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amanda_lodden[Warning: There are spoilers here. Facebook will pull this in without the LJ cut, so if you're reading this on Facebook and you haven't read the book and you don't want spoilers, you should stop reading right now.]
aka "Harry Potter and the Boring Bits of Setup"
It could have been worse. Everything that is wrong with this movie is wrong with the book, too. In many ways, the movie is better than the book because some of the exposition was doubled up, like when the radio broadcasts are playing in the background of the camping scenes. They were technically in the background in the book, too, but you had to read them individually.
The problem is, the camping scene took entirely too much of the book. And because the movie is reasonably faithful to the book, those scenes take too much of the movie. The camping scene serves four purposes:
Of those, only #4 needs any actual time (the Dumbledore narrative could have been accomplished in so many better ways, and Hermoine catching up on the Tales isn't referenced until they're at the Lovegoods' house), and Ron leaving isn't strictly necessary. Oh sure, it gives us an insight into his character, but it's not any new information-- we've seen his fears before, and all of that happens when they destroy the Horcrux, which they could have done pretty much anywhere. So basically, he leaves in order to give Snape a clue as to where to leave the sword, and to save Harry from drowning under the ice. But there's ample opportunity for the trio to make a mistake in their wards once and give Snape his opening without all the Ron drama, and showing up to save Harry can be justified by Harry shouting "Hey, what's that?" over his shoulder as he follows the doe. The whole thing could have been done in four pages, six if Rowling got wordy.
I had huge problems with the book, because it felt like Rowling just got tired of writing, and spewed out loose-end-tying crap without regard to whether it was the best way to present stuff. Example? The doe that leads Harry to the sword. You learn later who it was, and who Harry thought it was, but there was no real indication of any heartwrenching bits in it, like there was when Harry saw the stag Patronus in Prisoner of Azkaban. But what kills me is that you learn that it was Snape because Snape gives Harry his memories as his dying act. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. You know what would have been a better way to present that? Have Snape cast his fucking Patronus just once anywhere in the series. Just once. Seriously, imagine the dramatic tension as Harry watches Voldemort take aim at Snape, and Snape make a single last-ditch effort to save himself by casting a Patronus.
The only questionable thing about the movie that wasn't a direct result of the book was where they chose to end it-- with Voldemort breaking into Dumbledore's tomb and taking the wand. John, who hasn't read the book, thought it had a decent amount of dramatic tension, but I thought it lacked oomph. This could have been fixed by showing Voldemort searching more for wand ahead of time, which I thought he did in the book, but I'm not 100% certain. Regardless, I didn't feel like there was enough "oh, that's a really bad thing" feeling attached to the ending.
aka "Harry Potter and the Boring Bits of Setup"
It could have been worse. Everything that is wrong with this movie is wrong with the book, too. In many ways, the movie is better than the book because some of the exposition was doubled up, like when the radio broadcasts are playing in the background of the camping scenes. They were technically in the background in the book, too, but you had to read them individually.
The problem is, the camping scene took entirely too much of the book. And because the movie is reasonably faithful to the book, those scenes take too much of the movie. The camping scene serves four purposes:
1. Shows Hermoine as being extra-prepared, and the one taking the danger most seriously.
2. Gives Hermoine a chance to read The Tales of Beetle The Bard
3. Post-Godric's Hollow trip, it gives Hermoine a chance to read the Dumbledore tell-all
4. It gives Ron a chance to leave, and then come back. (Seriously, I warned you about the spoilers)
Of those, only #4 needs any actual time (the Dumbledore narrative could have been accomplished in so many better ways, and Hermoine catching up on the Tales isn't referenced until they're at the Lovegoods' house), and Ron leaving isn't strictly necessary. Oh sure, it gives us an insight into his character, but it's not any new information-- we've seen his fears before, and all of that happens when they destroy the Horcrux, which they could have done pretty much anywhere. So basically, he leaves in order to give Snape a clue as to where to leave the sword, and to save Harry from drowning under the ice. But there's ample opportunity for the trio to make a mistake in their wards once and give Snape his opening without all the Ron drama, and showing up to save Harry can be justified by Harry shouting "Hey, what's that?" over his shoulder as he follows the doe. The whole thing could have been done in four pages, six if Rowling got wordy.
I had huge problems with the book, because it felt like Rowling just got tired of writing, and spewed out loose-end-tying crap without regard to whether it was the best way to present stuff. Example? The doe that leads Harry to the sword. You learn later who it was, and who Harry thought it was, but there was no real indication of any heartwrenching bits in it, like there was when Harry saw the stag Patronus in Prisoner of Azkaban. But what kills me is that you learn that it was Snape because Snape gives Harry his memories as his dying act. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. You know what would have been a better way to present that? Have Snape cast his fucking Patronus just once anywhere in the series. Just once. Seriously, imagine the dramatic tension as Harry watches Voldemort take aim at Snape, and Snape make a single last-ditch effort to save himself by casting a Patronus.
The only questionable thing about the movie that wasn't a direct result of the book was where they chose to end it-- with Voldemort breaking into Dumbledore's tomb and taking the wand. John, who hasn't read the book, thought it had a decent amount of dramatic tension, but I thought it lacked oomph. This could have been fixed by showing Voldemort searching more for wand ahead of time, which I thought he did in the book, but I'm not 100% certain. Regardless, I didn't feel like there was enough "oh, that's a really bad thing" feeling attached to the ending.
