So I just saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1...

Spoiler warning is warning you.


This is not a review and it is probably not going to be massively coherent or eloquent.

They missed out too much. I'm sorry, but some of the stuff that was missed out was just SO important, maybe not to the plot progression or actual storyline itself, but DEFINITELY to the characters and their personalities and interactions. Seriously. I'm actually fuming. Here is some things that have been missed out that I am really, really angry about:

- Harry's goodbyes to the Dursley's at the beginning. In the book, we really see Dudley in a better light. This begins when we find out that there is a cup of cold tea outside Harry's door. Harry initially thinks that it's a prank from Dudley, but when his cousin shakes his hand and wishes him luck when he says goodbye, we find that Dudley is not as much of a dick as we have thought. This is SO important, because a MAJOR theme in the Harry Potter is love and friendship, and I feel these gestures from Dudley display both of these themes in a less traditional and obvious way. The film missing them out is just criminal in my opinion.

- Erm, hello, HEDWIG DIED. In the film this goes COMPLETELY unmentioned. Oh, I'm sorry, Harry says at one point, "It was Hedwig, she was trying to protect me." But this was AFTER she was KILLED. That owl has been a MOTIF for trust and reliability and love since the very first day in the magical world. But the film literally just showed her be killed. And that is it. I don't think I need to say any more about this. I'm very upset that this wasn't considered important by the filmmakers.

- Moody's death being BARELY acknowledged. In the book they drink Firewhisky to his name, because that's what he'd have wanted them to do. In the film, I think his death was mentioned in passing like twice. But come on, he's a MAJOR character. You can't just do NOTHING when a major character dies. Seriously.

- Grimmauld Place. If I remember correctly (which I do.) in Sirius' room Ron and Harry and Hermione are meant to find lots of important things, including half a letter from Lily to Sirius (the one thanking him for the toy broom with a photo of Harry riding it included). This is used to piece together things about the story later on in the book. No mention of it whatsoever. Additionally, when they enter the house there are meant to be loads of anti-intruder jinxes on various parts of the hallway. They KIND OF captured the essence of this with the hologrammy think of Dumbledore, but not really. That could have been a really good way of genuinely making the film worthy of its 12A rating. Although I'm guessing they missed it out because the suspense and impact would have just been too scary. However, I was looking forward to seeing how that bit was done, but to no avail because it was pretty much entirely missed out.

- Luna's ceiling. In the book, when visiting Xenophilius Lovegood's house for information about the Deathly Hallows, they go upstairs to Luna's room and see that she has painted an enormous mural of the Dumbledore's Army crew on her ceiling and the word "Friends" is repeated over and over, in the form of a rope tying them all together. This, for me anyway, is the bit when we get a REAL sense of the group as a unit, and is a reminder that even though only the trio are there, everyone else is with them too. It also makes it all the more meaningful when they rescue Luna from the cellar at Malfoy's house. Missing this out took away from all of that, not to mention completely depleted the level of tragedy we feel when Xenophilius says that Luna has been taken.

- Ron's panic when Hermione is getting tortured. There were a few good things about this scene, but the one bit I was REALLY hoping they'd keep in was when (as described in the book) Ron is listening to Hermione's screaming and he goes hysterical, banging against the cellar walls and screaming her name. They missed this out. The only reaction we got from him was that they had to save her, or something equally nothingy. I really wanted to see Ron's sheer terror, because I think this would have played up his love for her.

- Harry carving Dobby's plaque. Okay, fair enough, we saw Harry dig Dobby's grave by hand. I won't bang on about how TERRIBLE Dan's acting was at this point, because that is for a bit later. But it is SO intense to read the bit when Harry carves "Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf". It is the ULTIMATE mark of respect. And the bit when they all go round and say a few words about Dobby, including Luna. But no, despite the fact that Dobby saved Luna too, we don't even get to see her pay her final respects with Ron and Harry and Hermione. To me, that just makes no sense and COMPLETELY goes against Luna's personality.


