This movie is just that. It is exactly like paying for a handjob and only getting the hand part. Completely, Totally, and Wholly unsatisfying.
Now that isn't to say it's a bad movie. Well. as a single movie it is. But as half a movie it is great. It really and truly is only half the movie and I need to get this out right now, it was a complete and total mistake to split the movie. This will go down in history as the blunder in this series of adaptations. This is where the moviemakers failed. It would be like watching Lord of the Rings(all three of them) and each of the three had been divided in half. Unlike in many other mediums, Film gets a major point called a climax half way through its existence. Of course this isn't in the same sense that others are but it is a big emotional moment. The movie ends on this note. And I applaud that the film got me to care that much about his death. They have over the course of the last six films built a course for Dobby and given him his due including a great moment of triumph before falling. His arc is easily the best in the franchise. However his character is the only death that I felt was earned. First off, they killed Hedwig so unceremoniously that I was asked about five minutes later where the owl went. When I explained it, "Wait, he DIED?" was uttered. After the movie it was discussed that after that same attack, a large chunk of the audience had no idea who had died there. This was Madeye. He too was never properly built up so that we had some kind of investment in him.
I need to applaud Rowling for something I never noticed. She builds strong supporting female characters who are the exact opposite of the stereotype. They are strong, independent and not highly emotional. Unlike Ron and Harry who act like children and fight and make up every film. This is obvious in Hermione but it is also wonderfully subtle in the uses of Umbridge, Bellatrix, and Luna. All of whom are criminally under used in this film. And as a fan of both the character and Actress, Ginny is also under utilized.
The movies continue to have the same scripting problem they have always had. The writers know some of their audience knows the books. The writers know the books. However, the writers don't know what was in the movies and what wasn't. And as such kind of skip of over chunks of movie in a away that makes you feel as though you missed a huge portion of story(or forgot it) when it reality it wasn't there. I imagine this is really disorienting for those who haven't read the books. All in all, its really shoddy script writing.
The direction is on par with the last few films but nothing to write home about.
The acting ranges from okay to awesome to terrible. Bill Nighy is fantastic. Ralph Finnees. Jason Issacs. All of the legacy actors are fantastic. with special Kudos to the actor who plays Dobby. Most the kids acting is all over the board though, but if you've been this far you are likely not going to listen to me on that.
Here's the thing, the movie needed a different title. I feel like the movie really needed its own title because the Deathly Hollows are briefly brought up at the end of th film but won't be a factor until the next film. I'm also curious to see how the last film will handle the fact that there is such a time gap between the two.
I'm not giving this movie a grade. But instead a word of caution, you won't be satisfied. Worse than any other film in history, the movie ends at the half way mark, not at the ending. I went in knowing I should have not watched it, but my own hubris got in my way. This film needs to be seen back to back with its sister or it will do nothing but let you down. So do yourself a a favor, wait and watch it with part two to avoid disappointment.
You may have notice I never mentioned spoilers. That's because at this point, if you are reading a review of the 7th of 8 films in a series based on the books, you either have read the book in question or don't care about being spoiled and as such it was your own fault for walking into spoilers here.
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