Monday Morning Talkback: Let's Hear About Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Let's just cut to the chase: you saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. In fact, judging from the record-breaking box office results from this weekend, you might have even seen it twice. The well-reviewed final installment of the beloved wizarding franchise ended with a bang both creatively and financially, meaning there is plenty to discuss. So, let's discuss!
There are many topics on the table, including but not limited to:
· Was The Deathly Hallows Part 2 worth all the hype?
· Did you splurge for 3-D, and were you disappointed in the results?
· Did director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves leave out any part of the book you wish they hadn't? Along those same lines, what did you think of the added/amended scenes that were sprinkled throughout the film? Did they enrich the original J.K. Rowling source narrative?
· Which young Potter star gave the film's best performance? Daniel Radcliffe? Emma Watson? The dumbfounded Rupert Grint? Matthew Lewis?
· If you haven't read the books -- and read them, lazy! -- were you able to follow the narrative or did all the talk of Horcruxes bog you down?
· How did you think the aging effects looked during the epilogue?
· What part of the film elicited the biggest applause in the theater during your showing?
· For Potter book fans, were you happy with the way your favorite series was translated to the big screen over the course of eight movies?
· Which of the eight movies was the best film? Which was the best adaptation?
· Does The Deathly Hallows Part 2 have a snowball's chance in Azkaban of getting a Best Picture nomination this year?
And more! Leave your thoughts, remembrances, praises and complaints about The Deathly Hallows Part 2 -- and Harry Potter in general -- in the comments below.
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Comments
I'd be surprised if it doesn't get a Best Picture nom. It has the "people's choice" slot written all over it. It's also the cap of an epic series, like Return of the King. Probably won't win, but I can't see it not being on the list.
It was too rushed. At times it seemed like Harry was the only major character and everyone else was playing bit parts (OK, other than Snape and Voldemort). I was especially disappointed in how little Ron and especially Hermione were given to do. And the hurriedness made some of the plot developments make no sense. When McGonagall stood up to Snape, you thought, "Couldn't someone have done this a long time ago?" And the reaction to Harry's death was, well . . . there was no reaction; everyone just stood there until Neville stepped up for his very measured speech. Wouldn't Hermoine and Ron and McGonagall express sorrow or rage or something? And why weren't the children sent home? Instead, McGonagall sent them to the dungeon? Huh? And there was so much running around inside Hogwarts, but where was everyone going? Oh, and major deaths were just kind of skimmed over.
I saw it in IMAX/3-D, and the 3-D did not appear to add much to me. The audience did applaud when Mrs. Weasley took out Bellatrix. And no, the movie has no chance of getting a Best Picture nomination, although the set designer needs an Oscar RIGHT now. I think my favorite of the movies was "Order of the Phoenix," only because Imelda Staunton was such a terrific villain.
Oh, and despite all of my misgivings about "Deathly Hallows II," I did enjoy it. It moves by very quickly.
Capote99 makes some very astute points. Not involving Hermione and Ron more was a mistake (not a reader of the books, so I don't know if there is more in those tomes of Ron and Hermiones actions to have used). So it's possible that the mistake was JK Rowlings with the whole sudden Longbottom plot line.
However, this was the first Harry Potter since #4 that has been worth anything. They should have combined movies 5, 6, and 7 into one film and then maybe the series would be actually be a good series. Again, this could be Rowlings fault but the last three were soooooooo boring. Voldemort was totally boring until this one. Bellatrix was LAME-O and boring. Snape was always totally awesome, even before all this revealed stuff. It could have been an amazing 6 film series, but as an 8 film series... zzzz...
At least it didn't get super self indulgent like Return of the King with 30 minutes of denouement after a pretty stupid climax at Mt. Doom (of course, the stupid climax is the writer's fault, but the dumb 30 minute love fest was all Jackson).
Overall, this is the best Harry Potter probably ever made, despite the accurate problems enumerated by Capote99. I mean, shouldn't Ron or Hermione have been the ones to kill that stupid snake? Think about it. Harry is fighting Voldemort, while the secondary goal of killing that snake is available for any other characters. And it's Longbottom? I supposed Rowling thought she was being clever, but instead, she was being stupid.
Biggest audience reaction at my screening was to Ron's paunch in the 19 years later scene. I thought the makeup was good, Harry Potter looked eerily realistic.
I was also glad that it didnt have a long drawn out Lord of the rings style ending. I'm not a reader of the book and I have found the series difficult to follow, and I don't have much attachment to any of the peripheral characters besides Luna.
All three of the Potter stars are fantastic in their roles, I would have to say Daniel Radcliffe though. It's great that they were able to keep it together for the whole series
I personally wouldn't pick it for Best Picture of the year, but I have given up trying to understand what goes on in the oscar peoples heads. It is an enjoyable movie though and I had a good time and it lived up to the hype for me. I've walked out of a bunch of movies lately so I was grateful for one that held me until the end (and then wrapped up quickly!)
Overall, I was entertained. I thought it moved quickly, and managed to hit many of the details from the battle from the book (for example, I loved that Hermione still blasted the werewolf from Ron's ex)...while staying true to the storylines that *went into the movies*.
For example, I've heard people say they were disappointed that they didn't get to see Fred's death, or that the Ron/Hermione kiss was different. But Fred's death - in the book - was part of the family reunion with Percy. But that relationship dynamic was left out of the movies - popping it in here didn't make sense from a continuity standpoint. And the Ron/Hermione kiss in the book was a part of Hermione's advocacy for House Elves, again, something not really made a huge deal of in the movies. And I actually preferred Harry confronting Snape in the Great Hall, as opposed to the way it was written in the book.
Now, would I have liked to have seen more of the professors being bad-ass? Oh yes. I thought Trelawney launching crystal balls and Sprout throwing the Venomous Tentacula into the crowd were awesome touches in the book (not to mention McGonagall running a stampede of desks). It drove home the point that these teachers hadn't been teachers, but very powerful on their own. And I did prefer the way Neville killed the snake in the book to the movie; Neville found his strength without speaking in the book, which I always thought was awesome. And the sudden appearance of Hagrid in the forest with the Death Eaters was just bizarre; they didn't have the scene of him being carried off by the spiders, which just made the whole thing confusing.
With the exception of the first movie, though, none of the adaptations have been overly faithful to the books. To criticize this book in particular for that would be disingenuous. As a capper to the movie adaptations, this did a great job.
As for the 3D - yes I went to a 3D showing, but it's because in my small town, the theater with the best screen and sound was being used for the 3D showings. If a similar screen showed it as 2D, I probably would have gone there. There was nothing in this movie that was particularly 3D that merited the technology.
I've been a fan of the "odds" in the series, and if you include this as part of Deathly Hallows part 1, this was no exception. There was something about films 1, 3, 5, and 7 (parts 1 and 2) that were special to me.
I think it helps to be a fan of the books but not get all fan wanky about when things aren't adapted exactly the same. I get to watch and fill in the blanks, but I don't pop a blood vessel when this or that is different.
The only part I didn't like was the fact that they included that treacly epilogue. It was a rare false note in Rowling's books, and I was hoping reason would win out and they would not include it. Otherwise, it was a great ending to a great series. I'm really attached to "the kids" so I don't want to point anyone out, they all grew tremendously as actors. That ginger really does it for me, though. He's a very natural actor. I wish them all the best.