Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

johnny_ultimate

I enjoyed it, although couldn't shake the feeling that it was the butt end of a second act and an extended third :pac: It's definitely a part two for better or worse, but with an eight month gap between viewing the first can't help but think a little bit more content pre-Hogwarts would have been nice here to make a more cohesive overall film.

I stand by my view that Yates is the best thing to happen this series (barring Cauron, of course!). It's a fantastically bleak experience once again, and the few considered bursts of colour show a director and his cinematographer on top of their game. Don't think there's ever been a 'whiter' scene in mainstream cinema than the one here, and it's a great contrast to the overwhelming greys. Also loved the channeling of Sam Raimi of all people in the weird 'we end this the way we started... together!' scene. Nice burst of imaginative filming in the midst of the conclusion.

The

off-screen deaths

were a bit strange, but I think it worked due to the fact they weren't overwrought as a result (agree with Prof that it was much better than

Moody's death being relegated to a line of dialogue!

). I do think it was over-CGIed at times -

the dragon and the room of lost things

particularly. Yet I in general liked the scale of the battle, especially the lengthy setup to it, like the creation of the giant shield. There were a good few rousing moments in it too -

the trio arriving back at Hogwarts, or the 'eviction' of Snape.

. And kudos to Neville for kicking arse. Others I felt could have been handled better -

the infamous 'bitch' and Harry's resurrection felt more than a little underwhelming

. Voldermort was definitely a weak point, what a pitiful villain he was here - very little sense of threat. The scene where he hugged Malfoy was absurd. And of course the epilogue - still obnoxious and forced

. However, due to the limited make-up for the leads (serious lulz at their 'adult' clothing and haircuts, though!) and a compared to the book lack of namechecking it wasn't as bad as I feared.

Still ****ing awful though.

So all in all, I'd probably rank it a bit above your bog standard blockbuster largely down to Yates' direction. Actors are all to the same standard as usual (Rickman was good, although I didn't think as good as some of the more gushing reviews I've heard), and I still hate Luna with a passion. But it's an agreeable end to a film franchise that has hovered dangerously close to mediocrity for the last number of years. The books are still going to be - by a distance - the definitive telling of this yarn, but at least they didn't let Chris Colombus stay on board for more than two films :P

krudler

I though

Snapes death was pretty brutal, the way we only saw the silhoutte of his body being attacked again and again by the snake was pretty dark

johnny_ultimate

krudler wrote: »

I though

Snapes death was pretty brutal, the way we only saw the silhoutte of his body being attacked again and again by the snake was pretty dark

It was surprisingly violent, but I think the

Voldemort fetus

was a clear winner in the 'I'm genuinely surprised they showed that' stakes.

Da Shins Kelly

Saw it, found it hard to follow in places despite watching all the other movies because I haven't read the books. The way

Voldemort was eventually killed was kinda confusing (like, I didn't understand how Harry's spell killed him, I thought Harry couldn't do killing curses, not that it was even explained what kind of curse he cast)

, and some little bits here and there that weren't explained

(such as the sudden and inexplicable appearance of Hagrid in the woods, all tied up)

were a bit off-putting. The acting from some of the people was terrible (Ginny once again springs to mind), but I thought there were some great action scenes. I actually loved

Snape's death

, I thought it was one of the best bits, and I liked the arrival of Voldemort's crew to Hogwarts

(with the giants, and the statues brought to life and all that)

.

Overall, I thought it was alright.

floutingmaxims

Neville Longbottom, you legend.

Kiith

Saw it last night. Enjoyed it, but still not as good as the books. Like alot of people above, i'd have liked to have seen more of the battle for hogwarts, especially some focus on other characters. What they showed was enjoyable, but all too brief at times. Snape was very good i thought, and they did his scenes well. All in all, a flawed but enjoyable film...so the same as the others i guess.

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

The way

Voldemort was eventually killed was kinda confusing (like, I didn't understand how Harry's spell killed him, I thought Harry couldn't do killing curses, not that it was even explained what kind of curse he cast)

Voldemort's curse was supposed to have rebound off Harry's, but it's not shown very clearly in the film.

andrewire

I saw it too and liked it but couldn't help thinking this was the movie with the best cast ever and also the one that wasted it miserably. You have Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Michael Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, John Hurt, Alan frakking Rickman, Timothy Spall and Imelda Staunton and they all had ONE line or just looked at the camera saying nothing.

But yeah, the movie was enjoyable (and predictable, even if you have not read the books).

tomissex

libra02 wrote: »

Basically it comes down to editing. Yates has always filmed everything and if I remember correctly the Deatly Hallows was filmed in total as about 10 hours. So I say they took the stance that most pople would know what is was and so we not need an explination that it is essence of dittiny and that in DH Part 1 we saw Hermoine used it when Ron got splinched so even if they did not read the books they would know what it is for.

