I saw it tonight, and I think birds really need to stay the hell away from Hogwarts. They got abused like hell in this film.

I thought it was good, up until the first half. Three things REALLY bugged the hell out of me.

1) The scene in the middle of the film with Bellatrix, Greyback, and the Burrow being lit on fire. Nothing even REMOTELY similar happens in the book, and in fact the books state that (up until 1/3 of the way through the 7th book) that the Burrow is horribly well protected. I'm all cool with giving Helena Bonham Carter more screen time (holy SHIT that's perfect casting, almost better than Alan Rickman) and I know she needs to be built up as a villain a bit, but really, that was bullshit, and there was no need for it. I'm not complaining they added a new scene mind. Just that the new scene was very stupid.

2) The scene where Harry hits Malfoy with the Sectumsempra (sp?) spell. Harry gets off without anything but a dirty look for that? "Oh, the Potter kid nearly killed someone? Oh those schoolkids and their wacky hijinks..." Right. Also, while it's probably nothing to get worked up about, in the movie he willingly ditches the book and Ginny helps him. In the book, he goes out of his way to KEEP the book, and only hides it to keep Snape from finding it...and Ginny actually supports him keeping the book.

3) The end of the film. There was supposed to be a HUGE GOD DAMN BATTLE between the good guys and bad guys there! Okay, I can see it being cut, yeah, but it just plain pissed me off the way they just waltzed out of there like that. Someone's blowing up the dining hall of the school where the most powerful wizards in the country teach....why do they get away with this? At the very least, it should have been a panicked flight, like in the book. Also, Bellatrix was not there. No complaints, though.

I thought the love-love stuff was light-hearted and funny, and they did a great job on the effects. The cursed necklace part was just disturbingly creepy, and even though everyone knew it was coming, the Inferi swarming the island scared the fuck out of everyone there when they appeared, and the wall of fire by Dumbledore was completely awesome.

Ninja Edit: I also liked how they occasionally cut away to Draco. It was kind of nice to see what he was up to.


Anyways, I'll answer some questions

THIS SHIT CONTAINS SPOILERS, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, DON'T READ IT
(I stay away from serious book 7 ones, however, so don't be afraid, GP)

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Things like what Dumbledore is supposed to be experiencing in the cave (without giving spoilers) is kind of important in the next book, but is hardly discernible from his lines in the movie.

It's not significant to the story. It is significant to his backstory, though, which will likely also be glossed over.

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Would you mind letting me in on what was going on with Dumbledore in the cave though, when he drank that stuff? That really DID confuse me. I mean I could tell it was bad, and I *THINK* it maybe had to do with...making him relive all the things he feels guilty about? (That guess is based on one line he mumbles while drinking it though, so I could be totally wrong.)

He is indirectly (or possibly directly) responsible for the death of his sister. There's a bit more to it than that, but those are the guilty feelings he's reliving when he drank the potion. And yeah, you got that right...I thought he was reliving the pain of the kids young Voldemort tortured.

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So as far as I knew, Dumbledore was dying from the curse on his hand. It appeared to be spreading a bit as the movie went on. Regardless of events that unfolded during the movie, he would have died a horrible cursed death.

Yes, he was, and yes, he would have.

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What makes this especially interesting is that Snape didn't kill Harry at the end of the movie when he clearly had the opportunity.

Voldemort is under the impression that he himself must kill Harry Potter to fulfill the prophecy, and therefore has ordered that nobody else can kill him.

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I may be way off here, but Dumbledore could have very easily stopped Malfoy. He let himself get trapped in that situation... almost purposefully to have Snape there.

The book explains this. Voldemort had threatened Draco's family as well. If Draco failed, he would have killed the Malfoys. Dumbledore acted this way to protect him and his family. In the end, he offers to help Draco hide his family, and before Draco can answer, the rest of the Death Eaters show up.

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Also, why wouldn't Snape have alerted the others about Harry under the stairs right after Dumbledore was killed?

This part in the movie was SO. FUCKING. STUPID. I don't know why they just didn't go with the original script (maybe they were sick of using the invisibility cloak). Harry choosing not to act is completely out of character for him.

Anyways, in the book, Harry is under his cloak and leaving the tower when Draco burts open the door with an Expeliarmus on Dumbledore. Rather than defend himself, he paralyzes Harry instead. So Harry is completely unable to act at all until the spell wears off with Dumbledore's death, and furthermore, nobody (not even Snape) knew he was up there in the first place.

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

so in short Usa, the movie is meh? What if we are familiar with the book, would we be pissed of all the changes?

It's good except for some very irritating scenes.

And I really can't answer the second one. I'm sure hordes of slavering fanboys are out there somewhere bitching about every single little change, but it doesn't bother me too much. Except for the three things I mentioned, it's all minor stuff.

Syd Lexia wrote:

Does this really need a spoiler tag? The book's barely four years old, and sold like a billion copies. And unless this is your first day on the internet, you probably know that SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE If you didn't read the book, you deserve to have the movie spoiled for you.

It's the 7th book GP apparently doesn't want spoiled.

SoldierHawk wrote:

The point could have been made without shouting a spoiler after someone had specifically requested that they be marked in this thread as a courtesy, Syd.

Honestly, that's about as much of a spoiler as "Luke, I am your father" or "Sephiroth kills Aeris"