DH2
Saw this last Friday at the Vue, Leith Walk, Edinburgh, which is quite new and luxurious compared to my usual, and alas rather rundown, Showcase cinema down south. Surprisingly we (my sister, brother-in-law, niece, her boyfriend, my son and I) had the massive auditorium almost entirely to ourselves for the noon showing, so were able to luxuriate in really good central seats together with plenty of legroom plus a totally unimpeded view of the screen.
Saw the trailer for Sherlock Holmes 2, plus a really bonkers thing with Jim Carey and CGI penguins. LOL!
Henceforth there be spoilers of sorts…
We all loved the dark dramatic start to DH2, with dreary Dementer infested Hogwarts grounds surveyed by solitary silhouetted Snape. Ah, Snape! AR seemed to be very ‘still’ throughout. Since I had been slightly dreading an over-theatrical death scene à la Sheriff of Nottingham, this was A Good Thing. Yet the pain is evident - Snape’s whole demeanour is one of a drained shell of a man, which contrasts so effectively with the scenes seen by Harry later in the Pensieve. Snape’s memory of mourning with racking anguish over Lily’s dead body in particular is thus extremely powerful. Snape’s general unwillingness to engage in battle and his ‘cowardly’ departure were suggestive clues - should anyone still have been in doubt as to his true mission at the start of this film. When the Prince’s tale is revealed fully, it softens slightly the blow to Harry of discovering the necessity for his own self-sacrifice.
Overall I thought the film a fitting enough end to the saga, although my son had issues with Voldemort’s bizarre ultimate disintegration, and I had issues with the fact that LV was never confronted with the knowledge of Snape’s defection from his ranks all those years ago. On the other hand, the whole wand lore thing - utterly confusing in the book - was actually pretty clear in the film, so at least that strand made sense.
DR did a very good job. Contrary to my own expectations it was Harry’s 'final' departure to the Forbidden Forest that brought tears to my eyes - not Snape’s bloody demise and 'Look at me' moment, nor the other character deaths so swiftly glossed over.
I always loved the idea that The Boy Who Was Not Chosen and marked by LV should also be instrumental in his defeat. Neville’s moments were many and milked to the maximum in this movie - but best by far was his simple reactive swing with the sword of Gryffindor, which thus despatched the loathsome snake and last remaining Horcrux.
Generally it was fun to see H B-C playing Hermione Polyjuiced to be Belatrix. However I was annoyed by the general lack of coverage of battle details, which made Molly Weasley’s famous one-liner as she despatched Belatrix seem a totally contrived snapshot. There were the usual awkward moments between the Trio, but Ron and Hermione’s kiss seemed suitably spontaneous and life-affirming, whereas any interaction between Harry and Ginny always looks entirely wrong to me!
I enjoyed the Malfoy family’s subtle self-preservation as a unit. Their quiet slinking off at the end together was appropriate, and Draco’s reappearance in the Epilogue demonstrated their survival in Wizarding society. Did grown-up Harry give Draco a nod of recognition then or visa versa? I didn’t notice. I'm seeing the film again with a friend at the end of this week, so I'll look out for that and other details too difficult to catch in a first viewing.
Personally I don’t know how anybody not familiar with the books could ever make sense of what the hell is going on most of the time in any of the HP movies. But I have enjoyed them all despite their omissions and inconsistencies. I think this final film has been a fitting and successful finale to the franchise, and look forward to the inevitable all-American re-make that my grandchildren will doubtless watch in the due passage of time…
Ha! Surely JKR will never allow that in her lifetime. :-))
Saw the trailer for Sherlock Holmes 2, plus a really bonkers thing with Jim Carey and CGI penguins. LOL!
Henceforth there be spoilers of sorts…
We all loved the dark dramatic start to DH2, with dreary Dementer infested Hogwarts grounds surveyed by solitary silhouetted Snape. Ah, Snape! AR seemed to be very ‘still’ throughout. Since I had been slightly dreading an over-theatrical death scene à la Sheriff of Nottingham, this was A Good Thing. Yet the pain is evident - Snape’s whole demeanour is one of a drained shell of a man, which contrasts so effectively with the scenes seen by Harry later in the Pensieve. Snape’s memory of mourning with racking anguish over Lily’s dead body in particular is thus extremely powerful. Snape’s general unwillingness to engage in battle and his ‘cowardly’ departure were suggestive clues - should anyone still have been in doubt as to his true mission at the start of this film. When the Prince’s tale is revealed fully, it softens slightly the blow to Harry of discovering the necessity for his own self-sacrifice.
Overall I thought the film a fitting enough end to the saga, although my son had issues with Voldemort’s bizarre ultimate disintegration, and I had issues with the fact that LV was never confronted with the knowledge of Snape’s defection from his ranks all those years ago. On the other hand, the whole wand lore thing - utterly confusing in the book - was actually pretty clear in the film, so at least that strand made sense.
DR did a very good job. Contrary to my own expectations it was Harry’s 'final' departure to the Forbidden Forest that brought tears to my eyes - not Snape’s bloody demise and 'Look at me' moment, nor the other character deaths so swiftly glossed over.
I always loved the idea that The Boy Who Was Not Chosen and marked by LV should also be instrumental in his defeat. Neville’s moments were many and milked to the maximum in this movie - but best by far was his simple reactive swing with the sword of Gryffindor, which thus despatched the loathsome snake and last remaining Horcrux.
Generally it was fun to see H B-C playing Hermione Polyjuiced to be Belatrix. However I was annoyed by the general lack of coverage of battle details, which made Molly Weasley’s famous one-liner as she despatched Belatrix seem a totally contrived snapshot. There were the usual awkward moments between the Trio, but Ron and Hermione’s kiss seemed suitably spontaneous and life-affirming, whereas any interaction between Harry and Ginny always looks entirely wrong to me!
I enjoyed the Malfoy family’s subtle self-preservation as a unit. Their quiet slinking off at the end together was appropriate, and Draco’s reappearance in the Epilogue demonstrated their survival in Wizarding society. Did grown-up Harry give Draco a nod of recognition then or visa versa? I didn’t notice. I'm seeing the film again with a friend at the end of this week, so I'll look out for that and other details too difficult to catch in a first viewing.
Personally I don’t know how anybody not familiar with the books could ever make sense of what the hell is going on most of the time in any of the HP movies. But I have enjoyed them all despite their omissions and inconsistencies. I think this final film has been a fitting and successful finale to the franchise, and look forward to the inevitable all-American re-make that my grandchildren will doubtless watch in the due passage of time…
Ha! Surely JKR will never allow that in her lifetime. :-))