So… how was it?
You know what I’m talking about. Whether you were one of the people queuing up for the midnight showings, or you’re seeing it today, or you have to wait for the weekend, you’re among the folks who saw or will shortly see Harry Potter and the Which One Is This Again Oh Yeah The Last One Part 2. This open thread of sorts is where you can post your reviews, your likes and dislikes, and observations of what it was like at your local theater. Who needs critics when we have each other?
(Me? I haven’t seen it. I’m working at a convention in Minneapolis, and I don’t have time for anything at the moment. But I had dinner at a restaurant next to a multiplex showing the movie, so if you were one of the Harry Potter fans queuing up for the midnight show at the ShowPlace ICON Theaters at West End in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, I probably saw you. And I would have joined you if I could have)
Anyway, get to it — post your reviews of the movie and the experience in the comments below.
Tatoue, Rich, vladdy, I agree with you all. Harry’s life was one terrible tragedy after another. Those good things in his life that counterbalanced the evil and made the books work so well were wiped from the past few movie scripts for some reason that I am unaware of.
Knowing that Ginny was there for him but distancing himself to keep her out of danger gave him reason to fight; this plot line was removed.
Dumbledore, Harry’s mentor and teacher, all his best parts, his triumphs and failures and explainations that made everything clear were cut from the train station scene.
The final fight scene, between Harry and Voldemort, in front of everyone, where everyone who had fought with Harry and survived the Battle of Hogwarts was allowed to be a part of their final confrontation and express their outpouring of relief from years of persecution by Voldemort. That plot line, so perfectly and satisfingly done by JKR was removed from the final movie. Why? These things that counterbalanced the evil of Voldemort and left the Wizarding World with a sense of triumph and relief were removed and replaced with a dark lonely vision of the future. What book was Yates refering to when he filmed this movie”?
I agree with Rich, this movie was so poorly done that I can only hope another director will try start over and retell it soon. JKR’s book version needs no modification. I would bet that millions of people would turn out to see a film version that is faithful to the book.
Tatoue, I hear you!!
It’s my understanding that Rowling had to OK it. ??
Also, that she fired Chris Columbus after the 2nd movie, when he was the only one that was really attempting to hold true to the books!
My biggest hope for the future of this story, is that in my lifetime, someone like Peter Jackson becomes a big enough fan to want to retell it on the screen!
Rich, you are so right! This movie lacked the delicate balance that J.K. Rowlings worked so hard to weave. There was a reason why Harry doesn’t tell Ron and Hermione that he needs to sacrifice himself. They wouldn’t let him, of course! So why does he tell them the minute he leaves Dumbledore’s office and Pensieve?? She makes a point of telling us that Harry confronts Voldemorte in the forest unarmed. Why is he armed in the movie? And did the director even read the last chapters if the book? This is Harry Potter, not Rambo!! That whole fight scene was so wrong! They circled each other;there were no chains, and swirling robes! Voldemorte does not visibly weaken everytime a Horcrux is destroyed. If that were the case, he would have known a long time ago that he was in peril.Never mind that Nagini is dead before the last battle. But in the movie she is unprotected and chasing Ron and Hermione. And really, the movie made him out to be some sort of super power demon, his rotting corpse disintegrating. Ummmm, no! He was nothing more than a man, he fell to the ground and died like a normal man!! I wonder how Rowling feels about the movie?
Not bad BUT, THEY RUINED YET ANOTHER ENDING!!!!
Why did they have Harry and Voldemort meet alone at the end?
The book version was perfect!! The final showdown happened in front of EVERYBODY!!! Remember??? How Harry called Voldemort, Riddle and took control of the whole situation, remember your visions as you neared the close of Book VII, of the onlookers with their mouths hanging open after suddenly learning the whole truth along with EVERYONE!!!!! That could have so ROCKED!!
The part they did the best, was Harry in the Pensieve with Snape’s memories. Very well done!
Chris Columbus did so great with the first two!
READ THE BOOKS!!!
Disapointing And once I got home and skimmed through the last couple of hundred pages of the book, I was angry.
Harry Potter is not the damn Transformers. Seems Yates left out every bit of humor, magic, and character development, in order to lengthen and strengthen the “action” scenes. Chases and fireballs, chases BY fireballs, and “spells” that didn’t do anything mysterious, but merely make people drop like they’ve been shot — but no explanation of why Dumbledore and his brother fought or that Dumbledore knew Harry wouldn’t die when he “sacrificed” himself? Some priorities there.
Even being a devoted fan of the books and movies from the start, I had a hard time following this. For instance, in a dreamy scene, a little girl opens her hand to show a flower unfolding on her palm Okay, I realized it was Lilly, but had no idea what the flower symbolized. Then I reread and saw that in that scene, Lily, her muggle friend, and Snape, were all children, and Lilly was first discovering she could do magic. Pretty important scene, shown in maybe 60 seconds of what was, in the book, a multi-part, explanatory, and memorable part of Harry’s learning The Truth About It All.
