Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: MiceChat Reviews

[sir clinksalot]

Midnight showings of Harry Potter 7.2 are beginning tonight. I know a lot of us are planning on attending. Post your thoughts and reviews here.



Also feel free to post your thoughts on the 3D version of the movie and if it added anything to the experience. I'll personally be seeing it in 2D.

[Rex Dopey24]

im so excited for it to see. wow 10 years.

[Gone2Disneyland]

Just got home from seeing a midnight show. Gave it 4. Couldn't give it 5 simply because I can't help comparing it to the book. Fine movie, but I there's so much more richness in the full text. I got another ticket to see it with other friends on Saturday. Perhaps then my expectations will have dropped some, and I'll enjoy it more for what it is. Finally, surprised to feel so melancholy at the very end. No more new Harry Potter movies.

[Disney Analyst]

I really loved it, I thought it was one of the best adaptions yet. They really ended the movie franchise with a bang! It was exciting, sad, mesmerizing, well acted, and the end of an era. I grew up with the books and with the movies. It was amazing to.. grow up with those characters.. I feel like my life as an adult has begun at last.

[CaptTinkerbell]

Of course I notice all the little moments when the movie isn't like the book. But, I also know it's impossible to convert a book to a movie and keep every single detail the same. My main thing going into tonight was hoping they kept MAJOR moments in the movie. Moments I found truly important, and needed for the film, and for my heart to handle saying goodbye haha. I wanted the film to go out with a bang, to be brilliant. And it was. It was emotional, heart breaking, exciting, action packed, brilliant, excellent, and really mesmerizing.

In every film there are moments that I wish i could have changed a little bit. This one had moments also. But over all, literally every single thing I wanted, I was given. And they stayed true to the most important, vital, amazing things, that made Deathly Hallows such an incredible, emotional, and breathtaking book. Alan Rickman's performance was outstanding. Same with Maggie Smith. Two of my favorites from the entire movies series. And I'm so thrilled that these amazing actors had their shining moments in the Potter world. They are brilliant. I cried, like a baby. But I knew I would. Since i cried, like a baby, through the book.

I gave it 5 wands because It gave me everything I wanted. I wanted to be heart broken, devastated, and at a loss for words. Because It's an end of an era. It's the end of Harry Potter films, and it's a heart breaking movie. But at the same time, I wanted to feel excited, empowered, inspired, and triumphant. Because that's what Harry Potter and everyone fighting the good fight do for you. I wanted to be overwhelmed with emotions and excitement... and i was. I really really was.

I just have to say, the film is beautiful, and the acting is the best the series has ever seen. The trio outdid themselves, I'm so impressed with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.

Everyone delivered to me, what I wanted & needed as a fan of the books & films. A beautiful farewell to an inspiring and once in a lifetime story.

[sir clinksalot]

Like CaptTinkerbell, I gave it 5 wands. It had all of the moments that NEEDED to be there in order to give the film a proper conclusion. Were there tidbits that I WANTED to see, of course there were. You are never going to have a proper adaptation of a book to a movie, period.

This was quite simply the best ending for a movie franchise ever (sorry Lord of the Rings).

I was worried about the 2 hour 5 minute run time, thinking it wasn't long enough. It was.

I was worried that it would just be 2 hours of action, action, action (like Return of the King). It wasn't. It had the proper blend of action, emotion and depth.

I was worried that certain characters (don't want to spoil) wouldn't get the proper ending to their storylines. They all did.

There were a couple of nit-picky things I could jump on, but overall I'm quite happy with how things ended.

[RegionsBeyond]

Like with all the films, while thinking back about it, there are things I can say..oh man, why didn't they include that? I miss it. A few sections fell short for me, or small things. But I hadn't thought it would be as funny as it was, and a lot was note-perfect. It was minor things that stick with me now as being memorable and that I loved, and they are lurking in the spoiler box...

Spoiler

Snape's death...really powerful and brutal
Pretty much everything with Filch was hilarious. The sweeping!
Awkward Voldemort hugs.
Lucius Malfoy: "I don't know."
The Snape flashback sequence, as I predicted, was suitably powerful and good to see.
Seeing Greyback basically chewing on Lavender Brown...disgusting yet glad they didn't soft-pedal it.
Bellatrix/Hermoine's use of "Good morning" killed in the showing I was at.
The disintegrating Death Eaters bit when they hit the protective shield was awesome for being unexpected.
And I am ridiculously happy that Molly Weasley's big line made it in, uncut. The disintegration thing with Bellatrix and Voldemort though...I kind of don't understand that choice, as the way the book had it (with Bella's death mirroring Sirius's, and Voldemort falling over kind of shrunken and wasted, dead) seemed stronger. No person killed previously that I recall just kind of flaked apart in the movies as a result of dueling/wand fighting...oh well.

[mousterpiece]

I really enjoyed it. Seeing it back-to-back did highlight a few issues I had, at least in terms of how the Dumbledore subplot was delivered and which adult characters got short shrift. But overall, the pacing, the scope, and the execution was really great. The three kids all did incredibly, as did Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman. I saw it in 3D, but that was mostly unnecessary. I found that odd, because the first part definitely seemed to have some shots that would've worked in 3D (Nagini jumping out at the screen a few times, for example). When my wife and I see it again, we'll see it in 2D, for sure. Also, not part of the movie, but the entire crowd, including me, went nuts for the Dark Knight Rises trailer. Very, very cool experience.

