Another 20-30 minutes? Eh. I think strecthing the final book into 260+ minutes was more than enough...

BTW, I know which Voldemor laugh you mean. I've gotta agree. Many moviegoers at my screening laughed at it as well, heh. So random...

Are we talking about the courtyard? That's supposed to be funny.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/ ... nteed.html


Whoah. Aren't the studios using digital detailing to compensate for the darker details in the 3D print? What's with them for not doing so?
But I remember reading that Michael Bay insisted the theaters premier Tr3 running the projectors at the more expensive full illumination, but that only ends up oversaturating the image dynamics and the plate.
Why the Fuck aren't they using digital detailing on the dark details for the 3D prints???

I agree, 20-30 minutes more would have made this one even better.

It's a competent adaptation just like all the others...but for the "epic finale" something seemed to be missing, it almost seemed a bit rushed. There were no references to Voldemort after he died...not even a "The End" title card. I made the mistake of watching Return of the King two days before I saw this and it just seemed really pedestrian when compared to ROTK. It was a perfectly serviceable, entertaining spectacle, nothing spectacular...but then again that's how the books are.

PS. these people need to contact Peter Jackson on how to do a good death scene for the villains. Bellatrix was horrible despite them keeping the "not my daugher, you bitch!" line. Just way too rushed and random. And Voldemort was pretty disappointing as well.

And the David Yates' signature one-totally-cringe-inducing-scene-per-movie moment was present as well, this time in the form of Harry and Voldemort flying around locked in each other's arms.

A

It's a nearly perfect send-off, the only thing that bugged me was the make--up for the last scene... no way they looked 19 years older.

*spoilers*

I didn't read the books so I don't know if this what it's like in the book (I assume not), but after Harry kills Voldemort, it seemed really weird that it wasn't even acknowledged. Like, no one seemed to care. For such an epic moment in the series, I expected a little more to the ending. It kinda bothered me.

Otherwise, this is overall a really good ending to the series.

I think I liked Pt. 1 better, btw.

My eyes are still red from tears.

The Prince's Tale... dear lord.

I know they did an amazing job with that scene. It was an amazing movie. I will have to watch it again but, I think it surpasses Prisoner of Azkaban as the the best in series.

Mm-hmm.

I really hope Alan Rickman finally receives his first ever Academy Award Nomination for this.

Me too, he was amazing.

BJs Grade:

A+

Best of the series, so emotional, had me on the edge the entire film. Rickman and Fiennes wer amazing.

My first viewing usually gets a lower grade because of the changes from the book. I will be seeing it again on Thursday. But on first impression I'd give it a B+. There were a few things that bothered me. For one it felt very rushed. The deaths during the big battle lacked emotion. There was either little build up or context to major scenes, or they were changed a lot from the book. I'm particularly pissed that they short-changed the Molly/Bellatrix fight, and that they changed the Harry/Voldemort final battle (I'm sorry but I wanted that scene exactly like it was in the book and it wasn't even close). Several scenes seeming like they were going for crowd applause rather than real feeling (Ron and Hermione in the Chamber of Secrets for example). While getting the intended reaction, it kind of cheapens the emotion behind it. And then there were the awkward silences as if the dialogue was erased and people were just standing there. What the hell?

But that's the problem with book adaptations, there's always things to pick apart. The movie is very entertaining. Everything to do with Snape in this movie is great. Little additions that were great fun like Professor McGonagall saying "I've always wanted to use that spell" with glee. Crowd applause ensues. Awesome. Also, Harry snapping the wand at the end just makes a hell of a lot more sense than what happened in the book. So I liked that change (though would it have killed them to have him fix his wand first for crying out loud?)

My second viewing will give me a better idea of how much I really like it and where I'd rank it in the series. For me I don't think it the best of the series, but my ranking of the series differs from most people.

I watched the marathon on the big screen the last few days. Here is how I'd rank them compared to each other, by my personal entertainment value.

1. Sorcerer's Stone
2. Half-Blood Prince
3. Goblet of Fire (I still thnk the Graveyard scene and immediately after is the best sequence in the series)
4. Deathly Hallows Part 2
5. Prisoner of Azkaban
6. Deathly Hallows Part 1
7. Chamber of Secrets
8. Order of the Phoenix

More thoughts:

Judging from this film and most of the others, Daniel Radcliffe is a horrible actor.

Dumbledore gave me major poor man's Gandalf vibes in the King's Cross scene. I half expected him to say "white shores...and beyond" when Harry asked him what would happen if he took the train.

I actually thought Radcliffe did his best acting in this film. He is also suppose to amazing on Broadway if you go by the reviews for that musical he is in right now. He will have issues being typecast unless he decides to stay on Broadway.

That was pretty excellent.