Yeah but they wouldn't know why they were using it at that particular moment. It looked like they were washing their hands after they got out of the lake. It should have been edited out if they didn't explain it.

krudler wrote: »

I though

Snapes death was pretty brutal, the way we only saw the silhoutte of his body being attacked again and again by the snake was pretty dark

That was really brutal! I could see people around me flinching at every pounce. Horrifically violent death!

padz24

so does harry actually die at end?

Appleblossom42

padz24 wrote: »

so does harry actually die at end?

I would recommend you go see the movie or read the book, I'd hate to spoil it for you. :rolleyes:

Rabidlamb

Now I never read the books so minor plot deviations don't bother me at all but the Snape flashbacks were building up to a

"Luke, I am your father"

revelation.
The scene in the bank vault was good but did seem like an advertisement to a theme park with the roller coaster.
The main battle was billed to be up there with Helms Deep

but sadly it faded to a lot of flicky wand nonsense after the trolls & stone warriors opening piece.

I think Rickman & Fiennes came out of it the best of the actors, Fiennes especially seemed to be drinking milkshakes in every scene.
Personally I would have loved to see him restored to the body of Tom Riddle

once the Horcruxes had been destroyed but that's just me.

How come they had no problem making Snape younger for the flashbacks but couldn't make the leads any older for the epilogue.

Overall, 3 stars out of 5.

Newteacher

Sorry if this has been asked already...but it's for a little friend...

In the Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsTM - Part 2 videogame, what type of creature guards the Lestrange vault at Gringotts?

Thanks a bunch!!

TechnoPool

Newteacher wrote: »

Sorry if this has been asked already...but it's for a little friend...

In the Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsTM - Part 2 videogame, what type of creature guards the Lestrange vault at Gringotts?

Thanks a bunch!!

a white dragon? or albino what ever

jaykhunter

Saw this last night. I thought during the film that I was glad they split this into two films - I can't imagine trying to squeeze all of the action into one film. It really was one film split into two showings. I did like how nothing was really rushed; they gave everything it's time to digest and move on. It felt like the action portion that 7A missed.

Might as well just spoiler tag all of it

It was fun to see the other Hogwarts kids. I was a bit disappointed in the "big war scene" at the end, it was kinda glossed over (maybe it was too expensive?) and the Harry vs Voldemort was over far too quickly. Voldemort spent the time just getting weaker and their fight was just "let our blasts cancel each other 4 times".

I suppose it's not a new problem but Voldemort doesn't come across as a commanding bad guy. His intonation and body movement doesn't command the screen as you'd hope. I did like the tiny sub-plot of Malfoy's mom helping Harry; would've liked it hammered home a bit more, eg if she said to a "dead" Harry "thank you for saving my son".

There were some nice comedy moments and wrapping up of things; I did note a lot of laughs where there wasn't supposed to be (w/ Voldemort) and I did enjoy Snape's story conclusion/revelation. Also the use of things/places from previous films. I did get a massive "Harry, I am your father" vibe lol. Loved the post-war scene.

I know it's a kids film and it's gonna be all gravy at the end, but I thought it would've been massive for Harry to have to die/sacrifice himself for his friends - that's what I got out of the Dumbledore/Snape chat. I had to get my friend to explain the " a part of harry lives in Voldemort so that's why he didn't fully die" ...but surely that means a part of Voldemort still lives in Harry? Or did the Voldemort baby in the white train station die when Harry was apparently killed?

I would've liked a scene that mimmicked the 1st film where everyone that survived has a big meal in hogwarts and is happy again. Overall i enjoyed the film. Not a home run, but satisfying enough for the end. I wish we got another 10 minutes in the final battles though.

Soby

As with any book -> movie the book always win but loved it all the same.Cant believe its over . One thing i havent seen mentioned that annoyed me was

Harry on the way to the forest,his goodbyes.Hug hermionie,Ron nah you dont even get a goodbye,well im off to die.Or did they not really realise what he was doing ? .I really need to read the book again

libra02

Soby wrote: »

As with any book -> movie the book always win but loved it all the same.Cant believe its over . One thing i havent seen mentioned that annoyed me was

Harry on the way to the forest,his goodbyes.Hug hermionie,Ron nah you dont even get a goodbye,well im off to die.Or did they not really realise what he was doing ? .I really need to read the book again

In the books

Harry does not tell Ron or Hermione where he is going and they do not know he is a Horcrux, he go to the forest under his invisibility cloak. As you know they changed in the film but I think the scene was great and in character. As Harry said Hermione had an idea Harry was a Horcrux so she was a bit prepared for what Harry would have to do and thus her response. She was prepared to die along side Harry and that is one decision she could not make for Ron. She would not want Ron to die because she loved him and also for his family sake as they had just lost one son. Also remember she never left Harry's side and has always there for him. With Ron though the look they gave each other said it all and they did not need a hug etc and also he has just lost a brother. So I think the full realisation of what Harry was going to do had sunk in.

