HBP Revised

[author_by_night]

I AM SO SORRY about the last entry! I had all my cut tags, but of course used rich text and didn't switch.


Anyway. HBP review, take two.

Non-spoilery thoughts:

I really liked the movie, if only because I felt they did certain things quite well. There were things I thought could have been done better. I definitely don't agree with those who say it was the best movie ever.

Regarding the inevitable changes... well, I think it's only fair to warn those of you who haven't seen it that there are major ones. I think some, however, were for the better. The ones that weren't... well, see the movie, and then we can lament together. Or, if you'd like to be spoiled, read my comments under the cut below.



(Note: These aren't just spoilers for the movies, but for the books as well. All of the books.)

The Good:

- The raising of the wands at the end. So far from canon, but I still really liked it. It was very moving.

- Ginny being the one to get Harry to rid of the Prince once and for all. It brought a tie-in we didn't get to see in canon; Ginny knows how it feels to be enamoured by a book that helps you, yet makes you do terrible things without realizing.

- Bellatrix. She's creepy.

- The fact that Harry actually showed remorse about his curse on Draco, as opposed to the "yeah it sucks - WTF NO QUIDDITCH?!" reaction we see in the book.

- The dialogue.

- The relationship between Harry and Dumbledore. Perfect.

- The bridge. I didn't think I would like it, but I did - I think it was necessary. War is sudden, comes out of nowhere. (Though what the heck was with those Death Eater Storm Clouds?)

- The attack at the Burrow, minus the Burrow being set on fire. I don't know that that was necessary. But I liked the mood of panic we got, because I think they made it confusing on purpose. All you know is that something is wrong - who you're following and who is following you is a complete blur.

The Bad:

- The way they changed the whole fight between Ron and Hermione. In the book, it was started partly when Ron thought Hermione had been convinced he could only win the Quidditch game if he had the potion. In the movie, they left that out, instead making it seem that Ron just saw someone else and forgot about Hermione. He even sees her clearly crying and is all "oh, uh, hi."

- Ginny tying Harry's shoelaces. I actually liked Harry and Ginny otherwise, but that was just so strange and random.

- The feeling that there was no flow in the first thirty minutes, though I've felt that way about all the movies after PS/SS. It's like this endless train of scene after scene.

- The end. I mean, really, Ron just sits in the background while Hermione rambles on about being there for Harry? Both of them agreed to go with him, that's what made it so powerful.

Let's compare. (Paraphrased - I can't be bothered to find the actual quote.)

In the book:

Ron: We'll go with you, Harry.

Hermione: Whether you like it or not.

Ron: We always have.

Hermione: And we always will.

In the movie:

Hermione: I'll go with you, Harry.

Ron: *Stares at the sun*

Hermione: Whether you like it or not.

Ron: *Stares at the clouds*

Hermione: I always have.

Ron: *Blinks*

Hermione: And I always will.

Ron: *Walks to Harry and Hermione* Sorry, what? I was admiring the sunset.

Filmmakers, honestly.

The Meh:

- Luna being the one to find Harry, not Tonks. On one hand, I liked that she did, because it was nice to see some extra bonding between them. But it would've been nice to have seen more of Tonks, perhaps beng a little happier than she was in the books.

- Remus and Tonks... on one hand, I liked that they were handled subtly. On the other, they implied that they'd been fighting, and yet... there was even less elaboration on that in the movie than there was in the book.

- Teen!Tom Riddle/Voldie is so distracting, just because I've seen Chamber of Secrets 87 times now, and the whole time I was thinking "okay, totally not the Tom/Voldie we saw before."

I think what really made the movie was how they dealt with Dumbledore, Snape, and Draco, and of course, how they dealt with the general mood.

If you haven't seen it, I DO highly recommend going. Just don't go for canon accuracy. (Or Ron love. There's absolutely no Ron love to be loved in this movie. Or maybe I'm just tired - my opinion may change when I wake up.)

Comments

[timeofnoreply.livejournal.com]

Like I said, it's bad when Tom Riddle is reminiscent of an ex-girlfriend. XD

Remus/Tonks - I didn't think of this just now, but did you catch Tonks calling him "Sweetheart" as she followed Remus to the front door?

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

*Giggles* I hadn't realized you said Voldemort when you were talking. I thought you meant one of the actresses.

I didn't catch Tonks calling him sweetheart, no! I did catch her terrified "Remus!", though.

[timeofnoreply.livejournal.com]

I was talking a little fast, heh. Hopefully I didn't talk too fast for you to make sense of me. Most people just kind of do the smile-and-nod thing when I babble at them.

Trufax, the kid who played the teenaged Tom Riddle looked EXACTLY like The Bitch Ex-Girlfriend from Hell, only with shorter hair. I wanted to punch the screen.

