gimme them chocolate frogs
internet I need to share with you my feelings about DH2.
The whole experience was so much fun c: I love midnight releases, and my friend and I went to the drive-in so it was even better. It was totally packed full of people, and everyone was really in the spirit ♥ there was a costume contest (a girl dressed as Hedwig won, too qt) and even a dude walking around the snack bar and bathroom lines doing magic tricks with rubber bands, which was... weird. but cute. The best was when someone (not sure if it was the owners of the drive-in or a patron, lol) set off fireworks before DH2 :3
It was a double feature of both DH movies, and seeing them back to back I think for me, the first is the better film overall. The pacing feels more consistent, and for me it connected a lot more. DH2 for me felt a bit anticlimatic, which I think is partly a function of where they broke the movies up. I'm sure it's also because I still can't believe it's the last HP movie ;____; I'm planning to see it again and I'm thinking I'll warm to it more on repeat viewings, but for now I'm gonna break it down into some love/hate:
Loved:
- Gringott's was really well-staged and the dragon looked rly great * u * (... didn't like the random goblin-roasting tho)
- All of McGonagal's scenes (save one which I'll get to), especially her duel with Snape. Get it McGoggles ♥
- Neville. How perfect is Matt Lewis for that role, seriously?
- And speaking of perfect, Luna. (was confused by the out of nowhere Neville/Luna shipping in the movie, but w/e, it was pretty cute.)
- There wasn't enough of Aberforth, but he was really well-cast.
- The King's Cross scene was lovely even if I lol'd at Dumbledore's Gandalf the White getup.
- Voldemort's painfully awkward hug-attempt with Draco was worth it to see the Malfoys high-tailing it from the castle, haha.
- Ron and Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets, adorable.
- I'm on the fence about R & H knowing that Harry was a horcrux, but Hermione's "I'll go with you" was wonderfully heartbreaking ;___;
- Almost all of the scenes with Snape. Alan Rickman was srsly bringing his A-game. His death scene was absolutely brutal and even tho I didn't cry when he bit it in the book.. I was kind of a mess there ;____; (it does help that movie Snape is a far more likeable character than book Snape, of course, lol.)
Hated:
- The Harry/Voldemort duel :c when I saw the "we'll finish this the way we started it" jumping-off-a-bridge scene in the trailers I thought it had to be a dream sequence or something, but.. no such luck :c it was all so jumpy and disjointed and when did Volds get robe tentacles and idek. I know the fight in the book has its own issues (namely that Harry pretty much talks Voldemort to death) and figured they were going to change it up a bit, but I really feel like it lost a lot.
- Relatedly, how Voldemort and Bellatrix both... explode? what? why?
- How there was almost no Dumbledore backstory at all. >:CCCC
- McGonagal ordering the Slytherins to the dungeons. McGoggy you are supposed to be an unbiased educator okay :cc i mean shit you gotta wonder why they even have slytherin, lol. (I'm not a Slytherin stan by any means but. idgi.) Also, why weren't the younger students evacuated? :c
- I loved most of The Prince's Tale except for Snape going into the Potters' house to wail over Lily's body. it was over the top and then you're also left thinking... so he just left baby Harry there alone among the rubble? That's c-c-c-cold hearted, Snnnape.
- I hated the change-up in the scene where Voldemort tries to recruit Neville. It was awk ("Yes this is my moment of triumph let us mock 17-year-old boys 8)"), robbed Neville of one of his best lines ;n; and also protracted Neville killing Nagini for waaaaaay too long.
- Where were the centaurs, house elves, thestrals and Buckbeak in the battle? :c
- I know it's the nitpickiest of nitpicks but I wish they would've shown Harry repairing his old wand.
oookay I'll stop complaining. Mainly I'm just sad that it's over ;___; brb going to live at the Wizarding World of HP