Voldy wasn’t omniscient - he investigated a lot of magic, but couldn’t know everything (and some things he rejected as ‘weak’).
So, assuming he ever even heard of the Beadle stories (Hermione, who read everything she could find, was unfamilar with them), it seems reasonable that he would dismiss them as childish. And the elder wand story seems the sort of thing that only cranks believed in. Once Voldemort realised that his wand wasn’t going to cut it, he did take the time to look into the legends (possibly based on the torture of Ollivander). Prior to that, I’m certain his ego convinced him (generally correctly) that his wand was more than up to any task he would put it to.
Still can’t understand what the lines are in two places: 1) When Harry & Co first appear in the Room of Requirement, Ginny shows up, Ron makes the crack about feeling like “Frankie First Year” or whatever, and Seamus says something funny. What did Seamus say? and 2) What does Neville say about going to find Luna?
I love, love, love Neville.
The Prince’s Tale is still tearjerkery.
Noticed the music more this time around–liked it a lot, but I admit I know diddly about music.
Tom Felton, who plays Draco, is a hell of an actor. Daniel Radcliffe has improved immensely. And I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I still don’t care for Emma Watson’s acting. Although she did better in this one than she’s done previously. Rupert Grint did a noticeably good job in the scene where he discover’s Fred’s death.
How did I miss first go around that it’s Kelly Macdonald playing Helena Ravenclaw? That part was very good.
In addition, the book states that Voldemort was always happy with his wand until he ran into Harry. When he realized it was an issue he began researching why and only then found out about the Elder Wand. That knowledge was presented to him without the whole Bard story. I believe Dumbledore muses (while he and Harry have their little purgatory chat at Kings Cross) that even had Voldemort known of the other items he’d have only been interested in the wand. Invisibility he could do, and Dumbledore notes that Voldemort fears the dead (and had nobody he wanted to bring back anyway).
The Battle of Hogwarts I found interesting (despite my disappointment in the lacklusterness of a magic battle. As someone said, it seemed like wands were just a replacement for guns) but I did love the scene how the three kids were running frantically, around people, under the giant, everything. The way the music flowed with it was perfect.
I’d have to say that this was the least good of all the movies, but I expected that. The way they divided up the story, they were left with a series of action sequences that had to be marched through, and the predictable result was the fantasy equivalent of a two-hour-long car-chase and shootout. Whatever roundness the prior movies might have managed to instill in the characters was completely drained out. The movie would have been more or less incomprehensible had I not already read the books twice. Several elements were insufficiently explained.
The flick’s worst crime was keeping the absolutely worst, cheapest, most pandering line in any of Rowling’s books – the “hands off my daughter, YOU BITCH!” groaner from Mrs. Weasley. I threw up in my mouth a little even though I was expecting it.
Of course, I would have forgiven the movie all its sins if only it had – as I fervently try to do every day – forgotten about the execrable epilogue. Oddly enough, it was even worse than the book’s version of the epilogue, because of the hilariously bad aging of the characters. The audience actually burst out in incredulous laughter at the ridiculous makeup job on Tom Felton. I can’t remember such spontaneous derisive laughter on the part of a movie audience since Anakin Skywalker’s declaration of love in Attack of the Clones. All that trouble, and they still looked 15 to 20 years too young!.
There were several subplots that were so insufficiently treated that they should have been left out entirely, like the whole Lupin and Tonks thing.
which is why just having him lay there dead would have been much better that the slo-mo flaking. having him be the corpse that he always feared is a more fitting end.
I agree it would have been better - but because his followers could have seen just one more dead body rather than a magical disappearance. Riddle’s mystique would have died with him and I’m fairly certain that’s why JK used the word ‘mundane’ in his death scene.
I don’t have the book with me, it was quoted upthread.
I didn’t have much of a problem with the final battle - but I did want to see Harry call him Tom Riddle more often. Potter casually deriding him there at the end had much more impact than anything else during the fight.
Well I saw it and I loved it. This one had far more emotion than any of the other movies, IMO. I think it should get an Oscar nod for best picture (given they can give up to ten noms), although I won’t say it should win anything in particular.
I know many will disagree, but I find the Harry Potter series of movies far more satisfying than the LOTR series.
I saw it last night, loved it, and have never read any of the books. I wasn’t confused really - I knew Lupin and his wife were pregnant from the last movie.
One thing that did confuse me, which probably would only hapen to someone who hadn’t read the books: When Draco’s mother is holding Harry Potter and says “Draco - is he alive?” I thought that was really Draco she was talking to - adderssing him deliberately - and she was asking if Harry was still alive. I thought Draco and Harry had used the potion that makes them look like other people, and when the Malfoys were running away, it was really Harry running away with them.
Saw it in 2D. Really enjoyed it. As someone who read the book but don’t have it completely committed to memory, I think it worked pretty well as a wrap up to the movies.
I suppose there are some quibbles. The scene with Voldy evaporating was odd. A body left and battle in front of a crowd would have been more fulfilling. The fall from the bridge was an odd/pointless choice for Harry. They’re wizards - they can fly, they can hover - like earlier when breaking into Gringott’s and Harry and the crew fell. The back and forth between Bellatrix and Mrs Weasley was awkward. I would think an exchange would be more simultaneous than “I throw three things, then you throw three things, then it’s my turn again”.
I liked the epilogue, with the right balance of showing they have a happy future and their kids in the next generation. I thought they cast the children exceptionally well. Albus Severus looks very much like Harry, the girl playing Hermione’s daughter was a mini-me, and the boy playing Ron’s son was spot on.
The bridge he blew up was the long, narrow, covered bridge that runs off to the woods and Hagrid’s cabin. The other bridge is the main stone bridge at the front gate. The hoard outside that bridge appeared to be denizens of the forest, led by the werewolf. While some of them could fly, I think most of them couldn’t, and that closed off one access point for ground assault.