Yeah, I thought that was a cool creepy effect.

I didn't think Radcliffe was terrible at all, but I have a huge soft spot since I saw him in Equus and he was completely excellent in that and robbed of a Tony nomination.

Saw it last night, it was pretty awesome but like others, I felt like it was missing a little something. It's been so long since I've read the book that I didn't remember much from it, so things missing/being added didn't bother me this time around. The acting was great... Full of good humor and emotion. Could be the best Potter, but I have to see it again.

8/10

Only thing I wish they did was get rid of that damn epilogue. Other than that, it's one of the rare franchises that end with a satisfying conclusion.

The end. Move along now. The Harry Potter franchise (phenomenon) which began on the page in 1997 and on film, via director Chris Columbus and writer Steve Kloves, four years later comes to an action-centric conclusion with the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the eighth movie overall and directed for the fourth time by David Yates.

The first scene is Part 1's last: the despicable, nose-less Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) descending on Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon) grave and stealing the all-powerful Elder Wand. We then reunite with the beloved core trio of Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who are in the midst of a dangerous search-and-destroy mission, scouring England for "horcruxes" (items containing part of Voldemort's soul). Before long this pursuit forces them to return to their magical school, Hogwarts, now a grave, fascist-esque place lorded over by the ever-unpleasant Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). There the final battle between good and evil unfolds.

This is a fine, flawed film. As a conclusion to the ten-year-old series, it is perfectly satisfying. As a standalone piece, maybe slightly less so. I have never been a fan of the decision to split the Deathly Hallows, a large tome indeed, into two films, and this sequel-to-a-sequel does suffer from it in certain respects, as did its predecessor. What we have are two separate films telling one story: the first is all gathering-storm-clouds atmosphere and character beats and explanatory dialogue, the second is a two-hour action sequence. The gravity of the violent conflicts featured throughout Deathly Hallows Part 2 is undermined because they are separated from the rising action and rich atmosphere of Part 1. This film is all third-act boldness, and it becomes slightly exhausting.

A few other issues stem, alas, from J. K. Rowling's imaginative, but often imperfect writing, to which the entire series has been more or less slavishly faithful. I often wanted to tune out the busy plot--so many damn MacGuffins, from horcruxes to hallows--and concentrate instead on the splendid characters and their compelling relationships. Sadly, Rowling's dreadful 19-years-later epilogue has also been maintained, still awash in cheese ("Albus...Severus...Potter") and now complete with unconvincing middle-age makeup. This series, literary and cinematic, always should have ended on a note of youthful ambiguity, with Harry and his friends, after all their teenage adventures, realizing yet another adventure--adulthood--will begin shortly. The old-fashioned, he-married-her-and-they-have-this-many-children-and-are-very-happy epilogue is a groaner. It doesn't help the relationship between Harry and future wife Ginny, played by Bonnie Wright, is hilariously undernourished and chemistry-free, especially in the films.

The acting is solid across the board. Radcliffe has come into his own as a leading man, playing Harry for the final time with confidence and vigor. Though they have less to do than usual, Grint and especially Watson are also good. And the adult cast, a veritable who's who of British character actors (Jim Broadbent! Gary Oldman!), is as stellar as ever. Alan Rickman is the obvious standout, mainly because this is the film where Severus' true colors, intentions, and longings are revealed. I do a wish a few adult characters had been granted more time on screen, though, particularly David Thewlis as benevolent werewolf Lupin, always a favorite of mine. Though heavily featured in Prisoner of Azkaban (still the best), the subsequent Potter movies haven't given him the time of day, which undercuts the emotional impact of his final scenes. It also would have been nice to see more of Helena Bonham Carter as the super-sadistic Bellatrix LeStrange. Her presence felt oddly small during the final action sequences.

Behind the camera, Yates does a commendable job. He's still not the world's greatest action director--often his action sequences feel grandly and impeccably designed, but also...removed, missing a certain visceral vitality--but he's improved considerably since Order of the Phoenix. Eduardo Serra's cinematography is dark and lush. Alexandre Desplat's original score is acceptable, though rarely transcendent, and it is a pity John Williams didn't return.

So, here we are. Potter ends on a very solid, if a tad unspectacular note. Everyone who contributed to this franchise from the actors to the directors to the technical artisans can breathe a sigh of relief and be proud. They have managed to maintain the project's integrity and general quality over ten years and eight very expensive films. No small feat. All in all, a magical accomplishment.

B

I've always liked the epilogue (in fact, I think I like it better on film with the added benefit of chocolate frogs and 'Leaving Hogwarts' from Sorcerer's Stone). I freely admit that I'm a sucker for full circle endings, though.

Yeah the epilogue was better on film.

The epilogue sucks in the book and the film.