Finding Harry Potter: An Ignoramus' Journey

[JBond]

Originally Posted by Doomsday

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

I’m gonna start this off in a not-so-professional way and lead with something that is really beginning to irk me, and I alluded to it in previous reviews; I’m getting a bit weary of killing off past characters just for the sake of killing them off, which is what it seems like they’re doing. I can understand the motivation behind Dumbledore’s death and the effect it had on the directions the characters move, but now it seems like they’re taking characters previously introduced and killing them for shock value. Again, not sure how it plays out in the books but what purpose does killing off Brendan Gleeson serve? The Minister of Magic? Dobby the house elf? You could just have easily written them out of the rest of the film, or not written them in to begin with. The reason it bothers me is because they’re deliberately and very noticeably trying to yank at my sentimentality and it’s having the opposite effect, it’s making me angry. I get it, the Death Eaters are bad guys, you don’t need to have them wipe out the entire secondary Harry Potter cast list to demonstrate it. It’s annoying and rather insulting.

It's a war and people are being killed. I think it'd be an odd coincedence if some of the main characters didn't die. Keep in mind this whole series is a metaphor for the holocaust and the perscution of Jews.

Originally Posted by Doomsday

Speaking of killing, I just can’t make sense of this false sense of righteousness that the good wizards ascribe to, namely not using the Unforgivable spells like the ‘abra cadavra (sp?)’ death spell. I can understand not using it at all, but when you’re facing a foe who does nothing but continuously and frequently cast the death spell killing everyone then you need to start justifying self defense and fight fire with fire. It’s obvious these Death Eaters aren’t playing the standard wizard rules of war, so why do you keep doing it? If someone had killed Bellatrix then EVERYBODY would still be alive. I don’t know how they’ll resolve it in the end but it’s another thing that’s driving me crazy, just these nonsensical rules that turn the protagonists into victims when anyone else with any common sense would have noticed that those rules are getting people killed and thrown them away with yesterday’s garbage. Lets grow a pair, Hogwarts, and start standing up for yourselves.

It's a kid's series. "Killing is wrong." *shrug*

Originally Posted by Doomsday

Anyways, about the movie. Those were really the only two things that were wearing me down, otherwise I had a really good time watching this one. I think it was a good call splitting this up into two films because this entry out of all of them deserves to have the types of details included, the likes of which may have been omitted in the other film adaptations. Their infiltration of the Ministry of Magic and their escape from Malfoy’s castle to me were highlights of the movie, but it does a good job at sustaining suspense throughout. It’s tough to really put this entire thing in perspective since I’m basically writing a review after watching half of a movie,but I’m pretty anxious to see how it all plays out. It left off I think at the perfect place, showing a despondent Harry and friends while revealing that he’s going up against a seemingly all powerful Voldemort. And I can’t remember the last time I so wanted two baddies to bite the dust while watching Lucius and Draco Malfoy. Those two may be a couple of my favorite characters in the series, they’re portrayed very well. All in all it’s a very good start to the resolution of this series. Part II has a lot to live up to. Other than the needless deaths and being a little long winded at times (par for the course with these movies though) it’s better than most of the other installments in the series.

But did anyone else laugh at the reeeeally awkward and strange dance that Harry and Hermione have in their tent? You’d think with him being the main character and all she’d be into him rather than the awkward ginger. And there’s also something very familiar about that Horcrux bringing out the worst in people before destroying it, I just can’t put my finger on it. *cough*lordoftherings*cough*

B+ so says Doomsday,although I think at the end of the day I’ll probably judge this and Part II as one.

I hate to admit it, but I liked the dance scene. It was awkwardly bittersweet. And it was there I realized they actually kind of worked together. But nope, for some reason she has eyes for Ron who is almost the most dislikable and repulsive character by the end of the whole series.

And you're not the first to notice that there are many Lord of the Rings parallels in the last couple books/movies. It's almost as if J.K. Rowling realized she had to end the series with somethign epic, looked to her shelf and saw LOTR, and went "yeah OK, most kids haven't read that yet."

