Two Tickets

 First thoughts…

Well, first off, after seeing the last night’s midnight premier, I know that I will have to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II again before I can really form my final opinion. Honestly, my first impressions were DISAPPOINTING. I felt let down in much the same way I did when watching the final installment of the Godfather movies… The first one was (and in HP’s case the first couple were) good, the second one was (and, again, in HP’s case the later films were) GREAT, and then there is this finale and it’s just…misunderstood maybe?. When you are trying to wrap up a series like Harry Potter, it must be difficult. I mean, is it possible to ever really please everyone? Probably not. 70% of the audience know the books inside and out and have a lot invested in the story…these folks are going to be disappointed when not every single one of their individual favorite moments are included in the final cut. And the other 30% haven’t read the books so they don’t know the finer details of the story, and thus there needs to be some explanation…which in turn seems like unnecessary dialogue (or memory sequences) eating up valuable screen time for those who do know what the eff a Horcrux is, or who Aberforth Dumbledore is. So really, there is no way to please everyone. That said, after watching it a second time and being able to enjoy the movie for what it is – an adaptation of the novel – now that I know what scenes they’ve decided to include and which ones got axed, my disappointment may come around. 

However, as it stands now, with just first impressions fresh in my sleep deprived mind, I felt the movie was rushed. For me, the flow was off. And to top it all off some of the series’ greatest talents (Rupert and Emma to name a couple) seemed to strangely take a bit of a back seat all of a sudden. Personally, as a fan of the book, I was also annoyed with some of the minor plot changes that, despite being minor, were noticeable and changed the story. In fact, the true source of my disappoint may stem from the fact that one particular subplot that I really enjoyed in the books, was cut altogether. Or maybe I’m just experiencing a little PPD (post-Potter Depression)…

No matter my comments, if you are a fan of either the books or the movies, you absolutely must see this on the big screen.

Just try, perhaps, to find a show that isn’t in 3D because the effects do nothing other than distract from the film and add an element of cheesiness to the whole thing. 3D is a tacky gimmick, and it appears as such no matter how good a film might be otherwise.

~ The Ticket