Reviewer: The Hot One
Release Date: July 15, 2011
Official Website: The Official Website
MMPA Rating: PG-13
Cast: Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Reviewer Rating: 7/10
It’s been eleven years since the first Harry Potter film graced the screens in 2001. We’ve all watched the trio grow from children into adults as each movie was released, all coming to the end in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Before I begin this review, if you haven’t seen the film yet, which I doubt considering how much money the film made its opening weekend, just stop reading. I don’t want to spoil it for you, nor do I want flaming emails or comments posted on this review.
Now then, Harry Potter and I have had a love / hate relationship over these last eleven years. Simply put, I have not read the books but I respect and admire the depth of the story, development of characters and the overall ideas behind the series. I have seen all the films and that is where the hate of the relationship begins to showcase itself. Sure, I got a release from everyday life and saw a film of the underdog overcoming insurmountable odds, but being a filmmaker myself I found many flaws in them. Long zooming shots that irritated me, longer unedited scenes that should have been cut short etc, etc. Either way you slice it, I felt the filmmakers, not the actors, cheapened what was given to the paying audience. This disregard was very evident in splitting up the final book into two films.
Starting off exactly where part 1 left us, Harry, Hermione and Ron continue their quest to bring down “you know who.” There is a slight recap of the prior film, but let’s be honest who doesn’t remember what happened or re-watched the prior film to get a refresher course? That’s what I thought. Anyway, we once again join them as they continue searching for Horcruxes. Harry is still very much connected to Voldemort and he knows there is another in Hogwarts. So, now they travel to get the final pieces to make Voldemort – “just him.”
Let me shorten this for you: Students and good teachers take back the school from Snape. Teachers have awesome special effects and create this massive dome over the entire school, protecting it from attacks. Voldemort’s forces attack, we find out one Horcrux is the snake Nagini. Harry finds the Horcrux in the castle after talking to a ghost. They enter the hidden room to get it, Draco tries to stop him, insert massive fire dragon special effect, and our trio survives and saves Draco. Voldemort screams and sends this massive energy blast to the force field and destroys it, the Elder Wand he’s been using cracks.
Next, Harry goes to a little boat house and finds Voldemort fighting with Snape. He mentions the Elder Wand won’t listen to him since Snape killed Dumbledore. So, Nagini bites the crap out of Snape. I will admit it was interesting to see the director have all these fiery special effects, but when it comes to a snake attacking, we see nothing but our trios point of view from the other side of the wall. We see a shadow of the snake as it strikes and the wall shakes.
Harry goes to the forbidden forest and dies. Great. He goes to some overly bleached white train station and hangs out with Dumbledore. Hagrid carries Harry’s body back to Hogwarts and Voldemort laughs at the students saying the great Harry Potter is dead. He tells them join him or die – like we haven’t heard that in every film before the evil guy dies. Anyway, Draco crosses the line because his mother begs him. Neville comments that they don’t need Harry, he’s still alive in all of them and they will fight.
And then…. Bam Harry pops up and he’s not dead! Great. Fight ensues, Neville picks up the sword and before the snake can attack Ron and Hermione, Neville slices its head off. Harry beats Voldemort, explains he disarmed Draco so the Elder Wand belonged to him. He breaks it and tosses it into a gorge. We finally get treated to a 19 years later showing the trio with their children going to Hogwarts.
Anyone else feel cheated? I do. This second part was drawn out, overdone and thrown in a 3D to make more money. I watched as nothing really popped off the screen, nothing majorly surprised me and there was no plot whatsoever. I know there have been several films broken up into multiple parts, but each individual part was written in a way to ensure you felt satisfied leaving the theater. Part one was too long, drawn out and felt like there was no conclusion. Part two felt empty, massive battle after massive special effect to fill in the space. The end result is what should have been one 2:45 minute tightly edited amazingly shot film in two long drawn out directors cuts that take away from everything Harry Potter was meant to be.
Do I feel it was nice to see the end? Yes. Do I feel the special effects were amazing? Yes. Do I think the series will leave a hole in sales with readers and movie goers alike? Yes. Harry Potter was an amazing piece of pop culture that, regardless of how I feel about this film, will do exceptionally well now and into the future on DVD boxset sales. What irks me is Hollywood thinking it is okay to take us for a ride when it comes to our hard earned money in a recession by sticking a “Part 2: It Ends” label on it. I think as consumers we need to be more demanding of what we want. With no more ticket sales, maybe bad decisions by Hollywood Execs will fall to the way side.
It’s been eleven years since the first Harry Potter film graced the screens in 2001. We’ve all watched the trio grow from children into adults as each movie was released, all coming to the end in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Before I begin this review, if you haven’t seen the film yet, which I doubt considering how much money the film made its opening weekend, just stop reading. I don’t want to spoil it for you, nor do I want flaming emails or comments posted on this review.
