RIP Harry Potter [Spoilers]

I have just come back from seeing the 7th Harry Potter fiasco, and I can't believe how bad it was (I always knew it was going to be bad, but then there's bad and there's HP7).

Here are 20 reasons it is the 2nd worst (yes I am saying the 5th may have been better) movie:

1. It doesn't feel like Harry Potter anymore, there are no robes, no wizard-isms (or very few), and almost no use of magic except for the odd stupify.

2. THERE IS NO INVISIBLILTY CLOAK

3. All the characters except for Harry, Hermione and Ron have become secondary. And all of them without exception have been reduced to one base emotion

4. The action scenes are too short and not intense at all.

5. THE DANCING SCENE BETWEEN HARRY AND HERMIONE

6. The hallows and horcruxes are less than subplots and there is nothing to drive the plot as a result. The whole thing feels like random progression from one pointless event to the next with no ultimate goal.

7.The CG is poor and hardly used.

8. Voldemort's role is greatly diminished, along with the snatchers, the death eaters and the ministry. The wizarding world does not feel threatening (note the scene with the snatchers, there is no tension there at all).

9. The mirror and Bill and Fleur turn up as an afterthought.

10. Greyback is barely mentioned and not a threat.

11. The nasty characters are too nice (Scrimjaw/Aunty Muriel)

12. Bellatrix BITES Hermione instead of using crussio (more proof that the magic has been taken out of it)

13. Harry has no major choice to make, because there is NO PLOT.

14. There is no reason given for the curse at Grimmauld Place.

15. The script is full of REALLY BAD one-liners (eg: Nevil: "Oy Loosers! He's not here" Harry to Hermione: "Well it's not good enough" Minister to Harry: "You cannot do this alone")

16. Speaking Voldemort's name carries no weight.

17. The removal of really important scenes like the fight with Lupin and leaving the Dursley's in favour of scenes like Harry and Hermione dancing.

18. No mention of Dumbledoor's past

19. Or what is happening in the wider wizarding world (and if the list of deaths is really supposed to be a link then it's a VERY bad one)

20. The feeling of: "It's a dying franchise so lets milk it as much as we can without spending that much"

The 7th movie is the final nail in Harry Potter's coffin (which by now is more nails than coffin), HP no longer feels like HP anymore.

RIP Harry Potter movies (particularly HP5, Twilight Wizard's Version (HP6), and pathetic finally) I can't say I'll miss you. I'm glad to be (almost) rid of you.

I went to see it today, and I actually liked it, and preferred it a lot to the sixth film. What's not to like about the dancing scene? It was sweet, and a nice moment of friendship among all the tension. It's not like there's ever going to be anything romantic going on between those two.

As for whether they're milking the franchise and drawing it out, that might be partly true but I think it really wouldn't have worked at all if they'd tried to cram the whole seventh book into one film. It's giant! And has loads and loads of plot in it. Whereas in the book the bit with the camping dragged on for ages, in the film it didn't drag so much. And as for the lack of action, I partially agree there, but I think that's because they're building up towards the second part when all the major confrontations happen.

You seem to be saying that too many bits have been missed out, but at the same time saying the film is too long. I agree that there are some parts of the books that I wish they'd included, like the bits about Lupin and Dudley, but overall I think they did a pretty good job. So many people love the books that I don't think they'd ever be able to live up to everyone's expectations.

I don't remember anything about the book so I guess I won't have much disappointment.

Really? I thought it was the best HP film yet, at least out of the last few.

This makes me want to watch it even more. I can't believe that anything can be as bad as the sixth movie.

I loved it, personally. I thought the acting was great, the right stuff was included and there was a real emotional attachment. So the weird erotic scene was a bit unnecessary, but meh. Just my view, but I see what you mean.

I just think that we need to stop comparing the films to the books - they are, after all, very different, and you simply can't include everything from one in the other. I certainly don't want The Deathly Hallows split into three parts, lol.

Hmm.

1. It doesn't feel like Harry Potter anymore, there are no robes, no wizard-isms (or very few), and almost no use of magic except for the odd stupify.

Not the fault of the movie, this. The whole point is that this book took the three of them outside of Hogwarts and the world they'd been in before. Plus, there were a lot of spells. The spells were just integrated into their lives (such as the protections spells) rather than being taught to them.

3. All the characters except for Harry, Hermione and Ron have become secondary. And all of them without exception have been reduced to one base emotion

Again, the book mainly focused on Harry, Ron and Hermione. Also, I disagree about the base emotion thing. I thought the Malfoy's were absolutely wonderful in it.

4. The action scenes are too short and not intense at all.

Kidding me? The snake bit at Bathilda Bagshot's nearly had me peeing my pants.

5. THE DANCING SCENE BETWEEN HARRY AND HERMIONE

WAS SO DORKY AND CUTE.

6. The hallows and horcruxes are less than subplots and there is nothing to drive the plot as a result. The whole thing feels like random progression from one pointless event to the next with no ultimate goal.

In the first half of the book, they have little success with the horcruxes. They had no idea what to do about them, until after the Malfoy's manor. So, yeah, I'd expect more in the second film. However, I did expect there would be more agonising over the Hallows from Harry, but again I'm holding out for the next film.

8. Voldemort's role is greatly diminished, along with the snatchers, the death eaters and the ministry. The wizarding world does not feel threatening (note the scene with the snatchers, there is no tension there at all).

