I am full of spoilers, somebody come talk to me
Among the more awesome things about being here this summer is that Deathly Hallows, Pt. II got relased on Wednesday. Which was yesterday. And seriously last night my brain was so full of amazing imagery and music and holy omfgness that I couldn't sleep. Normally I am distracted by subtitles, but this was really SO intense that I barely even noticed it. But why is Dumbledore's name in Italian Professore Silente instead?
Okay first things first. This one I need to get off my chest because literally I walked out of the theater and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, WTF Voldemort giving Draco a hug? Because yes, it happened, and yes, it was so. hilariously. awkward.
I seriously did not expect Voldemort to be unintentionally funny! Did they do that on purpose? Or have I been reading too much ONTD? He was such a moody insecure thirtysomething dude, and seriously he spent the whole movie killing people who were on his side, and sucking up so hard to people who didn't like him. He was all, Come on guys, it's me, you don't hate me, you want to be faithful to me! Come over to the winning side and we'll be BFFs. Join me! I'm the man!
Voldemort: All right, don't all crowd me at once. Who wants to join the winning team?
Neville: I've got something to say!
Voldemort: Oh hi there, Neville, so glad you've decided to cross over. How's life? Alright. What did you want to share with the class?
Neville: I'll never join you! Harry may be dead but we're still fighting!
Voldemort: LOL Neville, your jokes are so fresh. *pats head*
^This conversation was preceded by the awkward hugging of Draco. The Dark Lord is just weird with kids in general. Especially Harry. I swear his dialogue came thisclose to including, "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for the meddlesome kids! POTTER!!!!"
And I died laughing when Voldemort pushes Bellatrix away when she tries to help him up. NOT IN FRONT OF MY FRIENDS OMG WOMAN!! They are so the new Sandy and Danny, I loved it.
Oh, and the dragon! I actually really loved that. I wasn't expecting to all. But they made the escape scene reaaalllly good -- it shattered through the whole of Gringotts bank quite marvelously. I can't wait for caps/clips because I really want a gif that says ZILLO BEAST STRIKES BACK. Because it totally did. Again. ROTFLOLZ.
The movies just don't seem to ever handle Passionate!Snape very well. His patronous reveal was sooooo anticlimatic (LIKE OMG HE LOVES HER!). It's okay. Most of onscreen Snape is pretty good -- there is a lovely shot of Headmaster Snape (or as they call him in Italian, Piton) being broody in a castle window at the beginning of the film. Flashback adult Snape was weird though. Possibly my biggest issue with this film is the shot of Snape cradling/cuddling Lily's dead body while baby Harry is still in the crib! UGH. WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT IT WAS SO DISTURBING.
Ron and Hermione's kiss was fantastic, but my favorite shippy (sort of) moment was of course between Harry and Hermione. Since that brief dancing scene in Part I, which completely opened my eyes to the dimensions of their friendship, my idea of Harry/Hermione has really developed into something that doesn't have an equivalent anywhere else in fandom. LIKE MY GOD. There is this amazing moment when Harry finds out that he needs to die, and he tells them goodbye before heading off to the forest. Hermione understands before Harry even really says it, and she tells him (all cavalier and heartbreaking like) "I could go with you!" even when she knows she can't, and that Harry must do this alone. It was glorious, beautiful, sad, and desperate, and sooooo well done. Emotionally it reminded me of the series finale of Avatar -- remember when Toph and Sokka are hanging off the air ship, and Sokka's leg is broken and Toph is crying and they're pretty much going to fall to their deaths with no hope? It was like that. Hermione hugged Harry, but Ron didn't, and I was just sitting there SO BROKEN OMG.
Easily the best part of the movie was the battle. They played it out so well, the preparation and the powerful magic the teachers perform to protect the castle -- tension was high, music was spot on, and the visual effects were breathtaking. It was very Lucas in its cinematice perfection. As with many of the Potter movies, there wasn't a lot linking the plot by way of explaing things that randomly pop up, but it was balanced nicely with comedy and careful direction. There was a sort of cheesy moment when Harry dons a Hogwarts robe to disguise himself (lulz wut?) but we'll let it slide. When the battle gets into full swing it's really something! Completely gorgeous, absolute chaos, popular character dodging (or getting hit by) real, dangerous threats left and right. It's very easy to see why this movie got the rating it did and they stretched very well under it. Hands down, my favorite sequence is mid-battle, when the trio are trying to move through the castle. Really great music plays, and they have to duck and dodge threats coming from all directions: dark wizards that have infiltrated the walls, turncoat students, explosions, duels, fire, Giants, spiders, and even the crumbling castle itself as it falls down around them. It's every bit as epic as the book describes, MAN.
Also I kept crying here and there because I remembered that Maggie Smith was battling through illness on top of breast cancer when she filmed this. My God that woman is so amazing. SUCH a boss.
The actual final facedown (which was theatrically nonverbal) suddenly got very operatic and Star Warsy, with Harry and Voldemort going at it in spectacular fashion while dramatic music played. It looked really good, very epic. I almost forgive the weird free fall wrestling match they had too. Almost. My fangirl instincts inform me there was something quasi-sexual about their weird body-melding thing. Idk. Many branches of fandom have long speculated it anyway.
The one thing I wish they had shown was the aftermath of Voldemort's death, when everybody cheers and cries and embraces Harry. In the movie, it's much more subdued and sad, with sort of a lonely (but bright and hopeful) dawn. I was so looking forward to seeing it! The open outpour of love and gratitude after such great loss, is one of the best things about Book 7.
The one thing I wish they had kept out was the 19 Years Later flash forward. God it was terrible. Idek what to say, none of them looked like they aged 20 years at all.
I love seeing Potter movies with a full house because everybody claps and cheers! Neville got so much applause, I was so proud. Every victory was lauded by the audience and I LOVE that experience. I guess everyone's been saying that the last Potter movie means the end of childhood as we know it. Well, it was a pretty good way to go out. WEEEEEEEEP.