DB21

Just back from the film. I thought it was easily the best of the series. And this coming from a huge fan of the books, is high praise indeed. I couldn't find a single fault with it. 5/5.

libra02

DB21 wrote: »

Just back from the film. I thought it was easily the best of the series. And this coming from a huge fan of the books, is high praise indeed. I couldn't find a single fault with it. 5/5.

Totally agree with you there. I love the books but am not a purist as some hardcore fans are but I thought the film was excellent a great adaption.

Overall looking at the film series I think a great job was done. However I do have one issue and that is the

way Ginny did not really get much time in the films. The only time we did get to see what her character was like was OOTP and interesting enough this was the one film Steve Kloves did not do the screenplay for.

That was my grip with it, but leaving that aside all credit to all involved for producing a great series of films.

DB21

libra02 wrote: »

Totally agree with you there. I love the books but am not a purist as some hardcore fans are but I thought the film was excellent a great adaption.

Overall looking at the film series I think a great job was done. However I do have one issue and that is the

way Ginny did not really get much time in the films. The only time we did get to see what her character was like was OOTP and interesting enough this was the one film Steve Kloves did not do the screenplay for.

That was my grip with it, but leaving that aside all credit to all involved for producing a great series of films.

Yeah, there definitely was some character development from the books that was lacking in the films. But like I said in another thread, this series has been a close second to Lord of the Rings for best book to film translation, bar film 6.

syklops

Saw it last night. Very disappointed. Most of my favourite scenes from the book werent even in it.

The battle of Hogwarts was over in about 5 minutes. There were no giants in it except one, there were no centaurs, Hagrids half brother Grawp was just forgotten about, and there were no house elves.

The deaths of Tonks, Lupin and Fred/george(cant remember which), was delt with even more fleetingly than Mad-eye Moody's was. Luna basically f*cked off for half the film.

And then there is Neville. In the book, Neville leads the defence of Hogwarts and he kicks ass. In the movie, he is very uninspiring. He pops up now and again, swings a sword at the right time and thats about it. Very unimpressed.

Handsome Bob

syklops wrote: »

The deaths of Tonks, Lupin and Fred/george(cant remember which), was delt with even more fleetingly than Mad-eye Moody's was. Luna basically f*cked off for half the film.

But that's how their deaths were dealt with in the books afair. They all died "off page" so to speak.

I only got around to seeing it today and it's easily the second best entry in the franchise for me, POA still being the best.

I thought that the final scene was awful though, I thought they invested a lot of cash in this scene? It was 2 decades later yet they all looked the same, but with more "grown up" clothes.

Snape's death was excellent and a very unsettling one. Even though you couldn't see it, you could feel each blow from Nagini.

All in all, a very good send off for a mediocre franchse.

Trepzi

Handsome Bob wrote: »

But that's how their deaths were dealt with in the books afair. They all died "off page" so to speak.

Lupin and Tonks died off page in the books. Fred's death was on page and was quite a good death in the book. My friend who hadn't read them was a bit confused as to which twin died

Mellor

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Saw it, found it hard to follow in places despite watching all the other movies because I haven't read the books. The way

Voldemort was eventually killed was kinda confusing (like, I didn't understand how Harry's spell killed him, I thought Harry couldn't do killing curses, not that it was even explained what kind of curse he cast)

[/SPOILER].

Harry explains it after the battle.

He was the master of the Elder wand, He cast a disarming spell, and voldemort a killing curse. The elderwand wouldn't ham his master with Killing curse so it rebounded and hit Voldemort, abnd harrys disarming spell got through. The killing spell in the woods worked becasue harry let it, it killed the horcrux in harry.

jaykhunter wrote: »

Might as well just spoiler tag all of it

I did like the tiny sub-plot of Malfoy's mom helping Harry; would've liked it hammered home a bit more, eg if she said to a "dead" Harry "thank you for saving my son".

They scene played out exactly like the book.

She didn't know he saved him in the room of requirement. There was a lot of that scene that was explained in the narrative in the book that couldn't translated to the screen too easily. Eg There was an important part of the book where voldemort casts a spell on a "dead" harry and it fails, he thinks in error thats it's because he is dead. But its because the wand doesn't work too well on harry. Including it would have been confusing for people who didn't read the books

. I had to get my friend to explain the " a part of harry lives in Voldemort so that's why he didn't fully die" ...but surely that means a part of Voldemort still lives in Harry? Or did the Voldemort baby in the white train station die when Harry was apparently killed?

A part of voldemort lived in harry, he was basically a horcrux. In the woods voldemort destroyed that part, this combined with the fact that Harry was the wands master was why he didn't die. It's also why Voldemort ended up on the ground after the spell.