Or, it’s not supposed to make sense, it’s supposed to look cool. It’s Rowling - she didn’t plan out the ramifications of her choices.
Actually, we see by this movie he does feel the loss of the horcruxes. That’s the scene when they destroy the cup and Harry realizes that Voldy senses him and knows he’s going after the horcruxes. I got that occurred because Voldy sensed the loss of the horcrux. Same with the loss of the diadem. He physically reacts, and comments are made by his followers. Thus he realizes that Nagini is the last horcrux.
So in this confrontation, Harry shouldn’t have felt Nagini’s death directly, since he no longer had the connection, but Voldy was momentarily weakened by the loss, so he could be overpowered.
This is what didn’t make sense to me. How does disarming Draco of one wand transfer the allegiance of a different wand? Wouldn’t that make it hard for a defeated wizard to ever get a new wand? “Hmm, but you’ve been beaten in a duel, so I can’t be your wand.” :dubious:
This comes off as one of those “I want a secret loophole so I’ll make up something to keep a secret and then spring it at the end”.
If I understand it correctly (a big if), we are talking about 2 different wands. Draco’s wand is Draco’s wand and will work best for him, always, but Harry et al can use it, too.
But Draco had disarmed AD, who had the Elder Wand, and while Draco didn’t keep that wand, the EW has some sort of “memory” and gives allegiance to whoever wins it. Since the wand was NOT won again (it was buried with AD), only stolen by LV, and since Harry won Draco’s wand from him, the EW changed allegiance to Harry?
Ok, that makes no sense to me. Someone help me. (I always read the book as Draco had unwittingly had the EW for some time and then Harry won it off him. I never took from the book that AD had the Elder Wand. I’m on book 2 right now, so I’ll get there, eventually).
Elder Wand:
Dumbledore gains allegiance w/ defeat of Grindewald. Carries wand for fifty-odd years.
Draco disarms Dumbledore, gaining allegiance but not possession of the Elder Wand.
EW is buried w/Dumbledore.
Voldemort steals EW from Dumbledore’s tomb.
Harry disarms Draco at Malfoy Manor, gaining allegiance of EW.
Voldemort attempts to kill Harry using EW and fails, and Harry obtains possession as well as allegiance of the wand.
Draco’s Wand:
Draco is chosen by wand in Ollivander’s shop when he is 11. Carries the wand for seven years.
Harry disarms Draco at Malfoy Manor, gaining allegiance of Draco’s Wand.
Uses Draco’s wand from that point forward.
So Harry is master of both wands in the final battle. His plan is to return the EW to Dumbledore’s tomb, and if he dies undefeated the power of the EW will be broken. Even if he is defeated, it is unlikely the owner will ever know.
O Lord–that is so helpful. Thanks! Allegiance does not indicate possession. Helpful to know.
But that leaves more questions than it answers. To wit: that means that Ron and Harry et al gained the allegiances of various adult wands throughout their time at Hogwarts, no? I’m sure they disarmed more than Draco.
No bridges at all in the book, so we’ll have to blame David Yates rather than JK Rowling.
The kid also added a great long bit (the hamsters ate it) about the defenses of Hogwarts and how indeed most of the death eaters couldn’t fly until the defenses were down and they could use their broomsticks, silly mother. But again, they couldn’t get to the bridge while the defenses were up and they could broom in when the defenses were down.
It’s not a big deal, it’s just one of those niggly things that I started to think about instead of enjoying the movie.
He was, in the book. After his defiant speech, Voldy summoned the hat from Dumbledore’s office, jammed it on Neville’s head, then ignited it. Painfully. It would have been better than Neville wandering around in a daze, hat in hand, but I’m guessing it would have nudged the rating too close to R. Same thing with Hermione’s torture at the hands of Bellatrix in part 1. In the book, she was in bad shape when Dobby and company rescued her, a lot more than “Mudblood” scratched into her forearm.
I did like how Griphook sneered at human “wandwavers.” It drove home the point that goblins (and house elves) are quite powerful in their own right.
It seems to me that wands are like wizards in that respect. They want to be with the one who will allow them to do the strongest magic, but they also have areas of interest or talent in which they want to excel. So there’s also an element of personality to it. Just as a passivist wizard would never choose a super-dueling wand like the EW, likewise a charms-talented wand would never choose someone like Seamus, who’s really only good at blowing things up.
This goes back to Ollivander’s first reaction to Harry’s wand choosing him. Ollivander knows that this particular core wants to do “great” things.
/tangent: I always expected there to be some connection between the behavior of Voldemort’s wand and Harry and Dumbledore’s friendship with Fawkes. (Fawkes is the Phoenix who gave the two feathers which form the cores of Harry and Voldemort’s wands.) I thought it would be more than just the twin wands refusing to destroy each other, but also both wands preferring Harry to Voldy.
I also thought that Neville’s father’s old wand breaking would be the making of him. That he ahd so much trouble because he was using that wand for financial or sentimental reasons, rather than because it really suited him - but that was never addressed. I figured he would get a more compatible wand and come out roaring.
angent
No, Malfoy’s wand switched its allegiance to Harry, too. Here’s the relevant passage:
He repeats that general idea a few times in the next few paragraphs. And since Draco’s wand feels more comfortable to Harry, I think we can assume the wand switched to him.
So that pretty much answers the question, too, of how come people aren’t switching wand allegiances all the time–seems like it only happens in true “battle.” Like, the DA wasn’t changing wands constantly while practicing disarming, but when Harry disarmed Lockhart towards the end of Chamber, he probably won the allegiance of Lockhart’s wand.