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This is the sixth adaptation of the Harry Potter series of books, and arguably the most crucial turning point in the story, as it is where Harry's days at Hogwarts come to an end in preparation for his journey in book seven. There are a lot of very important things covered here, and some very important questions asked. The question for the viewer is, does this adaptation satisfy a Harry Potter fan, and is it enjoyable on its own merits as a film?
The answer to both of these questions is 'yes, for the most part.'
Rather than dissecting the movie piece by piece, I'll talk about what I liked, what annoyed me, and my overall impressions of it.
WHAT I LIKED (pretty much in order):
1.) TOM FELTON'S PERFORMANCE AS DRACO MALFOY:
For whatever reason, Draco has generally been underused in the films. This time, he has a major role in the story, as one of the main plotlines of the film is his assignment from Voldemort to kill Dumbledore. There are many beautifully shot and moody scenes of Draco brooding, or desperately attempting to repair a vanishing cabinet, in preparation for something he really doesn't want to do but knows he has to. Draco has always been a very unsympathetic character, and the challenge for Felton is to make us feel bad for him. He succeeds. By far, I'd say the parts of the movie involving him are the strongest. Right from the start, he's in way over his head, and he realizes it, but he has no idea who to turn to...he's trapped and desperate, and the audience feels it along with him.
2.) JIM BROADBENT AS HORACE SLUGHORN:
He nails it, quite simply. At first he simply seems a silly character, but as we learn how crucial he is to the plot, Broadbent succeeds in conveying Slughorn's feelings of confusion and shame. The scene where's he's telling a young Tom Riddle about Horcruxes is positively priceless.
3.) THE CAVE SCENE:
The most tense and suspenseful scene in the book is done beautifully in the movie. It's paced perfectly, and the undead creatures that attack were as creepy as I'd hoped they'd be. :)
4.) DUMBLEDORE'S DEATH SCENE:
There were minor changes to this scene from the book, most notably, they took most of the fighting. This is somewhat surprising (especially considering that they shoehorned in an action scene earlier), but it wasn't a big deal to me. However, the confrontation between Dumbledore and Malfoy is done perfectly, and Alan Rickman of course nails Snape as always. I love how Snape is clearly horrified after doing the deed, but suppresses his emotional reaction.
5.) THE PACING:
My biggest complaint about the movies has typically been the pacing. Aside from the first two (which were slow paced), the movies have been too fast paced. I felt this one had it right...it took its time when it needed to, and moved quickly when it needed to. There were a lot of lovely deliberately paced scenes. One of my favorites was a scene which took placed after Ron started going out with Lavender. Harry is comforting Hermione, and the camera pulls out and starts panning up the exterior of the castle. You can seen Ron and Lavender through another window, then finally the camera reaches the top of a tower, where Draco is seen outside, very much alone.
Anyway, there's a lot of other stuff I liked, but those things were my favorites.
Here's WHAT ANNOYED ME:
1.) THE BURNING OF THE WEASELY HOUSE:
An entirely pointless and tacked-on scene. It didn't add anything to the story and felt forced, pointless, and aggravating. What was especially annoying about this scene, is had it been cut out, they could have instead included something actually relevant to the plot. There is PLENTY of story to tell without making shit up.
2.) NOT ENOUGH ON VOLDEMORT'S PAST:
For a movie about Voldemort's backstory, it certainly thin on the topic. I felt like the movie should have had at least one or two more scenes from Voldemort's life, perhaps showing his progression into the freak he became. If they hadn't gone with the house burning scene, think of all the time they would've had for this!
3.) NO SCENES OF SNAPE AS DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS TEACHER?:
This was just a shame! I really wish they had left one of these scenes in. :)
I have to say that numbers 1 and 2 were pretty big annoyances for me. However, I really enjoyed the movie overall. I felt it was the best Harry Potter adaptation I've seen yet, and is a pretty good movie on its own. Of course, many people will disagree with me, I am sure. If you've seen it, feel free to offer your opinions here. :hi:
My score:
As a Harry Potter movie: **** (out of a possible five)
As a movie: **** (out of a possible five)
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