Musing Out Loud

I'm waiting for the pasta to boil for my chicken sopas... and I suddenly feel this urge to do a Part 2 on Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2... :)

Hubby and I watched the movie last weekend, caught the last full show in a not-so-popular-but-still-digital 3D cinema (in short Starmall - Las Pinas. hehe). This was one of the few movies we watched quite early, since we usually watch a movie like a week or two after it premiered. But I have a soft spot for Harry Potter, so I wanted to make sure I get to watch it as soon as I can.

(By the way, we're really enjoying watching blockbuster movies there. No long lines, free popcorn and water, cool enough aircon, comfortable seats, and clean cinema. Not to mention it's just a 10-minute drive from home, parking space is not a problem, and there's a nearby 24-hour McDonald's and a Starbucks. :))

The experience was quite different for me and hubby, I had read (and reread twice over) the book, he hasn't. And for this particular installment of the Harry Potter series, reading the book made the world of a difference. Hubby enjoyed the movie for what he saw, I enjoyed it for what I knew the real essence of the story was.




I've heard mixed reviews about HP7 Part 2 before we watched it, and after having viewed the movie myself, I understood why there was such a huge variety in opinion.

The second part of Book Seven (after the group made it out of the Lestrange's mansion), is the most action and adventure-filled chapter of the entire HP series. They broke into Gringotts, got out by riding a blind dragon, battled with Death Eaters at Hogwarts, completed the Horcrux hunt, and Harry came face to face with Voldemort again. It had all of the perfect ingredients for a Transformer-like (ergo lots of 'wow' scenes) movie. And I have to admit, this was what I expected to see in HP7 Part 2's movie version, and I think this is what most people anticipated too.

But no, we didn't get grand fight scenes. We did get a glimpse of the battle, but I'm pretty sure, for many, it just wasn't 'wow' enough. We were all waiting for something to drop our jaws for.We didn't get any, and so I understand the disappointment. And I confess, part of me thinks the fight scenes were a bit too underplayed (if there's such a word).

Then again, this book of the Harry Potter series is also where everything comes into full circle. This is the final chapter where all the issues, the characters, and the events of past books were best understood. Why Snape 'hated' Harry, why Harry can see and hear Voldemort's thoughts, why Dumbledore isn't so perfect after all, why Neville has always been the hero waiting to happen (I love him. :)), why Harry Potter isn't the 'richest' in terms of character.... oh a lot of things! :)

And to be fair to the movie-makers of HP-7 Part 2, they did a good job at this, and did what they can for 2 hours of screen time. They were able to portray Snape for what he was essentially, as Harry put it, 'the bravest man he'd ever known'. And they didn't overplay his significance, his 'death' scene was enough to express that, and took about what, a minute? :) When I saw Snape's features soften when he said "You have your mother's eyes" as he was dying, oh I melted instantly. It expressed worlds of love for Harry, and for the memory of his beloved mother.

Another scene that I really liked which was neither action-filled nor overly-dramatic was when Harry had to tell Hermione and Ron that he knew he was the last Horcrux and that the time has come for him to face his own death.

Hermione said "I'm going with you." and gave Harry a big hug. Ron stood fixated where he was standing, and his expression was that of a man already losing his best friend, but saw that this time, there was nothing he can do to stop it. No Oscar-worthy acting in that particular scene, but for me, I felt the love, and the friendship...and that was exactly what the scene was about.

And there was that scene where Prof. McGonagall shielded Harry (which I believe is a Hollywood addition, ergo, not in the book), and in all her poise and grace, started working on protective enchantments along with other faculty members. Oh, and I'd never forget the part when she said "Oh, I've always wanted to do that spell" when she had to 'activate' the soldier statues of Hogwarts. Nothing Wonderwoman-like, but definitely, in all its glory, heroic.


I think this particular installment of the Harry Potter movie series played more on the subtleties of the story, the stories behind the story. It showcased what we needed to 'understand' the characters, not just what we needed to 'see'. And it's not surprising that Filipinos take it differently, and express disappointment over the lack of action scenes. We love adventure, we love action, we love overly dramatic or overly funny (hello soap operas, others have one in the afternoon, we have two or three, and then another three in the evening) movies.

For those who've read the book, this isn't the most perfect rendition, but of course, that's why you read the book, because that's where the story came from. Nothing could ever come close to the experience of reading it. :)

Come to think of it, if they included all the details of the book in the movie, it would have taken 3-4 hours, and well, it would have been a bit too overwhelming. :)


....somebody took care of the pasta for my sopas...I got to carried away with this review...and yeah I still want to watch the movie again. It feels like letting go of your favorite piece of clothing, it's old and frayed already, but you want to keep on wearing it until it falls apart and you really have to let it go... :)

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