I got that too! The "sweetheart" came first, but she was talking more in the background so I wondered if you'd heard it or not. I liked that bit of continuity. Next up tomorrow: working on our RP!

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I was talking a little fast, heh. Hopefully I didn't talk too fast for you to make sense of me. Most people just kind of do the smile-and-nod thing when I babble at them.

Oh, you were fine! It was hard to make out what you were saying because it was so noisy.

I got that too! The "sweetheart" came first, but she was talking more in the background so I wondered if you'd heard it or not. I liked that bit of continuity. Next up tomorrow: working on our RP!

Yeah, definitely. I've got the R/T love right now... which is nice, because as you know, TDH came close to sinking the happy aspect of the ship for me. They weren't exactly happy in either f their scenes, but they came out okay. Sigh.

[lyras.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the ending. Someone on my flist suggested that maybe they were trying to foreshadow the next film, with Ron feeling left out, but if so, that doesn't bode well. :( I want my Ron love!

I didn't notice the implication that Tonks and Remus had been fighting! Will have to look out for that next time.

In retrospect, I didn't mind Luna being the one to find Harry, because Evanna was simply wonderful in this movie. But yeah, when the door opened and she appeared, I was a little thrown and disappointed.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the ending. Someone on my flist suggested that maybe they were trying to foreshadow the next film, with Ron feeling left out, but if so, that doesn't bode well. :(

I actually had that thought too, but... it was like Ron wasn't even trying.


I didn't notice the implication that Tonks and Remus had been fighting! Will have to look out for that next time.

Yup. Remus mentions something about trusting people, and Tonks gives him this look. Then they go off together, as though they're about to have a "private conversation." But then, it was very possibly just me - as you probably know, I'm a Remus/Tonks shipper big time and possibly think too much about them.

[beatriceeagle.livejournal.com]

I agree about the end, yes. But I really loved this movie--I don't think it's the best movie ever, but I do think it's my favorite of the Harry Potter movies. For one thing, I'm pretty sure it's understandable without having read the book, which even OotP wasn't, quite. And I felt that most of the things they cut/changed were understandable, even if I missed them. Plus, the acting improved.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the acting was much better.

I'm not sure how much someone who hasn't read the book could understand HBP, to be honest. But they all seem like that to me, except the first two because at least those are sort of your introductory movies. (PoA was the worst for non-fans. I've reconciled myself with it and even like it, but I wouldn't recommend that a non-fan see it.)

[beatriceeagle.livejournal.com]

Well, because they'd understand about Horcruxes, which are the main thing you have to take from it. Plus, the Unbreakable Vow. There'd be a couple jumps they'd have to take--basically, they'd have to accept Dumbledore as way smarter than he actually is, to know where the locket was located--but they'd get the basics and be able to follow the storyline. There's nothing important that is unexplained.

And oh my God, yes, I agree about PoA. Agh.

[twopennystar.livejournal.com]

I totally didn't understand the end with Ron just sitting there, totally removed from the scene. It was really bizzare.

And I loved the wands raising too, although I was sort of hoping to see the funeral.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I just wish they'd had Ron and Hermione hugging, like in the book. That's all they needed. And yeah, Ron just sitting there makes no sense.

(And, hi! Where have you been?!)

[vifetoile.livejournal.com]

Maybe not a lot of Ron love from the screenwriters (darn you Steve Kloves!), but I think that Rupert Grint really likes playing Ron, especially in the love potion scene. That scene was just brilliant.

I'm getting the idea that in the movie there are two types of Apparation - the instant kind that Dumbledore does with Harry, and the Black Clouds/White Clouds kind which allows you to actually affect the physical world, i.e. cast spells, while traveling at a very fast speed and not bound by any laws of physics. It basically completely undoes the whole "Voldemort can fly without a broom! He can fly, he can fly, he can fly!" But I wouldn't mind if they cut that, I actually thought that was a pretty random and odd thing.

Also, I didn't notice what you said about Harry having remorse in the movie as opposed to the book. I thought that had been in the book, and I was like, awesome. Also, I liked Ginny getting rid of the Prince's book, too. Nice tie-in there. No, I don't miss the Diadem of Ravenclaw. I'm willing to let myself be very surprised by the seventh movies.

[akashasheiress.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it yet, but I don't understand why they couldn't keep Christian Coulsoun for this movie. I know that he's about 30, now, but that not that much older.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I think - and please don't quote me on this - that for whatever reason, he wasn't interested in being in the movie. Plus, they couldn't have known way back in 2001 that they would need him again, JKR may not have known she'd be writing flashbacks, so he might not have had a contract.

I'll look it up to see if I'm right on him refusing (or at least expressing disinterest.)

ETA: Whoops, no, sorry Christian! Turns out the opposite was true - he was interested, but the director felt 29 was too old. I sort of see their point, but plenty of movies have older actors and actresses playing younger roles.