

And the not so good stuff:

Whew. You still with me?! I told you there was a lot of good stuff to talk about. And I left loads of little things out (I am working from memory here, I need to see it again!) But now for the stuff that wasn't so good...

Harry and Ginny's Kiss

eh. I know that the tweenies love the smooches, but this one was pretty lame. It happened right after the scene with Ron and Hermione's first kiss - a kiss that seemed spontaneous and organic (a kiss that had been years in the making). This one felt kinda forced and just thrown in there for the hell of it. Yes, either one could die at any moment, and yes, Harry's got love on his side- but really, there were better ways to show it that to toss in one more smacker-oo.

Fred's Death

I know it's a movie, and it cannot have every single scene in it due to time restraints and plot flow, or whatever... but this was major. Fred was a huge character throughout the series. He was mischievous, hilarious, brave and innovative. He was a Weasley. His death deserved some screen time. In the book, Fred's death ends a chapter, and then the grief from the loss opens the next one. It's a big deal! And it's Fred's death, you know. Tragic and heart wrenching, but fitting with his character, Fred died poking fun at his stuffy older brother. In the movie, it is a brief clip in a battle montage... tsk tsk.  

"No -- no-- no!" someone was shouting. "No! Fred! No!"

And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

Where's Hagrid?

The picture above is the first time we see Hagrid in the whole movie. Granted, there wasn't much of him in the second half of the book- but he did fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. I remember him flying through glass windows and stunning death eaters with his pink umbrella. And he tried to protect Grawp, and the spiders.... and he had a run in with the Centaurs. Seeing him tied up in the Forbidden Forest with Voldy and his crew, without any explanation, didn't work for me. Seriously, 2 more minutes of movie time is all it would take to fill in the gaps in Hagrid's story.

That said, I am happy that he was there for Harry's death. And that it was Hagrid who was forced to carry Harry's limp body back to the castle. A while ago, I read an interview where Rowling admitted that scene-- Harry dead in Hagrid's arms, coming out of the forest-- was the first one she envisioned for the whole series. 

Dumbledore in Kings Cross Station

This scene could have been in both sections for me, the good and the bad. First, what was included was very well done. It looked very much how I pictured it in the book (although, I pictured Harry naked...) and the dialogue shown between Harry and Dumbledore was pretty spot on for the book. BUT- I have a few problems with it. First, we find out way too soon that Harry "must go back". I get it, we have to move the film along, but the hero just died- let us believe it for a minute before we know he's going to be alright (yes, I know, everyone who read the books knows it anyway, but it doesn't mean we want to be rushed through!) That aside, the biggest problem with this scene wasn't the pacing, or the fact that the Chosen One never appeared in the buff, or even Matt's chief complaint (that there wasn't enough shots of Voldemort as a flayed whimpering baby...)-- it was how they portrayed Dumbledore. 

Throughout all of the movies, there has been very little to show the various complexities of Hogwart's headmaster. He deviates little from the one-dimensional wise old man archetype, which is not how it goes in the books. Readers see Dumbledore worry, rage, rebel, soothe, avoid, laugh... and in this scene, we see him cry. He apologizes to Harry, and admits that Harry is a better man than he. It is a scene that so needed to be shown! Cut out Ron chasing Nagini around with a Basilisk fang and put this in instead! Gawd, why didn't anyone clear the script with me?!

So, since it was not included in the movie, I include it here-- Follow along on page 712 of the American version...

“Well, where do you think we are?” asked Harry, a little defensively.

“My dear boy, I have no idea. This is, as they say, your party.”

Harry had no idea what this meant; Dumbledore was being infuriating. He glared at him, then remembered a much more pressing question than that of their current location.

“The Deathly Hallows,” he said, and he was glad to see that the words wiped the smile from Dumbledore’s face.

“Ah, yes,” he said. He even looked a little worried.

“Well?”

For the first time since Harry had met Dumbledore, he looked less than an old man, much less. He looked fleetingly like a small boy caught in wrongdoing.

