New Harry Potter Movie

I actually saw this the weekend it came out. All the credits are saying that this is the best Harry Potter to date. I would revise that and say that this is the movie shows the best performances the young stars have given to date. It wasn't my favorite movie in the series, but it also wasn't my favorite book so I don't know that you can really blame that on the director or script writer. Its an odd part in the story. The transition from the exposition to the climax. Its hard to make that stand on its own on film or in print.

I'm not one who goes to movies and expects to see the book I read on the screen. For one, no two people read the same book. The best part to me, might be droll to you. Still, when you have experienced both stories its hard not to make comparisons.

Over all I think the director David Yates and the script writer (whoever s/he is/are) did a great job of squeezing in the volumes of information that are necessary for the audience to have if the ending of the final film is going to make any sense to them at all. This is a giant feet. Not only because they are dealing with an over 600 page book, but also because so much of the story was left out of the previous movies. I will also give them props for how they developed the relationship between Ginny and Harry. One that score I think they did a better job than Rowling. Unfortunately, if I am going to be picky, I think they could have done a lot better job with Ron and Hormine. In the books, this relationship has been obvious since Harmonie dated Victor Krum in book 4. Unfortunately, we don't have the full advantage of this back story so to people who have only ever seen the films it was rather random and forced and I would have to agree.

Now for my major complaint. And this is the thing that killed the movie for me. As I said, there was a lot to get through in this one. It was long. There were a lot of long conversations that contained mountains of information. It all felt like it was leading up to something. Something big. We felt the anticipation building. Perhaps I felt it more because I thought I knew what was coming. In any event, the ending didn't end like most movies end with a big explosive climax. The ending was more like watching all the air slowly leak out of a balloon. There was no battle for Hogwarts. Harry and Dumbledor come back to the school. Dumbledor is rather weakly confronted by Draco. He is killed by Snape. Draco and Snape run out of Hogwarts with a hand full of other Death Eaters. As they leave, one of them rather lamely (and randomly) set Hargid's hut on fire and all the students are seen standing rather stupidly around Dumbledor's body. The next thing you know, everyone is heading home. The End.

Like I said, I'm not one who thinks EVERYTHING in the book has to be in the movie, but to NOT have the battle? That was a very pivotal moment in the story. Not to mention it offered what this film completely lacked, a good ending. So no, for me this was not the best Harry Potter movie so far. I rank it third. Right after Order of the Phoenix and Prisoner of Azkaban.