Harry Potter and the Grumpy Camping
Went with Elora and Sparky to see Deathly Hallows, Part I this afternoon, and it was...well, pretty much exactly what I expected, really. It was dark, it was brooding, it has lots of bad things happen, and it has no ending. If it were forced to stand on its own, not as half of a longer movie, or as the seventh movie in a series, I'm sure it would be a resounding failure. In fact, I had considered passing on the movie altogether, and waiting to watch it on video just before the second half comes out, and I still don't think that would have been a bad idea. I probably would have considered it too dark for Sparky to see, except that ship has long since sailed, crossed the horizon, and gone over the waterfall.
I will say that I thought the changes made from the book to the film were much less obtrusive this time around than I've usually found them to be, ever since Prisoner of Azkaban. Leaving out Dean, leaving out most of the stuff with Kreacher, leaving out most of the scenes at the Burrow...that all seemed to work fine. I was slightly irked that the Dursleys only got about five seconds of screen time, because I always liked the emotional beat of their parting with Harry, but the scene with Hermione's parents was such a good addition, I can let it slide. It was the first film where I really thought, "Hey, this is trying to be different than the book, and whatta ya know, it works."
So hey, it was there. To say that I "enjoyed" it would imply that it was "fun," which it wasn't, at all. I accept it as necessary set-up for next summer's finale, and I'll leave it at that.
I will say that I thought the changes made from the book to the film were much less obtrusive this time around than I've usually found them to be, ever since Prisoner of Azkaban. Leaving out Dean, leaving out most of the stuff with Kreacher, leaving out most of the scenes at the Burrow...that all seemed to work fine. I was slightly irked that the Dursleys only got about five seconds of screen time, because I always liked the emotional beat of their parting with Harry, but the scene with Hermione's parents was such a good addition, I can let it slide. It was the first film where I really thought, "Hey, this is trying to be different than the book, and whatta ya know, it works."
So hey, it was there. To say that I "enjoyed" it would imply that it was "fun," which it wasn't, at all. I accept it as necessary set-up for next summer's finale, and I'll leave it at that.