So what’d you think?
I think that so long as you’ve read the book this is the best of the lot so far. I found myself wishing that they’d done what was once suggested and split the book into two films, but then that would have a delay of several months between the films for the middle of the book and the end. (Out of curiosity, I know several films have been filmed simultaneously with their sequel, but have any ever been released simultaneously with a sequel?)
I’d disagreed with the casting of Imelda Staunton because she’s too pretty and too nice seeming to play the [repeatedly referred to as] frog-like Umbridge, but I withdraw any objections with apologies. She completely steals the film- if anything she’s MORE diabolical in her sweetness than the book’s character. I also liked the actress playing Luna Lovegood- when I read the book I imagined a child version of Jane Horrocks’ Bubbles from AB-FAB and she’s not that, but she quite works.
Things I hated that they omitted:
-Dobby
-the Neville prophecy (though they did mention his parents)
-Kreacher’s “exact words” betrayal
-the screamer to Petunia
-Umbridge admitting she sent the Dementors
-the showdowns between Harry & Draco/everybody & Draco at the end (that’s why I stayed after the credits in hope they’d be there)
-Malfoy Sr.'s arrest (or even the mention of it)
-Snape’s pensieve (though the alternative was okay for what it was)
-how the penniless Weasley twins were financed by Harry (you just suppose they’re on an earstring budget if you haven’t read, if you think of such things at all)
Without having read the book you wouldn’t know about any of the above or about Hagrid’s mother or many other things, but then this is probably the movie where more people than ever before have read the full text before attending. For all the rest of it I thought they did a stellar job.
That said, I’m assuming that Rowling proofs the scripts to make sure that they’re not leaving out anything vital to book VII. That being the case, apparently the Neville alternative to the prophecy isn’t that important.
Since Sirius’s family tree (and the blackened members) was in the movie, and since it was so fleshed out, I’m wondering if that will be a major factor. It’s really not necessary to know that Bellatrix is his cousin (and it wasn’t mentioned that she’s Lucius’s sister-in-law) and there’s a Potter in the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, so perhaps somehow the lineages come into play. (I wonder if the Riddles were connected to the pureblood Blacks?)
Anyway, lots of other things to mention and opine upon but I’ve a feeling this thread will be here for a few days. So what’d you think?