The whole movie (and the last few, ever since the last great one, Goblet of Fire) was disjointed, full of unwatchable, quick cuts, and unexplained scenes and dialogue. Who would have known, from the movie, that Alberforce (did I get that name right?) was Dumblodore’s brother, and the story of their relationship, Dumbledore’s pride and deserting his family, and his penence cry of “Take me, not them!” when he drank the potion in the scene (a few movies ago) with the Inferi ? Sound confusing? That’s the point. The series tied up penance, redemption, and sacrifice, but in the end, film-wise, it came down to “There was a curse put on Harry as a baby, and he couldn’t live as long as Voldermort was alive — or vice-versa.”
Summing up: the first few movies were classics. After “Goblet of Fire,” the emphasis switched from the characters to the “action,” from dialogue to special effects, from story to CGI. And by leaving out character-development (Lupin and Tonks, their deaths and their baby, Fred and George, Luna and her father) in order to put in more battle scenes (tMemo to Yates: the war was moral, not just shooting and blowing up buildings), they took the soul right out of the series.
I give it a C. For the final Potter movie, that is a disgrace and a tragedy.
The best part of the showing I attended was when a very large man/woman? told some extremely loud teenagers to GTFO the theater. She/he sort of chased them out, and everyone applauded.
Then there was the part where I look like harry potter so for once in my life women wanted to talk to me. Why can’t they premiere a new HP every night?
I finished reading the 7th book the night before the movie so that everything was fresh in my mind; for that reason, the movie proved to be very disappointing. I left the theatre in shock, completely bewildered that the screenwriters and director found it necessary to change J.K. Rowlings work of art. The scene at King’s Cross was a total travesty. So much needed to happen there. This is where Dumbledore really gets his chance to reveal everything to Harry. That did not happen. The final battle between Voldemorte and Harry….seriously??? Why was that completely rewritten? It doesn’t happen that way! Neville and Nagini’s final scene: wrong. Where the hell is the Invisibility Cloak? The fate of the Elder Wand: Bogus. I would love to be even more specific, but I will wait till enough have seen this movie. I think Harry Potter fans deserved better. The book was brilliantly written. The movie for me was a complete let down.
i thought the ending for snape was excellent but the ovrall ending…didnt like it i dnt think it shuld have ended that way but movie was KIck ASS !!!! until the end (:
It was the best movie going experience I’ve had. Cops escorted a rule breaking woman. Voldemort was sitting in the crowd with us and to top it off the movie closed out my childhood perfectly. Best Potter film ever. Tons of action, tears, and romance.
We waited till today to see it. Our theatre launched the midnight show in 2d and not on the imax screen. I wanted to do the midnight show but I’d promised my 10yr old we’d do imax 3D. To be honest… I would have been fine in 2D and it would have been about $30 cheaper to do so. That and the lousy crowd we saw it with didnt clap or laugh or anything.
This movie was a culmination of an era, much like Star Wars. We’ll forever associate these actors with Potter. Which I dont think they’ll mind as much as we think.
I’m sad for the end of the franchise as now all I have to look forward to is a bad ass box set hopefully by christmas.
I felt let down by some of the scenes that were left out. One particular being the breaking of the elder wand. *spoiler alert* I wont say any more just in case there are people here reading who have not seen the movie yet. Also some other back stories were kind of thrown to the side. All from Half Blood Prince to Pt 1 and from pt 2. At least Snapes back story was there. Im sure this is what won him best character.
I will most likely see this via theatre at least 2 more times as the 1st time was purely for the epic-ness of it all. It took about 2hrs to get over the “shock” of it all.
I do wish we’d have waited to see it at 7p instead of a matinee because the line for the 7p show was crazy long with potter fans.
I guess to end this rant I really did enjoy the movie for the bringing your minds eye to the screen aspect. In that respect I think that the movie succeeded.
I was underwhelmed by the movie and thought that David Yates showed his limitations as a director. He rushed through the action sequences and has no sense of timing on the key dramatic scenes. It was pretty good but it lacked emotion especially in the first half of the movie. The departures from the book were a bit more dramatic some made more sense than others but some simply baffled me as they provided the motivation for the characters and the “new” versions fell flat.
I enjoyed it.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/07/15/movies/20110715_POTTER-9.html
(that’s me)
@Jane: I think you would really enjoy seeing the movie. I would just warn you not to be surprised when they change a few things. The transition from book to movie requires a few tweaks but the main story and the spirit of the book is always carefully preserved.