[MovieBuff801]

Yeah, the dance scene is another one of my favorite scenes of the franchise. It's a sweet, touching bit of levity in the middle of such a dark, depressing atmosphere. I think they played it and pulled it off perfectly.

As for the Dobby thing, I hate to sound like a book nerd, but Dobby was actually a recurring character from Goblet of Fire and on. So, us fans' reaction to his death was due to the fact that we grew to love him throughout the other books. So, fans crying during his death scene DOES have some merit. It's just that he was never really important to the story again until this one, so the filmmakers decided to leave him out of the in-between movies.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by JBond

this whole series is a metaphor for the holocaust and the perscution of Jews.

... what?

[MovieBuff801]

Originally Posted by Neverending

... what?

The Nazi symbolism is at its height in Deathly Hallows. The whole issue of witches and wizards being discriminated against because of their "blood status" and how "pure" their families are in terms of their magic. Plus, Ministry members even have red cloths (swastikas) tied to their arms.

Rowling herself confirmed that was her intention.

[JBond]

I never knew she confirmed it.

[Neverending]

Um... okay. Clearly this is all bulls--t, but I guess Rowling wants her books to seem more important.

[JBond]

It's not an uncommon allegory.

[MovieBuff801]

And it IS there if you look closely.

[bbf2]

Originally Posted by Neverending

Um... okay. Clearly this is all bulls--t, but I guess Rowling wants her books to seem more important.

Maybe its not exactly correct to say the whole series is an allegory for it, but the motives of Voldemort and his camp clearly harken to Nazi stuff.

I mean they're trying to wipe out an "inferior race" (mudbloods), stress genetic purity, and in the last book they kidnap members of the "inferior race" and hold them prisoner in various places.

[MovieBuff801]

So, Doomsday, did you SERIOUSLY give up on this with just one movie to go?

[Justin]

....I thought the Nazi/Hitler allegory was common knowledge. It's not exactly hidden subtext. Look through the book, the entire premise is based around tolerance and equality. Remember how some of the wizards viewed Muggles? It's just another form of discrimination, where Voldemort attempted to commit acts of genocide.

[Neverending]

That stuff must have only been in the books because I didn't notice any Nazi/Holocaust allegory in the movies.

[Doomsday]

I think this week I'll finish off this thread. I didn't realize I watched Deathly Hallows Part 1 over 1/3 of a year ago already. Yeesh, time flies.

[Doomsday]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

We did it. After almost an entire year and a few months of stoppages, we finally made it through the Harry Potter saga. We saw this kid who I was honestly pretty annoyed with throughout grow and mature through romantic interests, schoolyard competitions, and watching everybody around him die. So what happens? And more importantly, what did I think of his journey and where he ended up?

The second part of the Deathly Hallows finishes what Part I started. By that I mean that it's long on action, short on substance. There really isn't much to lend to a synopsis of this film because about 85% of the film is a battle. There are events that take place throughout said battle, namely the destroying of Horcruxes, that all lead to the final duel between Harry and Voldemort. There was a minor set up towards the beginning that I felt was one of the best parts of the movie, sneaking into Bellatrix's vault to steal the Horcrux cup. It was the kind of exciting adventure that Harry had been getting into throughout the series and really captured the spirit that had been established. The battle however I felt dragged and frankly I felt confused as to how a school filled with wizard students was able to go toe to toe with a master wizard's dark army. The film also did gloss over a couple points that I'm sure were 'explained more thoroughly in the book' which is slowly becoming a pet peeve of mine. How exactly did Potter come back from the dead? So Voldemort's soul was dead but what exactly made him disintegrate? Did Harry out-sorcerer him? I find that a little hard to believe. It was a very entertaining film though, the highlight for me being when Bellatrix bit the dust which was a long time coming if somewhat anticlimactic. The movie does a nice job at rounding out Part I and I think it was a pretty good idea to split it into two films which is why it's tough to judge Part II as a standalone movie. If I were to watch them back to back or see a combined cut a la Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, it would probably be the best chapter of the Potter series next to Goblet of Fire.

