OK, first of all, grandpa is too old to be watching a movie at midnight:01. Also, I had no desire to watch the movie with all of the Harry Potter freaks who decided to dress up as their favorite character. It's just a movie, people. These characters are not real. They can't hear you when you scream at them during the movie.
While I am a fan of the movies and the books, I am not the fanatical viewer that memorizes each story before watching the film. I have read the books but I can't/won't quote plot lines and trivia to the amazement of my friends. I have only read each book once. I read them fairly quickly so that I could get through them. I don't remember half of the nuances that my friends choose to argument about over their half soy vanilla lattes with cinnamon.
Truth be told, I had to watch the movie twice because one friend didn't want to go alone. I also wanted to watch the movie alone at the Zigfield theater which is becoming for me a movie going pleasure.
In a one sentence review, the movie was just OK. I received 127 email messages from my friends lambasting the dropped plot lines, the undeveloped characters, yada yada yada. It is just a movie--it is not supposed to be a religious experience or conversion.
Some of the things that I did like:
- There are some really funny one-liners
- I'm glad to see Harry growing up and actually acting like a teenager
- Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy was excellent
- Alan Rickman as Snape was excellent as well
- The overwhelming star of the show was Jim Broadbent
Some of the things that I didn't like
- too much teenager horniness (we get it that the kids want to kiss and make out but it was way too much on screen)
- the lack of consistency of the CGI. Some of it was great. Other times it was very amateurish. The fire in the lake was awful. The Moses scene of the parting of the fire sea actually made me laugh out loud--much to the chagrin of my friend. I found it interesting that fire underwater causes bubbles but when Harry opens his mouth to breath underwater, no bubbles escape his mouth.
- the ending was simply boring and anti-climatic. No one in the audience cried at the death of Dumbledore. Also, the raising of cigarette lighters/wands at the end was really comical which again made me laugh out loud (which earned me an elbow in the ribs from my friend).
So, in the end, the movie was just OK. Nothing spectacular but certainly enjoyable. What makes me angry is that I will have to sit through TWO more Potter movies since the greedy Potter industry wants to gouge their dear readers of even more money (as if Rowling doesn't have a bezillion dollars already).
I rate this movie two watches.
I am going to see the film again very soon. There is just so much in the CGI area for me to notice it. I was molsty impressed by David Yates and the Production design. I'm the guy that drooled at Titanic but only for the physical ship, not the story. I would also like to have seen ten times more Helena Bonham Carter. In fact, make a move called "Helena Bohnham Carter Acting all Sexy Crazy and Shit" and Ill see it more that StarWars!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding the production values of the movie. It was a beautiful movie to watch although I thought the cutaways from night to daytime were a little jarring--especially the cutaway to the overhead shot on the snow bank as the kids are walking back from the bar. Also, I missed the night time train ride. I thought the scene lost a little in the daytime ride on the train although, I understood the look they were going for.
ReplyDeleteAs for HBC, I definitely would not want to meet her at night.