Voldemort's role seemed similar to that in the book, to me.

12. Bellatrix BITES Hermione instead of using crussio (more proof that the magic has been taken out of it)

True, but carving 'mudblood' into her arm was pretty striking, so I understand why they did it. Oh, and it's 'crucio'.

14. There is no reason given for the curse at Grimmauld Place.

Apart from: 'What was that?' 'Probably here in case Snape came to snoop around.'

16. Speaking Voldemort's name carries no weight.

Technically, it did. The death eaters arrived at the cafe and at the Lovegood's when it was spoken. I just wish they'd made it more obvious.

17. The removal of really important scenes like the fight with Lupin and leaving the Dursley's in favour of scenes like Harry and Hermione dancing.

I wouldn't call those scenes 'really important'. The Lupin scene would carry less weight, because his relationship with Tonks wasn't developed properly in the earlier films, so we aren't fully aware of the struggles he had. I did miss Dudley's goodbye, though.

18. No mention of Dumbledoor's past

I know. This annoyed me. But, again, I hope it'll crop up in the next film.

19. Or what is happening in the wider wizarding world (and if the list of deaths is really supposed to be a link then it's a VERY bad one)

But they weren't sure what was happening either! In the book, the radio was their link after Ron got back. They were on the run - strolling into a newsagents to pick up a paper wasn't going to be easy. xD I liked the ministry bit, too - that gave them a link to the outside world.

20. The feeling of: "It's a dying franchise so lets milk it as much as we can without spending that much"

Anyone who's seen the crowds outside the premiere wouldn't call it a dying franchise. In addition, although the split film is a way to get more money out of it, I am gladdened by the whole thing because it means that this film hasn't been like the last few. They've managed to (in my opinion) stay quite true to the book and not miss out crucial details.


In short, I liked the film. And I seriously care too much about this ...

Ranger Hawk wrote:I don't remember anything about the book so I guess I won't have much disappointment.

I felt the same way, but I definitely think everything you've said is almost 100% accurate.

I didn't say that the 7th was worse than the 6th. NOTHING is worse than the 6th, but it is still very bad when you compare it to the first four movies.

But they weren't sure what was happening either! In the book, the radio was their link after Ron got back. They were on the run - strolling into a newsagents to pick up a paper wasn't going to be easy. xD I liked the ministry bit, too - that gave them a link to the outside world.

The ministry bit is OK, but it doesn't feel as oppressive as it does in the book. It felt more dangerous during the Fudge era when there was that massive statue of him instead of the fountain of magical brethren. And, while it is true that they have no link to the outside world there is always the feeling of Voldemort being in power that isn't there in the movie.

Dumbledoor's past won't be elaborated on in the next film because they won't have enough time, what with the battle/gringots/why Harry doesn't die etc.

In the first half of the book, they have little success with the horcruxes. They had no idea what to do about them, until after the Malfoy's manor. So, yeah, I'd expect more in the second film. However, I did expect there would be more agonising over the Hallows from Harry, but again I'm holding out for the next film.

They can't do anything with them in the next film because:
a. Harry is completely emotionless towards the Hallows and his invisiblity cloak isn't used anymore.
b. There is no mention of what the Horcruxes are which is central to the plot because otherwise Harry has nothing to chase.
c. GINNY hides the potion book so Harry can't remember where the diadem is.

Note that some of these points don't need the book to back them up, like the fact that the world doesn't feel threatened, and the stupid one-liners like "Oy loosers...". And the fact that magic has become more a secondary element, and the CG is cheap and hardly used (as opposed to the 4th where a whole new type of software was created just for the dragon). The action scenes with wizards were rushed and not intense at all (with the exception of Bellatrix killing everybody in about five seconds, which worked because it was supposed to be rushed), particularly leaving the Drusley's.

That is what I mean when I say that they are milking HP for all they can (I'm not talking about the actors, the acting is the only thing that makes it better than the 5th). They are doing a minimal effort hoping to get as much out of it as possible.

And the sad part is that if they didn't insist on making the movies PG they would've been able to do more with the last three and make them really worth while.

See, I liked all of them, even the sixth. Actually, I liked the 6th a lot. And I've always thought of myself as a harsh critic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the seventh! It is by far my favourite out of the more recent films. I think that if you're attached to the warm, cutesy feel of the first movie, you've probably peeved at the dark turn they've taken. But I, overall, love it.

The only thing I'll agree on is that I did find the Harry/Hermione scene a little random- like they desperately needed to cut some tension, so the director was like: "Crap! This is getting too depressing! Dance"!. But other than that, I loved it.

like they desperately needed to cut some tension

Where is the tension? Unless it is between Harry and Ron. That means that HP has been reduced to a soap-opera, so it no longer has the same HP feel anymore.

It seems like your problems are with the book, not so much the movie. For the most part this one followed the book well, cutting off some fat. The movies did not turn it into a soap opera, if anything the book is more angst and drama filled.

The dance scene was not a tension cutter, but a moment that was two kids, lost, scared, and now even more alone, nearly mourning one of their best friends, and trying to lighten a depressing mood.Plus, it was all of one minute, even if it wasn't there they wouldn't of had another scene there, they would not of been able to fit it in that small section. I would of been fine with ten or so more minutes on it, let them add in a scene or two from the book, but it didn't happen.