Deathly Hallows Part I: Review

(earlier than I thought, even!)

For those of you who have READ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this post will be Spoiler Free (have some inclusion/exclusion info, but nothing you wouldn't know to ask about) HOWEVER, I want the rest of you to be able to read if curious, so anything that is spoiler AT ALL uses invisible ink. You know the spell: “Revelio” (along with your cursor highlighter)

Set-Up for the Night

We planned to go about 11:00 for a 12:25 show, but daughter had friends going at 9:00 and honestly, when you are hanging around drinking caffeine in anticipation of a midnight show, how much DIFFERENT is it to wait at the theater? Answer: Pretty darned different. There was not a single House Elf at home. Nor did we have any Ravenclaws, Slytherins, Quidditch Players or Professors. There WAS cake, but it is lopsided, as hubby would rather grumble that our oven rack is uneven that creatively problem solve by turning one of the layers the other direction before frosting *rolls eyes*

We arrived at Showcase come Rave (meaning the former Showcase theater, now given some silly name) at about 9:30 and there were probably 100 people waiting already—sitting in their various lines, but as it happened, they were all sitting in line for movies that started earlier than ours by a bit—we were the first in line for our particular theater (which made son grumble quite a lot, in spite of having dinner out and two doses of dessert—the free one from the restaurant and the birthday cake).

It took about twenty minutes for the kids to stop complaining about me changing my mind on the 'going to get snacks at Meijer' thing—I'd planned to, but after cake, I wasn't entirely sold on needing more SUGAR and I wasn't sure how things would go... plus, when you are first in line, the sign that says 'no outside food' takes on a meaning that I normally ignore when I go to theaters.

At that point though, the theater made a more serious attempt to fill up (and entertain us). The last NON-Harry Potter show started at 10:00, so by 10:05, the only people in the lobby were kindred, and MANY were in costume. Some of the House Elves were particularly cute. There were a ton of generic student costumes (scarves like me, robes, ties, wands) and a fair number of 'specific character' costumes (a few of the Hagrids were great), but the HIGHLIGHT was the Golden Snitch, who was accompanied by Fluffy (the three-headed dog). These guys ended up sitting behind us for the movie (and gave permission for the photo) and the girl on the other side of the snitch complained that the snitch kept copping a feel with his wing *snicker*.

As theaters emptied of their other inhabitants, lines got moved INTO those theaters, so some of the lines got to go in and get their places as long as 90 minutes before the movie, but our own stupid movie that preceded us was SAW 3D and didn't start until 9:55, so we weren't let in until 11:30. An announcer came in and said that in the history of the theater, this was the first time ALL 20 THEATERS had been sold out. He declared Harry Potter fans more devoted that Star Wars fans then asked if anyone wrote cross-over Harry Potter/Star Wars fan fiction.. Someone apparently raised his or her hand, though I couldn't see who, and he promptly told them they were twisted... it made me think of Tara... (*snicker*--she has a Star Wars Parody using the Potter characters)

Movie Summary

I started crying even before the 'Harry Potter' flashed on the screen, something related to 'Hermione and how she leaves home'. The opening scenes showed the 'world' and what was happening... it was very dark and desperate, all fitting with the book—the details were a little different, but not a lot and nothing overly annoying. Harry's escape from the Dursleys was less detailed, and they didn't go to the Tonks, but these seemed like important decisions, given all the extra explanation that would be required—the highlights were all there and the one notable substitution VERY well chosen (the 'how they knew which Harry' piece). The wedding, likewise... It just seemed like given the necessary explanation, their choices for what stayed and what went were good ones.

On the run was briefer, though still a little too long, considering the low level of action, however, I just need to say, the acting range of these three kids has flourished—both the comedic timing and the sad, scared, or desperate range were really very well acted. Here, I DID MISS the portrait in the handbag—Oh, I get it... tons of explanation needed, but there are a couple plot holes without it.

The rest of the movie... the main points were all there, simplified a bit, but not obnoxiously so. Frightening, moving, gripping, as necessary...


My Assessment

Well we get to see Harry nearly naked three times, so that's always good (nine if you count that one scene had seven of him), though I confess that ONE of these scenes was the only one of the movie that I thought, 'erm... okay...'--a little too much... you'll know it when you see it.

Overall, while I still hold that Prisoner of Azkaban is the best movie for the 'non-book' set, I think this was the best interpretation of the books thus far. Probably that is because they only had to cover half a book, so they didn't have to make the substitutions that bug me or chop nearly as many important subplots. I was disappointed when it was OVER, but only because I have to wait for July to see the rest, but the stopping place made sense. I think this may be less so for people who haven't read the books—that the ending will seem abrupt and not quite satisfying, but the rest is coming... and I think I even have faith now that it will be fabulous.


Odds and Ends

So I am off today (more off than usual). I plan to write (try to make up for a pretty bad week, in terms of word count—I averaged less than 1000 words a day, so it was a good thing I was ahead as of last Friday... I may nap, but more likely I will do laundry (a mindless activity), so tomorrow (when I normally do laundry) I can write with a less tired brain than I have today. The goal is to hit 40K by the end of tomorrow, so for the rest of the month I can keep a 1000 word a day pace and make it... I am about 3500 words shy right now.

I will try to still get around the blog circuit to some degree, but will be less constantly at my computer, FYI.

Have a great weekend, everyone!