28 July 2011

Harry Potter 7b Review


I think the worst decision in the film franchise is splitting up Deathly Hallows into two parts. I understand that it's meant to give time for the audience to 'feel' the desperation, loneliness, and helplessness of the main trio.  What ended up happening is a bunch of close-up shots of the main characters delivering lines. Now, I don't think the acting is particularly bad. The problem is that all the characters, throughout the two movies, are extremely one-note. They're all just acting heroically defiant. The side characters are all heroically scared.

Part 1 was flawed because there was no real resolution. The movie just ended at a point that's not even really the climax. Some people excuse this because it is the first part of "Deathly Hallows", but that argument is bunk.  A movie should be able to be viewed in isolation.

Anyway, 7B is much better than the first part mostly because stuff actually seems to happen in this film.  Unfortunately, the stuff that happens fall under two categories.

1)      Harry/Gang pleads with somebody or something to inspire them to help.

Example: Gringott goblin, Dumbledore's brother, Ravenclaw ghost

 

2)      Harry is put on the right track by some coincidence/external force.

Example: Multiple horcrux visions… first leading him to the room, then more visions telling him exactly which object.  Voldemort fucking off immediately after touching Snape, allowing Harry to get Snape's memories.

Harry and gang coincidentally running away in the same alley as Dumbledore's brother in Hogsmead.

Through the entire series, Harry has been told what to do and where to go. He's had this expectation since birth due to his history with Voldemort. Dumbledore has manipulated Harry for years, giving him cryptic hints of what to do.  I don't think Harry's really made any important choice by himself. I would have loved to see Harry question his destiny at the end of the movie. He was prepared to sacrifice himself to save the world, but we never really saw him try to weasel out of it. Yeah, Harry Potter's just that good… but even Jesus had doubts about his crucifixion at Gethsemane.

Fun things:

I recall of couple of scenes where there was a clearly more important objective, but the trio decides to do some other stuff first like visiting the main hall and seeing the injured.

Where were the students running to/from after the hall scene? Harry was running to the Ravenclaw tower, and there were tons of kids running down it. In the previous scene, all the students were in the great hall!

I find it hilarious that wizards are battling/running entirely on foot. You have brooms. Probably a harder target to hit while in the air. They'd travel faster too.

After Snape jumps out of the window, but before the shield is put in place, there were establishing shots of dementers/ghosts/death eaters floating around the castle. Good job, guys. They didn't even try to help.

There was a deatheater who said something along the lines of "Maybe we should wait" to Voldemort regarding the attack on Hogwarts. That line was never explained at all and seems out of place. What would waiting to break down the shield possibly do? Voldemort should have killed him for being a dumbdumb.

I like that they never even bothered to explain what happened to Harry and why he didn't die in the Forbidden Forest. Oh? The elder wand refuses to kill him? Good thing it was dialed back enough to kill Voldemort's horcrux, but not enough to kill Harry.

Voldemort knows that the gang is destroying his horcruxes. He doesn't seem to really put any effort in protecting them with his guards. What he really should have done was send one of the objects into deep space. Good luck tracking that down, Harry.

Conclusion:

After the movie ended, I asked a friend. "Did you like that?"

"I like that the series is over."

I am glad that the series is over. This movie is way more entertaining than Part 1, so there's that. It provides a conclusion with reasonable answers, but it is clear that certain things don't mesh correctly. (ie. Time-Turner from Book 3, kids teleporting everywhere, the whole disarming wands/new owner thing.) Pt2 is worth the time if you've already seen the other movies. Just sad that it didn't end on the best note.

7/10