HBP: Review
I went to see HBP on Saturday with some friends, we were extraordinarily excited! IMAX 3D!!!! We got there 45 mins before the film was due to start and already there was a huge queue! So I had to do some ducking and diving to ensure we got decent seats (it was general admissions unless you paid an extra £5 for the premium seats, given that IMAX costs £12 already we weren't going to do that!)
The IMAX was amazing, only way to see these films I think, they look incredible on the huge screen. However the 3D was a bit of a let-down. It was only the first 10/15 mins which were fab but then you have to takle the glasses off and IMAX doesn't seem as impressive :( I was more disappointed because I'd seen OOTP in IMAX 3D (which my friends hadn't) and there it was the last 15 mins which were amazing, the flight on Threstrals, the Hall of Prophecies and then the fight in the Ministry, so I was looking forward to seeing the cave and the fight at the Astronomy Tower (more on that later). However the 3D swoop over London and the Millenium Bridge collapsing were incredible!
A few things:
- Harry's arrival at the Burrow was cute, I liked Harry & Ginny's awkward hug and Ron/Hermione's toothpaste cuteness :)
- Jim Broadbent's Slughorn was great, not exactly what I'd pictured. I always thought Richard Griffiths would have been a perfect Slughorn (if he wasn't Uncle Vernon obviously)
- The Quidditch scenes were pretty cool this time - though I was a bit confused with the tryouts was Ginny second in command or something? McLaggen was greta just the right amount of cocky.
- The scene in the potions lab when they were brewing for the Felix Felicis - Emma's hair was finally Hermione-ish!
- Luna was just adorable, I loved her Spectrespecs! (I don't think I was the only one thinking "they're picking up void stuff!") But I didn't quite understand why they had her finding Harry on the train not Tonks? Just to give her more screentime? I can't remember did it explain why she was still on the train?
- The Trio looking in at Borgin & Burkes - I suppose it was a cool little scene and creepy that we couldn't hear what was being said. But I just kept thinking why go to all that bother when they just use the Extendable Ears?
- Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was fantastic! I loved it, it just looked fab! The set designers really out did themselves there! And is it just me or have the twins suddenly got hot as they've got older??
- I was a little disappointed with Harry/Ginny, it just seemed like he was aware of his atraction right from the start, and discussed it with Hermione, there was no realisation, no smelling of the Amortentia (and while we're on it, Hermione smelling, grass, parchment and toothpaste! I think I prefered it when we didn't know what the third thing was!) Also that whole scene of them hiding the HBP book in the Room of Requirement?? Hiding it even from Harry?? I thought the point in the book was that Harry would be able to find it again and to "place" Ravenclaw's Diadem? How are they gonna explain that now?
- I've never understood the classes in the films, they just seem to have a load of random people in. Neville and Lavender in Potions annoyed me. Because they did the whole scene with McGonagall re getting into the class (which they had to do to explain how Harry had the HBP book), then are they saying that both Neville and Lavender got Outstandings? Or what? Maybe I'm over thinking this!
- I actually quite liked the R/T scene! Remus being grumpy because it's the first night of the cycle (lol Remus has PMT!) and Arthur's "You'll have to forgive Remus Harry his condition is hard on him" or whatever it was he said was annoying! But I liked when Tonks stood up, he followed her, cue big smirk on my face, then at the door the way it was implied that they lived together and her calling him "Sweetheart". I was inwardly squeeing!
- The fire/fight at The Burrow - was stupid! I understand why they put it in, they needed to show the threat and to have a bit of action in the middle of the film and it was well done. But then (and I think others have mentioned this too) they never referred to it again! Ron and Ginny just got on with their romantic lives seemingly without a thought that their bloody house just burned down!!! Personally if my house had burnt down and I'd lost all my belongings and my family had nowhere to live I'd be a bit preoccupied to worry about who was snogging who!!
- I really liked the scenes at Spinner's End, it was very much like I'd pictured.
- Aragog's funeral was also just like I'd pictured. Dan was so funny on Felix Felicis! With creeping up on Slughorn at the greenhouse and then the pincers comment *ROFL* Also Hagrid & Slughorn's singing, I'm glad they left that in :)
- The cave was brilliantly done! It was really tense and scary (even though I knew what happened). Although I thought the Inferi looked a bit like Gollum, I guess I had pictured more zombie types.
- The Astronomy Tower scene was well done, but I thought it was a bit daft just to have Harry hide?? Didn't make any sense and then having Snape see him??? It just didn't work for me. It's one of those departures from the book that I just don't understand why? Then the Death Eaters skipping through Hogwarts and not even McGonagall challenging them? That just annoyed me. When we were disucssing it afterwards, my friends thought that probably they will store up the battle scenes to do a big Order/Death Etaers battle in the last film and didn't want too much repetition, which I suppose makes sense, but it still annoyed me. The Harry/Snape confrontation was great though, as I knew it would be!
- The scene with everyone gathered around Dumbledore, crying and then lighting their wands, really choked me up. Before I saw the film I was annoyed by there being no Dumbledore funeral scene but actually I think the lighting of wands was more effective.
- There was heavy foreshadowing in this film, setting up for the next two. Even my best friend's husband, who hasn't read the books and is not really a fan, worked out that both that Regulus Black is important and the Harry's scar is a Horcrux (the scene where Dumbledore was talking about the Horcruxes and what they could be and kept zooming in on Harry's scar was just overkill I thought!)
