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

Genixma

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. One. Big. Camping Trip. Where they just so happen to get an elf killed, go swimming, rob a bank, fight off a snake, someone eats Ron's last cupcake so he leaves then comes back, and they also so happen to fight Dark Wizards in the End.
 

D_West

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I saw it, and was surprised that Bob didn't talk about the technical aspects more. The editing on the Snape flashback was some of the best I have ever seen.
 

dystopiaINC

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Ren3004 said:
road_to_dawn said:
And I probably shouldn't talk about GoF, because I hated that book. However, most of what was cut wasn't important to the overall story, you're right. OotP and HBP are a totally different story though as some pretty critical plot points were cut from both. I can kind of forgive OotP, but there was no excuse for HBP to be the mess that it was. By that film they knew how it all ended. There shouldn't have been any holes in the HBP at all.
For me, those two have bigger problems than the cuts. OotP tried to cram everything that happened in the largest book into the shortest film in the series, so major themes in the book get condensed in one scene, taking away any weight they had. It seems like it's trying to rush to the end by glossing over the rest of the book. HBP had the opposite problem, the film was huge, but most of it focuses on the teen romance. I mean, they could at least have thrown in a couple more memories.
i agree as to why the OotP and HBP sucked. they tried to cram to much at first, and then they didn't cram enough. oh well the first part of DH was good, a bit slow but then it was slow in the book as well.
 

JeanLuc761

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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.
 

ewhac

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Calico93 said:
Im taking it your favourite chapter is the Kings Cross one ? Or Snapes memories one ? The latter is my favourite. I wont forgive the filmmakers if they missed out both or just one.
Both are present in the film. And yes, I, too, was especially concerned that they do the King's Cross scene well.
 

ewhac

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Reply to a previous post involving spoilers:

OutcastBOS said:
Heh, two things in that movie got applause from the audience in my theater
[ ... ]
Mrs. Weasly's NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU ***** moment and subsequent asskicking.
Actually, I found that scene rather weak.

From the books, I came away with the impression that, while LeStrange was a raving nutter, she was also a supremely competent witch. She was only defeated because Mrs. Weasley had just witnessed the death of her son, was fscking pissed, and pulling out stops even she didn't know she had.

In the movie, however, the battle is almost perfunctory. LeStrange throws a few curses, then [em]stops to cackle[/em], giving Weasley space to rebound. Rinse, repeat once, and LeStrange is dead.

If I had been the director, this scene would have had LeStrange fluidly casting curses while cackling the whole time. After all, for her this is enormous fun, and it is only for the determination of a bereaved, piss-off mother that she slips just that one time and Weasley nails her.

So thinks I, anyway...
 

road_to_dawn

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Ren3004 said:
road_to_dawn said:
And I probably shouldn't talk about GoF, because I hated that book. However, most of what was cut wasn't important to the overall story, you're right. OotP and HBP are a totally different story though as some pretty critical plot points were cut from both. I can kind of forgive OotP, but there was no excuse for HBP to be the mess that it was. By that film they knew how it all ended. There shouldn't have been any holes in the HBP at all.
For me, those two have bigger problems than the cuts. OotP tried to cram everything that happened in the largest book into the shortest film in the series, so major themes in the book get condensed in one scene, taking away any weight they had. It seems like it's trying to rush to the end by glossing over the rest of the book. HBP had the opposite problem, the film was huge, but most of it focuses on the teen romance. I mean, they could at least have thrown in a couple more memories.
I will never understand how or why the OotP film is so short. I agree that the weight of certain things is never really hammered home (DH has the same problem with certain things.) They completely dropped the ball with the prophecy, for one thing, and that is a real shame. The prophecy is important for so many reasons, like characterization of Voldemort, Trelawney's history, Snape's history, and it stands as proof that Harry, in fact, isn't some special little butterfly and Neville could've just as easily been in his shoes. The film doesn't convey that at all and the audience really loses something huge because of that.