So my final thoughts on the series as a whole? I enjoyed it and never felt let down or annoyed. I didn't think there was a vastly inferior film in the series or a legitimately bad film, although there are certainly a couple that weren't as good as some of the others. I'm glad I watched them and I can see the place that the Harry Potter saga has in contemporary film. But am I going to watch this series again? Not anytime soon, maybe when I have kids. Do I think it stands alongside the other big cinematic sagas of the past 30 years, namely the original Star Wars trilogy or Lord of the Rings? Absolutely not. I know what a lot of people are going to say and have said, 'you gotta read the books, it explains so much more.' But I've always felt that to be kind of a cop-out. Even with LOTR, people said the same but you can't keep a literary source on the same field as it's cinematic vision. They're two completely different beasts. I think if I were to read the books I would understand some things more than I do, but that's not my fault. The blame goes to shoddy and inept writing from people who assume that people are already up to speed in the Potter universe. That's an alright assumption but certainly not a good course of action, especially when you have people like me and I can assume a number of adults who have no time let alone interest in reading 7 books on a school for wizards. That said, the movie series as a whole is equal to the sum of its parts; its great moments of which there are many make it a rousing and entertaining series, yet its weaknesses show throughout as well. I'm glad I watched them and wonder what my thoughts will be when I revisit them down the road years from now.

Harry Potter and the Dealthly Hallows, Part 2: B
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows combined: A-

The Harry Potter film saga: B+

[MovieBuff801]

Yeah, whenever I watch Deathly Hallows now, it's always back-to-back with Parts 1 and 2 as a 4 1/2-hour film. It's just more satisfying that way. Kinda surprised you didn't mention the whole Snape's Memory sequence, which is my favorite scene of the whole franchise.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the series, Dooms. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts.

[JBond]

Originally Posted by Doomsday

How exactly did Potter come back from the dead? So Voldemort's soul was dead but what exactly made him disintegrate? Did Harry out-sorcerer him? I find that a little hard to believe. It was a very entertaining film though, the highlight for me being when Bellatrix bit the dust which was a long time coming if somewhat anticlimactic.

Maybe someone can explain it better than me, but I guess Potter wasn't really dead. The curse did kill that last horcrux in his head, however. Don't forget the oldest cliche in the book: Resurrection. (About 2000 years old)

Think of Voldemort being in 8 pieces: the seven horcruxes and himself. Once the horcruxes were destroyed, he was a mortal person that can die from a wand.

Harry didn't outsorcerer him. He was using the Elder Wand which kills anyone. He just didn't know it.

I was annoyed by the anticlimax of Bellatrix's death. It was better in the book with a complete fight (and one of the best lines). In the movie they squeezed it in like a last-minute thought (and had that stupid smirk from the mother).

[Neverending]

Doomsday didn't mention the best part. Harry Potter, as always, doesn't really accomplish anything. The fat kid saved the day.

[JBond]

All Frodo did was throw a ring into a pool. It was the journey that was difficult.

[Neverending]

Originally Posted by JBond

All Frodo did was throw a ring into a pool.

That's more than Harry Potter accomplished.

[IanTheCool]

Originally Posted by JBond

Maybe someone can explain it better than me, but I guess Potter wasn't really dead. The curse did kill that last horcrux in his head, however. Don't forget the oldest cliche in the book: Resurrection. (About 2000 years old)

Think of Voldemort being in 8 pieces: the seven horcruxes and himself. Once the horcruxes were destroyed, he was a mortal person that can die from a wand.

Harry didn't outsorcerer him. He was using the Elder Wand which kills anyone. He just didn't know it.

I was annoyed by the anticlimax of Bellatrix's death. It was better in the book with a complete fight (and one of the best lines). In the movie they squeezed it in like a last-minute thought (and had that stupid smirk from the mother).

I always assumed it was because Harry had all 3 of the Hallows in his possession and was therefore the "master of death".

[JBond]

Yeah, that's better.

[IanTheCool]

Sometimes I can't tell if you're sarcastic or not.

[MovieBuff801]

Welcome to the club.

[JBond]

Originally Posted by IanTheCool

Sometimes I can't tell if you're sarcastic or not.

I wasn't.

However, I was trying to be humorously curt.

[JBond]

Do I really abuse sarcasm?