It seems like I didn't like a lot, but I actually did!! I thought it was the best film yet! Funny, scary and sad and I really enjoyed it!
The IMAX was amazing, only way to see these films I think, they look incredible on the huge screen. However the 3D was a bit of a let-down. It was only the first 10/15 mins which were fab but then you have to takle the glasses off and IMAX doesn't seem as impressive :( I was more disappointed because I'd seen OOTP in IMAX 3D (which my friends hadn't) and there it was the last 15 mins which were amazing, the flight on Threstrals, the Hall of Prophecies and then the fight in the Ministry, so I was looking forward to seeing the cave and the fight at the Astronomy Tower (more on that later). However the 3D swoop over London and the Millenium Bridge collapsing were incredible!
A few things:
- Harry's arrival at the Burrow was cute, I liked Harry & Ginny's awkward hug and Ron/Hermione's toothpaste cuteness :)
- Jim Broadbent's Slughorn was great, not exactly what I'd pictured. I always thought Richard Griffiths would have been a perfect Slughorn (if he wasn't Uncle Vernon obviously)
- The Quidditch scenes were pretty cool this time - though I was a bit confused with the tryouts was Ginny second in command or something? McLaggen was greta just the right amount of cocky.
- The scene in the potions lab when they were brewing for the Felix Felicis - Emma's hair was finally Hermione-ish!
- Luna was just adorable, I loved her Spectrespecs! (I don't think I was the only one thinking "they're picking up void stuff!") But I didn't quite understand why they had her finding Harry on the train not Tonks? Just to give her more screentime? I can't remember did it explain why she was still on the train?
- The Trio looking in at Borgin & Burkes - I suppose it was a cool little scene and creepy that we couldn't hear what was being said. But I just kept thinking why go to all that bother when they just use the Extendable Ears?
- Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was fantastic! I loved it, it just looked fab! The set designers really out did themselves there! And is it just me or have the twins suddenly got hot as they've got older??
- I was a little disappointed with Harry/Ginny, it just seemed like he was aware of his atraction right from the start, and discussed it with Hermione, there was no realisation, no smelling of the Amortentia (and while we're on it, Hermione smelling, grass, parchment and toothpaste! I think I prefered it when we didn't know what the third thing was!) Also that whole scene of them hiding the HBP book in the Room of Requirement?? Hiding it even from Harry?? I thought the point in the book was that Harry would be able to find it again and to "place" Ravenclaw's Diadem? How are they gonna explain that now?
- I've never understood the classes in the films, they just seem to have a load of random people in. Neville and Lavender in Potions annoyed me. Because they did the whole scene with McGonagall re getting into the class (which they had to do to explain how Harry had the HBP book), then are they saying that both Neville and Lavender got Outstandings? Or what? Maybe I'm over thinking this!
- I actually quite liked the R/T scene! Remus being grumpy because it's the first night of the cycle (lol Remus has PMT!) and Arthur's "You'll have to forgive Remus Harry his condition is hard on him" or whatever it was he said was annoying! But I liked when Tonks stood up, he followed her, cue big smirk on my face, then at the door the way it was implied that they lived together and her calling him "Sweetheart". I was inwardly squeeing!
- The fire/fight at The Burrow - was stupid! I understand why they put it in, they needed to show the threat and to have a bit of action in the middle of the film and it was well done. But then (and I think others have mentioned this too) they never referred to it again! Ron and Ginny just got on with their romantic lives seemingly without a thought that their bloody house just burned down!!! Personally if my house had burnt down and I'd lost all my belongings and my family had nowhere to live I'd be a bit preoccupied to worry about who was snogging who!!
- I really liked the scenes at Spinner's End, it was very much like I'd pictured.
- Aragog's funeral was also just like I'd pictured. Dan was so funny on Felix Felicis! With creeping up on Slughorn at the greenhouse and then the pincers comment *ROFL* Also Hagrid & Slughorn's singing, I'm glad they left that in :)
- The cave was brilliantly done! It was really tense and scary (even though I knew what happened). Although I thought the Inferi looked a bit like Gollum, I guess I had pictured more zombie types.
- The Astronomy Tower scene was well done, but I thought it was a bit daft just to have Harry hide?? Didn't make any sense and then having Snape see him??? It just didn't work for me. It's one of those departures from the book that I just don't understand why? Then the Death Eaters skipping through Hogwarts and not even McGonagall challenging them? That just annoyed me. When we were disucssing it afterwards, my friends thought that probably they will store up the battle scenes to do a big Order/Death Etaers battle in the last film and didn't want too much repetition, which I suppose makes sense, but it still annoyed me. The Harry/Snape confrontation was great though, as I knew it would be!
- The scene with everyone gathered around Dumbledore, crying and then lighting their wands, really choked me up. Before I saw the film I was annoyed by there being no Dumbledore funeral scene but actually I think the lighting of wands was more effective.
- There was heavy foreshadowing in this film, setting up for the next two. Even my best friend's husband, who hasn't read the books and is not really a fan, worked out that both that Regulus Black is important and the Harry's scar is a Horcrux (the scene where Dumbledore was talking about the Horcruxes and what they could be and kept zooming in on Harry's scar was just overkill I thought!)
It seems like I didn't like a lot, but I actually did!! I thought it was the best film yet! Funny, scary and sad and I really enjoyed it!