Okay, so those are the main bits that I felt being missed out REALLY took away from major things in the book. But my qualms don't stop there. Oh no. Here are some MORE things that annoyed me about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1:

1. Jason Isaac's acting at the beginning. The scene at the table when Voldemort takes Lucius' wand. He just acted it SO feebly. It wasn't stuttery in an "I'm pooping my pants" way. It was stuttery in a "I really can't be arsed with this scene" way. It seemed SO forced and amateur to me. I'm not an expert. I just thought that bit was crap.

2. The casting of Xenophilius Lovegood. I don't know who the guy who plays him is. But he was not how I imagined him at ALL. I wanted him to be eccentric and jolly and mad. This man was just a bit bizarre, but in a bland way. I think he was rubbish.

3. The fact that George didn't even lose his ear. Yes, they made the "holy/holey" joke. But his ear was still there. So it didn't make any sense. That's just bloody stupid. Why would they even change that? What the hell is the point? How hard would it have been to just FOLLOW THE BOOK FOR ONCE IN THEIR LIVES?

4. Emma Watson's acting. In the Half Blood Prince, I finally thought she acted as Hermione. Alas, it all went out the window in this film. Out came her eyebrows again. She just didn't put any OOMPH into any of her lines. The one when I noticed it the most was when Ron returned. In the book she literally attacks him and if I remember rightly when she says "YOU ABSOLUTE ARSE!" it is CAPITALISED. This denotes SHOUTING. ANGER. PASSION. In the film she just half-heartedly tapped him with his backpack (which she very gently took off of him) and then said in a slightly raised voice that he was an arse. Pathetic.


Now, don't get me wrong, there were some bits I really liked in the film. Here they are:

- Hermione Obliviating her parents. I admit it, I cried. It was extremely touching. I loved the way they got photos of Emma when she was a baby and erased her from them when she cast the spell. It was beautiful.

- Harry and Hermione dancing together in the tent. I found this absolutely adorable, I thought it was a brilliant symbolisation of how much they love eachother and look after one another. It was hilarious and adorable and Dan really shone. I also liked how at the end of their little "moment" Hermione looks straight at Harry and you just get the sense of her thinking "But he isn't Ron" and then she turned away. It was really well pulled off. (However I would have preferred that they gave this a miss and actually put something in that Jo herself actually wrote in the book the film was based on. Just sayin'.)

- The torture scene with Hermione and Bellatrix. Okay, granted, it wasn't EXACTLY as described in the book. And they did miss the bit out that I mentioned before. But I think this was one scene in which Emma acted AMAZINGLY. I know she only had about 5 seconds of speech (she says that she didn't steal the sword from anyone and then she just screams) but I really FELT like she was terrified. Really convincing acting, and her screaming set my teeth on edge and gave me goosebumps.

- The scenery during the Prolonged Camping Trip. It was stunning. 'Nuff said.

- Bathilda Bagshot's house, and when she transforms into Nagini. Aside from this scene being a tad too short in my opinion, it was exactly how I imagined it from the description in the book.


Thoughts gathered:
I didn't like the film very much. But saying that, I don't think I've liked ANY of the films on first viewing. I always see them twice, and second time round I try to not watch the critically. So as of right now, I'm unimpressed and disappointed. And to quote my friend Tasha who summed up my feelings perfectly, I feel "robbed". When the film finished I didn't feel like I'd seen the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I felt like it had been a huge anti-climax. Saying that, I can pinpoint bits that I did like. And emotionally, a few bits got me. Overall, I think it was probably a classic book to film scenario; as a film it might have been okay, but as a film adaptation of a book it was poor. And my loyalty will ALWAYS be with the books. So I find the films somewhat difficult. I hope that when I watch it for a second time I can properly detach it from the book and enjoy it for what it is, because I think then I might enjoy it.