@Jay Fralick: Please, Jay, post your review. (As a regular post, not here, of course)
I saw it last night in a packed theater. I warned the people I was with that I would probably cry a bit, but the second Snape fell I was a sobbing mess of emotions and that pack of kleneex I brought was put to good use. Such an amazing ending to a series that I have grown up with. Highlight of the movie (other than Mrs. Weasley calling Bellatrix a bitch) was when they show Voldemort in the white room and my brother says rather loudly “AND that’s what an abortion looks like”. the whole theater irrupted in laughter
@Jane: I don’t think so, if you’ve read the books. I haven’t seen it yet, however. But I’d imagine if you’re familiar with the books you shouldn’t be lost.
Now I don’t know if I should post the review I’ve been working on or not.
I haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies but read all the books. Would I be lost if I just saw this one?
I thought it was great. It perfectly used all the informationit needed to draw everyone in and to a conclusion. My favorite part about it was the silence that was used so often to keep up suspense and immediately gave the feeling that events were not going to be light from the absolute start. The only real moment that i didn’t like was MacGonagalls line about how she “always wanted to use that spell.” it felt out of place and inappropriate. Although it did allow a good side look from Mrs. Weasly (and yeah, that moment later was as good as all hopes). Overall the movie was fantastic and they ended it off very well.
The next morning I still can’t stop smiling, and I plan to see it again today. I think it was phenomenal, as I said when we were leaving the theater ‘This makes up for Yates burning down the burrow’ it was so good. Definitely best in the series.
Just a radio conference. The city’s pretty packed (youth soccer tournament, Twins games, other things going on), but this thing’s just one of them. (It’s across the street from West End)
Just a side thing, Perry, what convention is happening in Minneapolis right now? I live there, and now I feel out of the loop.
I went to the midnight showing last night and it was a blast! I thoroughly enjoyed the ending that they gave Snape and I think it may have been even more moving than when I read it in the book. Alan Rickman did an excellent job throughout the series, but the Pensieve scenes in this movie were some of my favorites. You really got to see his love for Lily and even his growing affection for Harry.
I saw it in 2D and unlike some of the earlier movies (particularly Order of the Phoenix) i didn’t feel like there were very many scenes, if any at all, that were shot specifically to give the “look-it’s-flying-at-your-face” effect for the 3D audience that just looks silly to those of us who still prefer 2D.
Of course, there are things from the book that I would have liked to see more of in the movie, such as more of the lore behind the Elder Wand and how Dumbledore came to own it, or more info about the relationship between Albus and Aberforth, but I understand that some things have to be cut and they made good choices with that regard. Many points in the movie got applause, such as when Ron and Hermione kissed in the chamber of secrets, or when Neville killed Nagini, but by far the loudest applause came when Molly said “Not my daughter, you bitch!”
Overall, I thought it was a fitting end to the series. It’s bittersweet to think that it’s finally over. I read the first Harry Potter book when I was in the 7th grade and am now a rising 2nd year Medical Student. Deep down part of me secretly hopes that one day Rowling will miss Harry and decide to write stories about his life as an Auror, but the other part of me hopes she leaves it as it is.
When the movie was over, 3000+ people filed out of 17 theaters and as somebody behind me commented, everybody was just smiling.
I left out that the film played with no previews, trailers or adverts, which was a very nice touch. I also left out that my friend cried when it was over, and walked home with tears in her eyes.
I went to a late night screening of both parts three days ago. The second part began at one minute past midnight, and it was the premiere. It was the largest theater in my city – Copenhagen – and I was pleased to find the crowd as enthusiastic as myself. Everyone was at the very least wearing a cloak, and one very impressive young lady – 11? 12? – was in full on Dobby costume, bald cap, fake ears & nose and everything. My friend and I came in the same costumes as always; She a very convincing Bellatrix Lestrange, I Luna Lovegood, with homemade radish earrings.
The crowd was amazing. We laughed together, clapped together – as expected, we all went wild as Molly delivered you-know-which-line – and we all found the “old” versions of the characters hilarious together. I’m proud to have taken part in this experience. The only part I was eversoslightly unsatisfied with was how Neville was treated as more of a clown than a hero, but otherwise, the film was fantastic.
It was the culmination of an amazing story. The end of an era. And it went beyond my wildest expectations.
I wept openly throught the entire showing. From the first coca-cola comercial until the last credit. I was also furiously masturbating. Surprisingly enough, so was the rest of the theater.
Honestly? I thought it was amazing. By far the best film in the series, and a perfect ending. I was in lineup from about 6:00 onwards, but my friends had been there since 12 (they weren’t the first in line). My parents who are visiting me for the weekend came by to check out the line as we sat playing cards, reading the books, and singing songs from A Very Potter Musical, and they declared all of us certifiable. But it was about the experience as well. I loved every second of the movie, but I also loved every second of holding my friends’ hands and gasping when our favorite parts came up. Maybe I am biased, maybe the movie only works if you’re familiar with the story already, I don’t know. But I still think it was amazing, and I’ll be heading back again tonight to experience it all again.
End of an era indeed.