Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (3D)
20th July 2011. Location: Cinema
I think I enjoyed this immensely. I say 'think' because this is how I felt, believe it or not, when I left the cinema after seeing Revenge of the Sith for the first time. Like RotS, this is the final chapter in a sprawling multi-year mythical saga, and there's a lot to take in and even more to wrap up at the end.
I've enjoyed the Harry Potter series from a purely civilian standpoint. I haven't read the books*1, and I've only seen most of the movies the once. I've seen each one in the cinema, so there's usually an 18-month wait between chapters, and I spend the first twenty minutes or so playing mental catch-up.
Since Deathly Hallows 2 continues directly from part one, my brain was scrambling more than usual this time, as there's no cosy establishing segment at the start. This is my own fault, of course, for not cramming the DVDs in recent weeks, or going to Cineworld's screenings of parts 1-7 which took place last week. As you can see from this month's blog-list, I haven't had much cinema-time recently. No matter. I'm aware that a large percentage of the cinema audience are in the same position as me, and it makes for an interesting experience.
Anyhow, on to the film...
The Good: The performances from core characters, (most of) the script, and Harry and Voldemort's battle scenes. The exposition wasn't laid on too thickly, but Gambon, Rickman, Radcliffe and Fiennes impressed me very much here. The 3D was lovely in the battles, although I noticed a fair amount of ghosting at the far left-and-right of the screen during the darker scenes. As I said above, I can't speak for the purists, but the post climax wrap-up finished things off neatly enough for me.
The Bad: I was suffering a little with Return of the King Syndrome during the final assault on Hogwarts. Which is to say that I've seen so much of the emo-teachers facing down the prissy-teachers, I just don't care any more. I've seen this before, and I only want to know what happens with Harry and Voldemort.
I could also have done without the (scarce) moments of humour. Although they didn't cheapen the action so much as the tittering of the audience...
The Ugly: Little to report, really. The CGI snape in the flashback sequence is a bit ropey looking, but it's a short scene and serves its purpose well enough. Helena Bonham-Carter has been paid once more for turning up, tilting her head and going boggly-eyed, and Rupert Grint has pulled a similar stunt for rolling his eyes and saying 'bloody hell, Harry'. Again.
All in all: As I was watched this without elevated expectations or baggage, I enjoyed it very much. It's been a good ride which has gotten greater along the way.
If figure it's a 6, if you've enjoyed the others (even on a civilian level).
*1 - There's no agenda behind that, I just haven't. Wizardy-books not my thing, I'm afraid.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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