“Can you forgive me?” he said. “Can you forgive me for not trusting you? For not telling you? Harry, I only feared that you would fail as I had failed. I only dreaded that you would make my mistakes. I crave your pardon, Harry. I have known, for some time now, that you are the better man.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Harry, startled by Dumbledore’s tone, by the sudden tears in his eyes.

“The Hallows, the Hallows,” murmured Dumbledore. “A desperate man’s dream!”

“But they’re real!”

“Real, and dangerous, and a lure for fools,” said Dumbledore. “And I was such a fool. But you know, don’t you? I have no secrets from you anymore. You know.”

“What do I know?”

Dumbledore turned his whole body to face Harry, and tears still sparkled in the brilliantly blue eyes.

“Master of death, Harry, master of Death! Was I better, ultimately, than Voldemort?”

“Of course you were,” said Harry. “Of course - how can you ask that? You never killed if you could avoid it!”

“True, true,” said Dumbledore, and he was like a child seeking reassurance. “Yet I too sought a way to conquer death, Harry.”

“Not the way he did,” said Harry. After all his anger at Dumbledore, how odd it was to sit here, beneath the high, vaulted ceiling, and defend Dumbledore from himself. “Hallows, not Horcruxes.”

“Hallows,” murmured Dumbledore, “not Horcruxes. Precisely.”

'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'

Expectations were high for this line- and while I think that Julie Walters makes a darn good Molly Weasley, her attack on Bellatrix fell a little flat. At this point in the movie though, the whole battle was getting a little flat. It wasn't making a lot of sense, and as viewers, I think we were all torn between this and the other battle that was randomly taking place outside between Harry and Voldemort. In the book, it's all happening together. The death eaters and the Dark Lord are jumbled into the great hall with the rest of the fighters- and spells are going every which way. It's more dramatic, more chaotic and a lot more climatic. The scene when Molly rears up into full mama bear fierceness is just paragraphs before Harry and Voldemort have their final face-off. It is a huge part of the final battle.

Molly has been the face of motherly love throughout the series- she cooks and knits and gives everyone presents and good hugs. The most toughness she shows is the tough love she showers upon her kids (everyone remembers Ron's howler...). But this was her heroic moment-- when she shows that her love of family and her dedication to fight the good fight makes her stronger, and maybe even scarier, than Bellatrix! 

"... Mrs. Weasley sees the odious Bellatrix Lestrange trying to finish off Ginny with a Killing Curse. ''NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'' she cries. It's the most shocking bitch in recent fiction; since there's virtually no cursing (of the linguistic kind, anyway) in the Potter books, this one hits home with almost fatal force. It is totally correct in its context — perfect, really..." - Stephen King, from his essay "J.K. Rowling's Ministry of Magic"

See what I mean by high expectations? Even Stephen King calls this line perfect. My biggest issue here is really tied with my disappointment in the final battle, or, as the book calls it, 

The FLAW in the Plan

Noooooooooo! This is by far the biggest problem with the movie. Why? Why on earth did they change this scene so much from the book? This is it. This is what 7 books, 8 movies, and over ten years has been leading up to! This scene. This super, duper, important scene. And it was the worst scene in the movie!!!!

I could get over the change in location. If it looked better to have the final duel outside, great. But why was it just Harry and Voldemort, without anyone else? This battle wasn't about just them. It has never been about just them. In the movie, Harry says, "let's finish this the way we started it" (or something of that sort), but they never started any of this alone. In fact, in Deathly Hallows part 1, Harry makes to run away from the Burrow after Mad-Eye's death, and Ron stops him. Harry says, "nobody else is going to die for me" and Ron sets him straight. Mad-eye didn't die for Harry. Neither did Lupin, or Fred... it's bigger than that- they died to protect the whole magical world (and the muggle world, I suppose). They died for their cause. And because of that, the whole gang- everyone that was left fighting on both sides- needed to be there for the final show-down between The Chosen One and The Dark Lord. They needed to see it, and they needed to hear it.