You also have a point about HBP. The joke of it is that even with all the time spent on it they didn't even get the romance right. Harry and Ginny's relationship in the films makes zero sense and has none of the fire and passion that it does in the books. And Ron's made out to be a jerk because of Lavender, even though in the books it's partially Hermione's fault that he was with her to begin with.

It makes me nuts because nothing much happens in HBP, in terms of action. I mean, to me, it isn't nearly as dense and involved as DH and OotP. They only had to do three things in the film: kill Dumbledore, set up the final pairings, and show Voldemort memories/start the horcrux stuff. That's it! And as much as I love the way Draco's scenes were shot and Harry on felix felicis, that doesn't change that they failed at pretty much all of what they had to do.
 

devotedsniper

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All i have to say is Meh, i stopped caring for the movies along time ago, mainly around the time they started switching characters and just generally not sticking to the book e.g. book: tonks finds harry on the train, movie: it luna who does.
 

elcamino41383

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This sums up how I feel about this movie. I watched the first 4 in hopes each would get better and I was bored out of my mind. I honestly don't know what I felt was worse, those movies or Inglorious Basterds. But for those that like it all, I hope you enjoy/enjoyed it. I'm just glad its finally over.
 

The_Emperor

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Harry "Churchill" Potter Vs Wizard Hitler, fantastic!

was a good film if I'm honest, enjoyed it. The effects are pretty amazing.
 

mythil

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I have to say (and this is my personal opinion not a flame starter) that Harry Potter is the most badly put together, poorly written and sometimes plagiarised series ever. I can't really take something that so wants to be a serious fantasy series.. seriously.. when half the words created for it sound like baby talk.
 

SextusMaximus

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Casual Shinji said:
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.
I don't think you were paying enough attention at all.
 

Casual Shinji

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LobsterFeng said:
Casual Shinji said:
That and the fact that David Yates lacks any form of cinematic vision.
Define "cinematic vision"
Cinematic vision means creating a template of colours, styles and camera angles that best serve the type of story a director is trying to tell and the tone he or she is trying to convey.

The first 3 Harry Potter movies - especially the third - had a very solid tone and visual structure because they were handled by competent directors. Or atleast, directors who could handle visually demanding movies.

The HP movies that followed were directed by filmmakers who couldn't handle this. Mike Newell had atleast some visual style in his movie - though not much - but David Yates' HP movies had all the visual dazzlement of a dusty cinder block.
 

Bravo 21

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Saw it at the midnight release. I liked it, but a bunch of people started cheering whenever anything happened, almost as though they never actually read the books. all in all pretty good thouh. being there at 8 was definitely worth it, but only since I went with a trio of bros
 

Casual Shinji

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SextusMaximus said:
Casual Shinji said:
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.
I don't think you were paying enough attention at all.
Probably not.

But that was due to the fact that by the fourth movie, I was just tired of watching these one dimensional pure good, pure evil characters playing the same old tune.
 

Denizen

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This was an exceptionally great movie that I did not want to end as well as something that I already want to see again. It brought back every feeling the franchise has been building up to and treated my nostalgia better than most other franchises have. That's rare by today's standards.

Also there were stone soldiers and a deformed baby.

Awesome
 

walrusaurus

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Nautical Honors Society said:
Honestly this could have been a Big Picture episode. Not really much of a review here of the actual movie itself.

But nontheless, I am a Harry Potter fan and I respect the movie franchise.

Powerfully acted, well shot,enough dedication to the source material, and enough talented British stage actors to run their own theater company.

I am sold and I will see it and probably love it.

Well off the the theater!
Your gonna see that in most every review of this one though. Its very difficult to talk about it in and of itself. Its very much a part 2, There is less than 5 minutes of exposition in the entire film, its essentially a 2 hour climax with about 5 minutes of intro/outro on either end.

In fact this movie only covers the last 200 or so pages of Rowlings last novel, with the first movie addressing fully 75% of its story. I remember reading the book and feeling as though her final battle sequence at Hogwarts was too short. The movie expands on it and yet still i wanted it to be longer. Which to me indicates the strength of the narrative.

Its an outstanding film in its own right, but it owes so much too what's come before, that you can't help but discuss the saga as a whole.