Harry Potter: DH2 Review

So we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Long story short; we wanted to go to the 9:15 show, we ended up at the 10pm show. Years ago that wouldn't have made a difference. Now... I felt old trying to stay awake and did some long blinking. Yeah, i know.

Upon 3 days of reflection, it was a good movie. It really was. And I'm sure as time goes by, I will learn to love it. That being said, if you have read the book recently, or have a photographic memory for the written word - wait a while. Get the book out of your head. Forget your favorite parts as much as you can. (I didn't wait long enough. And I Do have the photographic memory of the written word.)

***Spoiler*** Turn away now if you don't want to know!!!***
My favorite part of all the HP books are the Weasleys. I love this family, I love their dynamic. I love how they have absorbed Harry and Hermione as if they were always there. I love the humor of the siblings. And ok, I love the twins, Fred and George. I think that Fred and George have some of the best scenes in the books. And I am always disappointed that Fred and George are not included in the movies as much as in the books. In Deathly Hallows, it's the twins who provide a much needed break from the doom and gloom of Harry's life. And the Director cut it out!

My favorite part of the book was during the fighting at Hogwarts. Harry and friends had killed the 6th Horocrux, and were heading back to the fight. They ran into the Weasleys... including Percy Weasley who has been disconnected from his family since he chose the Ministry of Magic over the truth about "You-Know-Who." During the fighting, Fred was giving Percy crap about coming back, and Percy responded in kind. It was a really funny. And heartbreaking when Fred was killed in an explosion minutes after Percy's joke - with a laughing grin still on his face.

This entire scene was left out of the movie! These family scenes - viewing the bodies of Fred, Lupin, Tonks, and little Collin Creevy in horror, seeing his family, the Weasleys, huddled in grief... this is what made Harry accept his fate in the Forbidden Forrest, not entirely the memories of Severus Snape in the pensieve.

Other things I wasn't thrilled by:

1. Snape's death in the boat house instead of the Shrieking Shack. add to that, Nagini not being in a protective bubble. I was looking forward to seeing Snape's death in the bubble.
2. Dobby not being buried in the garden of Shell Cottage, but instead far away on a sand dune.
3. the changes made solely for the benefit of 3-D: Harry and Voldemort fighting in the rafters and not the Great Hall; Nagini fighting with Hermione and Ron (never happened); the order change of Neville killing Nagini at the very end, and that being the reason Voldemort wasted away. (Where did the wasting away come from anyway? that was just... eew.)
4. the Herbology group throwing mandrakes, etc. and Prof. Trelawney throwing crystal balls at the Death Eaters. that would have been cool, even in 3-D.

Things I really enjoyed, even if some of it was pure imagination:

1. Having Ollivander retell the story of the Deathly Hallows at the beginning, even though he had no idea of the Hallows in the book, only of the Deathstick, aka Elder Wand.
2. Only calling the Elder Wand by that name and not the 4 or 5 other names it had in the books - way to keep it simple for the non-readers!
3. Hermione and Ron's escapade in the Chamber of Secrets. big kiss here, but i still missed Harry telling them to basically get a room after the fighting (in the book.)
3.a - Ginny and Harry's big kiss in the middle of the chaos, then running in opposite directions to kick ass!
4. Molly Weasley calling Bellatrix a "Bitch" in a PG-13 movie! It.Was.Fabulous!
5. Snape's Memories. They were beautiful, even if some were missing.
6. The end with the Big 3 disposing of the Elder Wand and reflecting and being together on the bridge to Hogwarts, nice ending.

All in all, this was a good movie, no matter what I've said. And I think as I move away from the books a bit, I will enjoy this movie a lot.
And if you are wondering at which part of the movie I did some extended blinking? Well... it may have been when the dragon was flying away from London and deciding where to land. There. I said it. I'm sorry, Harry. :)