Harry Potter 7.2

[JasonEvans]

So, I am seeing a screening of the last Harry Potter flick tonight. I think this is a very challenging book to make into a movie. Here are some of the things I will be looking for --

1) The scene in King's Cross station close to the end with "crying baby" piece of Voldemort's soul -- how will that translate to film? The moment I read that scene in the book I thought it was virtually un-filmable.

2) Dumbledore's back-story with Gridewald - will they just leave this out of the movie? The essential thing here is the passing of the Elder wand, which is just too important to the ending to leave out. They can do it without discussing Dumble vs. Gind, but they need to clearly explain the passing of the various "masters" of the Elder Wand.

3) The raiding of Gringotts and the battle with Malfoy/Crabbe/Goyle in Hogwarts -- both of these are huge action pieces but involved a lot of explanation of what was going on. I wonder a bit if they can be translated to film or if they will just be random action.

4) Harry and Vody's final showdown - the book told us what happened. Seeing it happen may be tougher to pull off.

5) The Epilogue - this may look really cheesy with makeup aging all the characters 19 years.



Overall, I really want to see them make this work for someone who has not read the book. My wife is just such a person and she is going with me tonight. I showed her 6 and 7.1 yesterday on DVD to get her ready. I bet she will be asking me questions left and right though.

The early buzz is very, very good. The film checks in at 2 hours and 10 minutes and some are saying it feels a bit rushed at the end. We'll see!

--Jason "So, what are all of you interested in hearing about?" Evans

[bjornolf]

Personally, I want to hear everything you have to say about it.

[ArkieDukie]

What bjornolf said. It will be especially interesting to hear your take vs your wife's. I've always been disappointed initially because I felt the movie left out fairly significant details from the books. It seems to me that people who haven't read the books like the movies more. Is that an accurate statement?

I spent the weekend watching all 7 movies in preparation for seeing 7.2 next weekend (hopefully). I have not re-read the book this time. Upon rewatching the movies this past weekend, I found that I enjoyed the later movies far more than in the past. This is likely since the books are not as fresh in my mind as in previous viewings. I especially enjoyed OOP (HP5). The character of Dolores Umbridge was particularly well done.

[JasonEvans]

Ok, here it is...

For at least the first 2/3rds of the movie, I was loving it. I really thought they were hitting all the right notes and making everything work. I was enchanted by the story and utterly enjoying myself.

But, the conclusion was a bit rushed at times and I left it feeling somewhat disappointed. Overall, it was a very good moviegoing experience, but not quite a great one. I think my expectations were too high which is why I feel this way. Most folks will probably really, really enjoy the film.

HP 7.2 suffers from the incredibly difficult task of tying too much together with too many characters a bit too quickly. Characters that we had strong feelings for in the books get dispatched and we barely notice it. Much of the battle for Hogwarts is just bolts of light streaking across the sky. The detail that the book had on various good guys battling bad guys are all pretty much lost. I was disappointed, though it probably would have taken more like a 3 hour movie to do all I wanted them to do (with a narrator telling us about everything everyone was thinking, which would have sucked so nevermind).

All that said, there is plenty of emotion and it is still a satisfying film. I will freely admit that I had tears rolling down my cheeks a few times. Frankly, the source material is far from perfect so maybe I shouldn't fault the movie for being less than perfect too.

Potter fans, who know what to expect and understand what is happening without any explanation, will probably love this film. I think it is a lot tougher for non-Potter fans. My wife, who has seen the movies but not read the books, appreciated the movie but didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did. She had plenty of questions and clearly did not have the emotional attachment to some characters that I did.

Now, to specifically address some of my initial questions coming into the film--

1) The scene in King's Cross station close to the end with "crying baby" piece of Voldemort's soul -- how will that translate to film? The moment I read that scene in the book I thought it was virtually un-filmable.

Yup, it was borderline un-filmable. They did their best with it, and remained true to the book. Frankly, this was one of the worst parts of the book and it feels just as much like a cop-out on screen.