For in the book, Harry doesn't just look at Voldemort and cast a spell, he explains everything that Voldemort has done wrong! While everyone in the wizarding world listens. As one fan called it, Harry gives Voldemort a verbal ass kicking, before the final spells do him in. Harry exonerates Snape- remember how everyone thought he was batting for the dark side and killed Dumbledore?? Harry clears all that up. Harry explains about Lilly, about the wands, about his own self-sacrifice... and finally, he tries to warn his nemesis...

"Before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done... Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle... "

"What is this?" 

Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had socked Voldemort like thisHarry saw is pupils contract to thin slits, saw the skin around his eyes whiten.

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left... I've seen what you'll be otherwise... Be a man... try... Try for some remorse..."

"You dare --- ?" said Voldemort again.

"Yes, I dare," said Harry, "because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle."

So good! Voldemort gets his comeuppance!! But he doesn't get it. He doesn't listen. He fails because of his own horrible flaws. He is afraid, and Harry is not- at all. Because he does get it. He earned this understanding the hard way. Through bravery, and toil, and... death. And through this scene, and the explanation Harry reveals to Voldemort and the rest of the listening crowd, the theme of the whole series is brought home. Love really is the most powerful magic. Without this scene, the theme is cheesy, and just thrown in there for a few warm fuzzy moments. 

The movie blew it. They took out the most important dialogue and substituted it with more clashing red and green wand action. Everything else I complain about the movie, I would dismiss if they only did a better job here. They took the climax out of the climax. They took away Voldemort's punishment, Snape's vindication, Harry's strength, the unity of all who fought along side both the good and the bad... 

Voldemort dies

Obviously this part is related to the last one... But, the point of destroying all the horcruxes was to make Voldemort mortal again. A man, really. Attached to a lousy body. I loved how in the book, his actual death was so not spectacular. It wasn't magical, it wasn't frightening or confusing. It was just death- Voldemort's biggest fear. His existence ended with a mundane thud. Perhaps this wouldn't translate into good movie material, but I found it so powerful. His body, just laying in the Hall, like all the others who died. The movie made his death magical. He came apart, like shreds of tissue paper, and floated off into the wind. While this may have been more cinematic, it also seems a bit less final. Didn't we see Voldemort's "body" fall into particles and swoosh through Harry in The Sorcerer's Stone? and again at the end of The Order of the Phoenix? Sure, this time was different, this time we knew he was dying, but I still prefer it this way:

And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hands, staring down at his enemy's shell.

Harry breaks the Elder wand

Why?? When they went through the trouble of including several scenes about Harry's wand being broken, him having to use a spare, and him gaining possession of the Elder wand, could they not take the 30 seconds it would have taken to follow Harry's actions in the book and show him use the Elder wand just once, to repair his trusted and faithful wand? Why leave that out? Really. I'm baffled. 

All is well...

In the end, I enjoyed the movie. I was so excited for it to come out and I had a blast in the theater (both times). Harry Potter fans are so much fun. I actually sat next to a group of 7 friends who dressed up as the 7 horcruxes! The Nagini costume was amazing, and the bloke who came as Harry, the horcrux Voldy never intended to make, actually dyed his usually blonde hair black especially for that night.

And while some of my "review" might be overly critical (as Matt has pointed out to me a couple of times) my final verdict is that it was a great movie to watch. I want to see it again (and again). I am sure it is difficult to make a movie from a book that has such fans. We're demanding and we want to see it all-- every last bit that Rowling gave us, up there on the big screen. Impossible? Probably, although, I believe there would be a market for it! Anyone else out there willing to watch a 12 hour Potter movie? Of course there is ;)

I believe this is my longest blog post to date. Thanks to any of you who have read it to the end. I would love to hear your comments of the film- what parts you thought were done well, which part fell short of your expectation. Do you agree with my opinions? Or am I dead wrong about something? I am curious to know what other readers/viewers think! 

I mean, I didn't even address the Epilogue....