But about the movie. Of course I've been excited about seeing it for years (no more so than the other HP movies, but still, excited), so the fact that it did not disappoint me speaks volumes. And it's a little bit unfair of me to complain that it was so dark and depressing, and that there wasn't much lighthearted humor in it--after all, that's the way the book was. And there's no point in whining about the parts that were left out; just as with all of the other HP movies, there's just no way to fit in every detail.
But there were two parts I am going to complain about. First, there were significant changes made to the scene where Harry and Hagrid escape to the Burrow on Hagrid's flying motorcycle; the way Harry betrayed himself was changed, and their crash was much less crash-y than in the book. Second, Harry (as Polyjuice Potion Runcorn) did NOT steal the eyeball. That kind of upset me. Those were not the only two changes, but those were the only two I disagreed with.
After only two significant missteps, you would think I would have a favorable opinion of the movie overall, but it left me with such a somber and serious feeling. Of course it's a must-see movie for any Harry Potter fan, of course they did a good job with it and it's an exciting movie, but I didn't love it. It's not my favorite. (It didn't help that Cedric Diggory doesn't show up in this one at all.)
Seeing it on Friday. Wonder if not having read the book will make any difference? Will have to test that out with the Book God (who has read the book.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing what you both think of it! I guess you have read the other books or at least seen the other movies? Otherwise you may be the one loudly asking questions. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeen it now! And yes, I've read up to and including The Order of the Phoenix and then got fed up lugging enormous books around so stopped. Have seen all of the movies. Will post on this one shortly.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am concerned, none of the movies really live up to the books, but I can't help going see them. I did really enjoy this one, except of course that it didn't end, but I knew that going in.
ReplyDeleteAs for the taking Mad Eye's eye, I thought the same thing, that was pretty important. They did show the door after he left and the eye was not there. But what does he do with the eye, I can't remember? Maybe he did take it but it just wasn't obvious.
And a freaky part was that the Lovegood house was almost exactly how I imagined it. It was like I had seen it before.
See, I totally thought the eye was still there at the end of that scene. I will have to look for that when it comes out on DVD! I can't remember what he did with it in the book--I just remember that he pried it out of the door, and I guess he just stuck it in his pocket . . . ? Can't remember what he might have done with it later.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the Lovegood house--but Xenophilius himself didn't look like I expected. I thought he would be a little older, a little more frizzy, and more bumbling and absent-minded.
I looked only because you mentioned it and I am fairly sure it was gone. But if he does take it, it should have been more obvious.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I found on-line:
"Harry discovered the eye and, disgusted by how it was being used, stole it. Doing so, however, raised the alarm. After escaping, Harry, early the next morning and before the other two were awake, left the tent they were staying in to search the woods around them for the oldest, most gnarled and resilient-looking tree he could find. Then in its shadow, he buried the eye and marked the spot by gouging a small cross in the bark with his wand. While it wasn't much, Mad-Eye Moody was given a proper burial."
So I guess it won't come up in the second movie like I thought it might. Why didn't they show that? It would have been so simple to add in.
I know! They went to the trouble of putting the eye in the scene, but didn't follow through. Maybe it will be in a deleted scene on the DVD. I must admit, at 2 1/2 hours I thought the movie was quite long enough and I'm glad they didn't add anything more. :)
ReplyDeleteIt went fast for me, I didn't even have to pee by the end! But you had three frisky munchkins to deal with, Jill was very well behaved!
ReplyDeleteHaha! You never know with Jill. ;)
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