2) Dumbledore's back-story with Gridewald - will they just leave this out of the movie? The essential thing here is the passing of the Elder wand, which is just too important to the ending to leave out. They can do it without discussing Dumble vs. Gind, but they need to clearly explain the passing of the various "masters" of the Elder Wand.

There was no mention at all of Grindewald. They did talk a bit about the passing of the Elder wand and Harry tries a couple times to explain what is going on. My wife was confused. Without spoiling the ending too much, let me just say that I did not get the feeling that the Elder wand played as much a role in the climax as it did in the book.

3) The raiding of Gringotts and the battle with Malfoy/Crabbe/Goyle in Hogwarts -- both of these are huge action pieces but involved a lot of explanation of what was going on. I wonder a bit if they can be translated to film or if they will just be random action.

Both scenes were done a bit quicker than I had expected. The fiendfire in the Room of Requirment is never explained and my wife was utterly confused about what was going on there. They did a nice job with much of the Gringotts stuff, though they wrapped it up kinda quickly and it was not as expansive as it felt in the book.

4) Harry and Vody's final showdown - the book told us what happened. Seeing it happen may be tougher to pull off.

Yeah, this was one of the things that really did not work for me nearly the way it did in the book. We get a lot of the dueling wizards shooting bolts of light at each other, but there is no real sense of what the light means or who is winning or why one defeats the other. It just sorta happens, without and logic to it. Again, I do not want to spoil it, but let me merely say that it does not play out the same way it did in the book.

5) The Epilogue - this may look really cheesy with makeup aging all the characters 19 years.

Yup, it felt forced and a bit wrong. My wife, seeing everyone married to everyone else asked, "there has got to be some incest here... right?" She also thought the makeup seemed weird and that the characters had been aged too much.

Interestingly, my concerns ended up being most of the movie's problems. I suspect that comes from these being some of the more problematic moments in the book. Director Robert Yates was very faithful to the book and I appreciate his efforts. He did a fine job.

One final note about the acting -- in some ways the actor who steals the end of the film is Matthew Lewis who plays Neville Longbottom. He has all the best scenes at the end of the film and, in my opinion, played more of a role in the film than Ron does. I really enjoyed him. He gets one of the two big applause moments in the finale (the other belonged to Molly Weasley).

I could probably go on and on with nits to pick or moments to praise. Frankly, none of it matters. You either know you are seeing this film or that you have no interest in it. If you are a fan, you will enjoy it. Newcomers to Potter should obviously not start here. Still, it was a fitting end to one of the great cinematic journeys in history.

--Jason "I would give it 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars... if I did that sort of thing" Evans

[ArkieDukie]

Jason, thanks for the thoughts! Here's a question for you: would the movie (and the book, for that matter) have been better without the epilogue? Some people thought that the epilogue didn't really add anything to the book. I was okay with it, but I think the story could've ended just as well without it. If it feels forced in the movie, that seems like a good argument for not including it.

Thoughts?

[JasonEvans]

Jason, thanks for the thoughts! Here's a question for you: would the movie (and the book, for that matter) have been better without the epilogue? Some people thought that the epilogue didn't really add anything to the book. I was okay with it, but I think the story could've ended just as well without it. If it feels forced in the movie, that seems like a good argument for not including it.

Thoughts?

Well, the movie would have had to end differently if they had not had the epilogue. The final scene before the epilogue does not have a "all done" feel to it. But, that could have been accomplished fairly easily.

The reason, in my opinion, that the book has the epilogue is two fold --

1) To firmly establish that Voldy is dead and will not come back
and 2) To allow JK Rowling to not have to write another HP book.

2 is clearly more important. I believe JK has no desire to continue writing about these characters. she has more than enough money so that she will never need to write about them again. Heck, she could probably buy a couple large companies and run them into the ground and still be fabulously rich. By making a long-time off epilogue, she closes the possibility of writing about Harry and friends adventures as 20-somethings.