[Fairy Godmother Travel]

I gave it 5 wands. My 18 y/o was at another midnight show and his group HATED it. We have had discussions all day about the pros and cons of the movie, and both agree that the only way to flesh out all the characters and include some of our favorites is to have a season long series for each book on HBO.

[sediment]

I thought it was awesome.

Couple of issues:

Spoiler

1. Hey, Luna, nice of you to show up at school, before Harry.

2. Hey, Cho. Aren't you a year older than The Hero-Trio? Whatcha still doing in school? Get held back or something?

3. Never completely explain (book or movie, for that matter) why when Harry took Draco's wand, the Elder Wand changes loyalty. Does the Elder Wand transfer its powers to the owner's original wand? Because that's what Harry's using to defeat Voldemort.

4. Never bothered with fixing Harry's wand, nor with asking Ollivander to fix it. 20 more seconds was all it would take. Then he can break the Elder Wand. So, at the end of the movie, Harry has Draco's wand and will keep it?

5. Come on! Put the Sorting Hat on Neville!

6. Makes more movie sense to have Voldy and Harry feel the horcruxes dying. So, why didn't he feel the locket? And know right then that Hero-Trio were going after his horcruxes? I think maybe just a little shiver of notice, without knowing its origin, would have been more interesting.

7. Wow, there's the sword of Griffindor right under Voldy's feet (in Griphook's dead hands), and he doesn't bother to notice??

8. HBP movie dropped out too many of the pensieve scenes to fill in some of the juicy parts of the DH story. Would have loved to have seen the diadem in the RoR, instead of having Ginny hide it and kiss Harry.

9. Cut out the part in the pensieve when Dumbledore portrait tells Snape to get Hero-Trio the sword.
10. I'd like to have heard Snape tell Dumbledore, "Would you like me to kill you now, or would you like to gather your thoughts" (or whatever the books says) in hs sarcastic tone.

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Spoiler

Oh hey there Voldemort! Been hanging around Ursula much?

Did anyone else catch Remus' line about "Who will tell my son about me?" Um, I don't remember you and Tonks having a kid in the films...

King's Cross station was a great way to show what Wormtail had thrown into the cauldron in that cemetery in Goblet of Fire.

Personal moment of humor: When Dumbledore disappears from King's Cross, all I could think was "Bye, God..."

Overall, 5 Wands. Loved it.

[ChessurInWonderland]

Haven't seen this movie yet but

Spoiler

Tonks did mention she was pregnant in the last film, Part 1. She actually didn't finish her sentence, but she tried to announce it, so it's one of those things that was very implied enough to reference in Part 2

[sediment]

Hardly. Unless you've read the books.

Spoiler

Again, 20 more seconds at Shell Cottage with Lupin bursting in to share the news.
Maybe it was some kind of inside joke, referencing their characters being cut out too much.

[Mac Daddy]

Five wands from me. My two boys enjoyed it and said it was the best yet by far. My pros and cons are as follows:

Spoiler

1. Molly Weasely - Was hoping for a bit more fire and a longer battle, but VERY cathartic to see Bellatrix get nailed and "You b----!" made it in. YES!

2) Professor McGonagal - Snape may have been holding back, but great to see her going up against Snape, and calling the statues to life was very cool.

3) Neville - Was very concerned that they were going to take away his scene with all of those Basilisk fangs around, but glad they let him have his moment as this was a key part of the book. And for him to go up against those hordes coming across the bridge only to set off that explosion! Go Neville!

4) Everything about the Gringotts sequence was extremely cool.

5) Moved to tears during the Snape scene and when they found Fred dead. Wasn't expecting tears as I knew what was coming, but both of those scenes were done exceptionally well.

6) Loved Draco's beard when he is dropping off little Scorpio.

A couple of major gripes:

1) When Voldemort dies, there is no cathartic release as they cut right to people having tea in the castle and commiserating. They REALLY needed an epic moment, not unlike the Lord Of The Rings, when a shock wave goes through and everyone in that castle knows instantly that Voldemort is dead. A moment of celebration with students and teachers and parents pouring out of the castle surrounding Harry would have been very cool with maybe a bit of slow motion and echos blurring the motion segueing to the next scene. As it was, Voldemort dies and....who cares? It was like it never even happened. No one gives Harry the time of day, except Slughorn. What the heck? He's a major, albeit reluctant hero and we never get to enjoy that moment.

Bah.

2) His freaking WAND! What the heck is he supposed to do without his wand?? In the book, he REPAIRS his old wand as he prefers it, and hides the Elder Wand away. I think not giving Harry his wand back before he snaps the Elder Wand in half was a huge oversight.

But overall, the effects were spectacular, and the cast was sensational. Other than those small gripes, this was easily one of the best movies of the entire set with almost non-stop action from the beginning. A fitting end to the series. Bravo.

[sediment]

Um, anyone envision a Gringott's Bank ride at World of Harry Potter anytime soon? Holy moly, that would be sweet.

---------- Post added 07-15-2011 at 03:52 PM ----------

Uni Studios Fla opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter at 3AM after the movies were let out of the nearby theaters. Free admission for two hours.