Now then, Harry Potter and I have had a love / hate relationship over these last eleven years. Simply put, I have not read the books but I respect and admire the depth of the story, development of characters and the overall ideas behind the series. I have seen all the films and that is where the hate of the relationship begins to showcase itself. Sure, I got a release from everyday life and saw a film of the underdog overcoming insurmountable odds, but being a filmmaker myself I found many flaws in them. Long zooming shots that irritated me, longer unedited scenes that should have been cut short etc, etc. Either way you slice it, I felt the filmmakers, not the actors, cheapened what was given to the paying audience. This disregard was very evident in splitting up the final book into two films.
Starting off exactly where part 1 left us, Harry, Hermione and Ron continue their quest to bring down “you know who.” There is a slight recap of the prior film, but let’s be honest who doesn’t remember what happened or re-watched the prior film to get a refresher course? That’s what I thought. Anyway, we once again join them as they continue searching for Horcruxes. Harry is still very much connected to Voldemort and he knows there is another in Hogwarts. So, now they travel to get the final pieces to make Voldemort – “just him.”
Let me shorten this for you: Students and good teachers take back the school from Snape. Teachers have awesome special effects and create this massive dome over the entire school, protecting it from attacks. Voldemort’s forces attack, we find out one Horcrux is the snake Nagini. Harry finds the Horcrux in the castle after talking to a ghost. They enter the hidden room to get it, Draco tries to stop him, insert massive fire dragon special effect, and our trio survives and saves Draco. Voldemort screams and sends this massive energy blast to the force field and destroys it, the Elder Wand he’s been using cracks.
Next, Harry goes to a little boat house and finds Voldemort fighting with Snape. He mentions the Elder Wand won’t listen to him since Snape killed Dumbledore. So, Nagini bites the crap out of Snape. I will admit it was interesting to see the director have all these fiery special effects, but when it comes to a snake attacking, we see nothing but our trios point of view from the other side of the wall. We see a shadow of the snake as it strikes and the wall shakes.
Anyway, Harry burst into the room, sees Snape crying and collects his tears. Voldemort pulls his forces back saying he wants the wizards to bury their dead with dignity and for Harry Potter to meet him in the forbidden forest. Before going, Harry drops tears into a dish from the Chamber of Secrets and he sees everything of Snape’s history. Longer story short here, Snape loved his mother and protected Harry. Dumbledore knows Harry has to die since he was a Horcrux Voldermort never intended on making and Snape killed Dumbledore because he was told to. My reaction, Dumbledore was the true villain who smiled in our faces but knew the boy needed to be raised before he died. Snape felt like a tragic hero.
Harry goes to the forbidden forest and dies. Great. He goes to some overly bleached white train station and hangs out with Dumbledore. Hagrid carries Harry’s body back to Hogwarts and Voldemort laughs at the students saying the great Harry Potter is dead. He tells them join him or die – like we haven’t heard that in every film before the evil guy dies. Anyway, Draco crosses the line because his mother begs him. Neville comments that they don’t need Harry, he’s still alive in all of them and they will fight.
And then…. Bam Harry pops up and he’s not dead! Great. Fight ensues, Neville picks up the sword and before the snake can attack Ron and Hermione, Neville slices its head off. Harry beats Voldemort, explains he disarmed Draco so the Elder Wand belonged to him. He breaks it and tosses it into a gorge. We finally get treated to a 19 years later showing the trio with their children going to Hogwarts.
Anyone else feel cheated? I do. This second part was drawn out, overdone and thrown in a 3D to make more money. I watched as nothing really popped off the screen, nothing majorly surprised me and there was no plot whatsoever. I know there have been several films broken up into multiple parts, but each individual part was written in a way to ensure you felt satisfied leaving the theater. Part one was too long, drawn out and felt like there was no conclusion. Part two felt empty, massive battle after massive special effect to fill in the space. The end result is what should have been one 2:45 minute tightly edited amazingly shot film in two long drawn out directors cuts that take away from everything Harry Potter was meant to be.
Do I feel it was nice to see the end? Yes. Do I feel the special effects were amazing? Yes. Do I think the series will leave a hole in sales with readers and movie goers alike? Yes. Harry Potter was an amazing piece of pop culture that, regardless of how I feel about this film, will do exceptionally well now and into the future on DVD boxset sales. What irks me is Hollywood thinking it is okay to take us for a ride when it comes to our hard earned money in a recession by sticking a “Part 2: It Ends” label on it. I think as consumers we need to be more demanding of what we want. With no more ticket sales, maybe bad decisions by Hollywood Execs will fall to the way side.
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