--Jason "Just my guess" Evans

[Udaman]

JE - one more question....is it worth seeing in 3-D? I'm tempted to just go the normal route and save the money...but would consider paying for it, if it was worth it.

Thanks!

Also, any thoughts on if it will break $400M after seeing it?

[JasonEvans]

JE - one more question....is it worth seeing in 3-D? I'm tempted to just go the normal route and save the money...but would consider paying for it, if it was worth it.

Thanks!

Also, any thoughts on if it will break $400M after seeing it?

The 3D is not worth it for this film, in my opinion. Unlike Tran3 or Avatar, this movie was not shot with 3D cameras. The producers merely did a digital 3D conversion in post-production. As a result, the 3D does not really "pop" the way it does when 3D cameras are used.

Sorry I forgot to include this in my review, but I think 3D would be a waste for this film... especially if you are buying a bunch of tickets.

--Jason "I think it comes up just short of $400 mill... like in the $360-$380 mill range" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Looking forward to hearing from all of you in the next several hours. I am sure we have some folks here who will be seeing midnight showings, right?

It is currently at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes... impressive!

-Jason "6000 midnight showings are already sold out... wow!" Evans

[CameronBornAndBred]

It is currently at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes... impressive!

I will repost my Facebook status. A.W. is an amazing peice of work...

There is a special aisle seat in Hell's movie theater reserved for Armond White. It won't show any of the movies he gives bad reviews to, since that's a sure sign it's an excellent film. Instead, he will get to sit through repetitive screenings of "Strawberry Shortcake Saves Miami". Enjoy the popcorn.

[DevilAlumna]

On NPR this morning, they said presales were already totalling over $32M.

[blazindw]

Just got back from a midnight showing here in DC...I thought it was excellent. The parts of the book that Jason mentioned were done as well as I thought they could be, in my opinion. This movie was made for those that read the books...then again, I feel that the last couple movies were (I've read them several times). Overall, I think 4/5 stars is a great way to say it...a well done movie.

[BattierD12]

Just came back from the movie. Feels weird that I just graduated from Duke and now my childhood is truly complete haha.

I thought they did a terrific job with the movie. However, I just can't help but feel a bit disappointed near the end, in the most crucial point of the book. The final battle between Harry and the ultimate giver-of-hugs, Voldy, should have been in the Great Hall. Combined with the dialogue in the book, with Harry belittling the dark lord by repeatedly calling him Tom Riddle in front of everyone, telling him that Snape was good all along, and giving one last chance for Voldy to show remorse, this was such a defining moment and showed Voldemort's weakness in front of everyone. What did we get in the movie? A rather mute battle outside with no one watching (hell, there are no witnesses that Harry actually beat Voldemort haha). Is there any reason at all that they would change the final battle this much when for the most part, the dialogue was adapted quite well in many other scenes? (such as the scene with Harry and the ghosts of his loved ones, which I believe was word-for-word. )

This issue aside, the movie was nonetheless a terrific experience and one that marks the end of quite an era. I really hope a new story comes out soon that recaptures some of the magic of JK Rowling's writing - something that will occupy my life for another 13 years.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

In relation to the latest movie release, I wanted to mention that Harry and the Potters (a strange band that plays music about the Harry Potter universe) will be in Durham on 7/18. I missed their Iota show awhile back in Arlington, but thought I'd share.

http://harryandthepotters.com

07/18/11 Durham, NC Casbah (sponsored by the Durham Co. Library!) US
Add
Add to Google Calendar Download iCal
Time: 7:00pm.
Admission: FREE!.
Age restrictions: All Ages.
Address: 1007 West Main Street.
The show is at the Casbah in Durham, but since it’s sponsored by the library, admission is FREE! Thank you librarians!!!

[brevity]

In relation to the latest movie release, I wanted to mention that Harry and the Potters (a strange band that plays music about the Harry Potter universe) will be in Durham on 7/18. I missed their Iota show awhile back in Arlington, but thought I'd share.

http://harryandthepotters.com

I saw them 5 years ago, along with opening act Draco and the Malfoys. Found a brief archival piece I wrote about the experience here.

