Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Popcorn Rating:   (5/5)
Kisses Rating:  (3/5)
Pee-Factor: Pee BEFORE going to the cinema! If you're a fan, you probably won't be able to contain the excitement. Not just that - in case you do feel the need to pee, it's a shame to go out at any point in the movie.

A lot of people call it the end of an era. We are the generation who grew up with the most epic book franchise of this century. The seventh book is the final installment of the legendary story of Harry Potter, and Warner Brothers decided to split the 700 page book into two parts for its film adaptation. The second film features the story starting from "The Wandmaker" chapter, after the untimely (yet heroic) death of Dobby the House Elf.



Plot
She Says: As far as the adaptation goes, there are a lot of things that remained loyal (continuity, memorable lines, I would have found it unacceptable if they missed out Molly Weasley's most epic line "Not my daughter, bitch!"). However I have two major comments on plot development: due to the splitting of the film in two-parts, each movie did not really have a standalone standard storyline plot. The effect is for 7.2 to plateau, since it already started at a very high point of the story progression. The Battle at Hogwarts was not as climactic due to it, because it was all fast-paced suspense. However, the test of the film is really to ask the people who didn't read the book, and who didn't see 7.1. Which was my dad. He loved the film, but then again, he loves action. My second comment is, and this is the first thing I was frustrated about and told boyfriend is that there was not enough backstory. Yes, the Prince's Tale was there (Lily+Snape), but the montage didn't give it much justice. I was fond of Helena Ravenclaw's love story too. The Grindewald/Albus storyline was also amiss. Maybe it was just my personal attachment to these stories. The BEST adaptation must have to be the "clean King's Cross" scene. I read the chapter after the film, and it was wonderfully precise. It didn't feel too much heaven-y although I didn't expect it to be that WHITE. Dumbledore reminded me of Gandalf the White.

He Says: I honestly think the seventh book could've been split into three parts. There is too much storytelling meat in that book to be properly and completely served and digested in just two cinematic meals. But well, isn't that the usual fault of movie adaptations of books? Oh well. Still. I loved the movie, but I'm thankful I actually read the book before watching it otherwise I would be a bit confused about a few of the things that happened. A confused question would be like, who the hell is Aberforth? And woah, he just did a Gandalf "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" on all those dementors! Who is he? Why is he so awesome? As for the missing parts I would've wanted to see, there were quite a few.

The Albus-Aberforth-Arianna story would've been great. And yes as mentioned above by girlfriend, the Ravenclaw story told on screen would've be a great addition. Also, being that Snape is my favorite character in the books (Potions ftw! Wohooo! I even named my Diablo 2 Necromancer character after him... haha. :P), I would also have loved a longer Snape + Lily storytelling. That's like one of the biggest WTF REVELATIONS in the Harry Potter Series - sorta like it's own "Luke, I am your father" scene (... except well... "Harry, I loved your mother!"). Or the death of George... er Fred! That's untapped cinematic gold right there! And one of the things this movie should've learned from another successful movie franchise is that people... love... epic... battles. Well a lot do. Well, I do. The second book of the Lord of the Rings series devoted a few pages to the battle of Helm's Deep. But in the movie version, the battle took a big chunk of the screen time. Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows Part 2 should've done the same. The setting was epic - the castle of Hogwarts, with its fortifications and defenses. The combatants were epic - witches and wizards flinging magic and mayhem. The winner's prize can't be more epic - the fate of the world. The Battle of Hogwarts Castle would've been epic. If only more than the start and the end were shown. Sad that the next time we tune in to the battle, characters were just lying on the floor dead and everyone was crying. I would've wanted to see more of the battle as it unravelled.

Ah well, we take what we can get I guess. And this movie, despite my comments, gave a full helping. It tried sacrificed the missing scenes to keep itself focused on the main story. In that respect, it did an awesome job.


Acting
She Says: Helena Bonham-Carter was the best actress of the film!!! Hermione-pretending-to-be-Bella was so awesome! And best improved acting goes to Daniel Radcliff. Maybe I'm just being generous because it's the last film, but definitely, the Harry Potter film series was the best acting lesson he ever got in the industry.

He Says: Hey! That Helena Bonham-Carter thing was my comment! Anyway, yes her acting was awesome. She was really able to pull off a complete turnaround of character. When I was watching Ms. Bonham-Carter act as Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix, I was like "Yeah, that's soooooooOO Hermione." I was even trying to look closer to see if it was really just Emma Watson aided by CGI. But no. It was her, and her acting was superb. Awesome, but not a surprise coming from a veteran actor like her. As an added note though, I think a lot of the other actors could've been given a chance to show a bit more of their acting skills. There are a lot scenes in the book which, if allowed onscreen would've been a good pandora's box of emotions and motivations to jumpstart a thespian showdown. Like the death of Fred... uhm George? Anyway, that scene. That would've been so intense. Or hey, how about Ginny seeing the love of her life dead in the arms of Hagrid? A bit more emotion there would've been great - a bit more camera-focused reaction. Acting is reacting after all.

Props to Snape by the way. His acting stood out as well. Hans Gruber/Dr. Lazarus really did great in this series, most specially this last movie.

She Says: I said the Helena Bonham-Carter comment DURING THE FILM. Copycat.

He Says: Well... you thought Nagini was a basilisk. :P Can't believe everything you say now, can we? :D

She Says: Uh, RELEVANCE?!

He Says: Overruled. :D

She Says: You can't be the decision-maker on the basis of me thinking Nagini was a basilisk. And besides, he was as deadly as one being a horcrux of Voldie.

He Says: Okay... now we can ask.. RELEVANCE?! Joke. :)  +hug in real life

She Says: *hugs back* Let's move on.


Music
She Says: Nothing could go wrong with John Williams scoring. Consistent and iconic.

He says: I didn't notice the music much. But I felt emotions when characters weren't speaking. That means it did it's job well.


Cinematography
She Says: It was very dark. Sometimes too dark for my taste. I had slight problems with the depth of field since it was used too much at the start of the film, and it took some time for me to adjust to it. I thought it was because my 3D glasses were murky. Speaking of 3D, this was not a film shot in 3D, hence, there were just some scenes that were very 3D (i.e., Voldemort dying). But this had much MUCH better rendering than the 6th film.

He Says: It was dark. At times, I even found myself removing my 3D glasses to try to see the scenes a bit clearer... only to remember that the movie was in 3D.


Overall Assessment
She Says: I love this film if you treat 7.1 and 7.2 as one. It's like Kill Bill, it's hard to tell if I like Vol. 1 or Vol. 2 more, but I love them both anyway. The first part was adventure, camping, but it made us connect with more characters, the second part was a finishing off, and a lot of the focus was really Voldemort and Harry, which was the point of the story. It was a good adaptation, one that gives justice to the main plotline, but without taking away the charm of the books. So yes, if you love this film, the book has a tad bit more stories to tell. If treated with 7.1, this film is a five out of five popcorns. I gave three kissmarks because I kept on squeezing boyfriend's hand because each scene was an embodiment of the final moments of my childhood. And I didn't even bother feeling my bladder during the film even if I drank a glass full of mint iced tea and some soda in the theatre.

He Says: Loved it. Neville Longbottom's slaying of Nagini was the most OOOHHYEAHH moment of the movie. And yes - my fingers hurt afterwards.