Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

[bluewillowtree]

We saw the new Harry Potter movie on Saturday night. Because it's taken me several days to get around to writing this, it probably won't be as thorough or good as if I'd written it on Sunday, but oh well.

Comments

[hope_tang]

I found the movie acceptable, but there were a few awkward parts where the main thought running through my head was "...That didn't happen in the books...?"

I'm not sure what to make of the Harry/Hermione vibe, because that was just odd...and that scene with the locket? When I saw it, I think the entire theatre had a "...oh Merlin, what?!" moment.

I was surprised, though, by how dark the movie was. Granted, Deathly Hallows in general takes a sharp dive off of "kid bedtime reading" list, but it was much more of a horror-film feel than I had expected. Still, I had a good time.

[bluewillowtree]

I really liked the darkness of it, though I am a fan of horror movies (as long as they're about supernatural horror; I can't watch slasher movies or anything like that

[hope_tang]

With the exception of LOTR, I have never particularly liked the movie adaptation of novels. As a result, I skipped the HBP movie...though I have to admit, HBP is perhaps my least favorite book of the series.

I agree with you on the locket scene. It was certainly an "interesting" decision on either the director or screenwriters' part(s), but certainly not inspired. I'm not sure why anyone would want to feed the flames of another shipper war, but I am staying FAR away from the Harry Potter section of FF.Net (well, even further away than I usually do, which is the distance between Alaska and Florida times three). =)

It would be interesting to watch all seven (eight) movies in a row when they all come out, if only to watch how each movie changes radically in style for the first four or five films...

[bluewillowtree]

I'm sorry if I spoiled the HBP movie! Though I won't feel too bad, since you didn't actually want to see it anyway...

I definitely agree about movie adaptations of books. I adore the LOTR movies, but those are such a rarity, and the reason that I think they work is because Peter Jackson & Co. are just as big fans of the books as we are. The movies aren't perfect (for example, though I have no problem with her in general, Liv Tyler really didn't work for me as Arwen) but they're still amazing. I studiously avoided the movie of The Golden Compass, because even in the one preview I saw, I found all their casting decisions to be completely wrong (again, I have no problem with any of those actors; they just totally didn't work for those roles), and I don't want a bad movie to push out the images in my head, which I love.

OK, I'm totally rambling, so I'll stop, but also wanted to say that I'm thinking of you and hoping that things are going well! *hugs*

[breathingalice]

GREAT point about Hedwig - I wasn't a fan of the car chase, but I hadn't connected the timing of it with the 'what about Hedwig?!' feeling I had.

Overall, I think that many of the movies tend towards more of a focus on action at the expense of the characters (PoA excluded), and I'd probably be happier if I could accept that, rather than railing against it anew with each movie. I do tend to take the visuals for granted, and the snake and the 3 brothers were both super-well done. Thanks for reminding me of a non-cranky part of it all!

[bluewillowtree]

I'm happy that I could remind you of some non-cranky parts!

In general, I enjoy action and action movies, though I agree that it shouldn't come at the expense of character development. And really, the fact that they made Deathly Hallows into two movies should have left them with enough time for both! What often baffles me most is when they cut out good action from the book to add questionable action they've made up for the movie (see my comment above about the Half-Blood Prince movie). *sigh*

Mostly, though, I refuse to even see movies made from books I love (The Golden Compass movie, for example, and from what I've heard, I was right to skip it). The fact that the HP movies have been good enough to continue watching is impressive in itself, even though there are almost always things I'd change. I still think this movie was a good time overall, thoughI reserve final judgment for the second viewing, whenever I get around to it...