Looks like I actually preferred the Slytherin band, which tells you something about how I'd fare with a Sorting Hat.

[CameronBornAndBred]

In relation to the latest movie release, I wanted to mention that Harry and the Potters (a strange band that plays music about the Harry Potter universe) will be in Durham on 7/18. I missed their Iota show awhile back in Arlington, but thought I'd share.

http://harryandthepotters.com

They were interviewed on NPR yesterday. I could not find a link to the archived show, but I'm sure it's there somewhere.

[dukebsbll14]

Got back from the midnight premiere this morning. As a 19 year old kid I grew up on Harry Potter so the last film was a little bittersweet. I purposely put a long time between the last time I read the Deathly Hallows book and seeing the movie, so I would know the basics but was a little shady on the smaller details and I wouldn't be disappointed that some parts were changed/left out.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK/SEEN THE MOVIE YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ
All in all, I thought it was fantastic. I wish the ending was done a little better, as Jason said it is rushed. If I remember correctly the book ending seemed rush too? Voldy dies then 3 pages later its the epilogue? The best part was clearly when Harry looks at Snape's memories to when he walks into the Forest. That's probably the best emotional climax I've seen in a movie in a long time. At the end of the day, you just gotta forget the book, sit back and enjoy the masterpiece that the writers/producers put on the big screen.

Side note, I think every auditorium(there's about 22) in my movie theater was playing this last night and sold out. If this movie doesn't become the highest grossing film of all time, I don't know what can.

[Olympic Fan]

The 3D is not worth it for this film, in my opinion. Unlike Tran3 or Avatar, this movie was not shot with 3D cameras. The producers merely did a digital 3D conversion in post-production. As a result, the 3D does not really "pop" the way it does when 3D cameras are used.

Sorry I forgot to include this in my review, but I think 3D would be a waste for this film... especially if you are buying a bunch of tickets.

--Jason "I think it comes up just short of $400 mill... like in the $360-$380 mill range" Evans

Jason, you'll be gratified to know that Roger Ebert agrees with you on this issue. Mostly, his review is a mess because he's trying so hard not to give spoilers, but he ends with this note:

Note: This entire movie is dark, gloomy and filled with shadows. So it should be. That makes it particularly inappropriate for the additional dimness of 3-D. There are a few shots that benefit from 3-D (I like the unfolding of the little magical globe) but none that require it. Avoid the surcharge and see the film in proper 2-D with brighter color

[bluebear]

I saw it today and thought it was very good overall. Like others mentioned, the ending seemed rushed and I was a little disappointed in how they did the final fight between Harry and Voldy. It may be just me, but I've also felt like the last few movies have made the whole wizard world a lot less expansive than the early movies. It could be all the action scenes compared to more daily life in the early books...Still a good movie--4/5.

[dukebsbll14]

I saw it today and thought it was very good overall. Like others mentioned, the ending seemed rushed and I was a little disappointed in how they did the final fight between Harry and Voldy. It may be just me, but I've also felt like the last few movies have made the whole wizard world a lot less expansive than the early movies. It could be all the action scenes compared to more daily life in the early books...Still a good movie--4/5.

I think it has to do more with the last few movies being about the fight against Riddle. In the first few movies, we're still learning about the Wizarding World. Everything is very much a fun story about a wizard. Yeah, Voldemort is a threat, but he's not back and the threat he would be when he's at large. Last few movies are "ok, craps hit the fan. Leggo."

Speaking of which, who else got really pumped at the part when they were setting up the defenses around Hogwarts after Harry returns? I was getting into it and was like, "Come on, give me a wand I'm ready to fight!" LOL I'm such a Harry Potter nerd.

I skimmed through the seventh book to see how it ended after Tom dies. It seems just as rushed as the movie. In 6 pages, Harry is greeted with enthusiasm and talks to Ron, Dumbledore. That's about it.