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FINISHED - Deathly Hallows Part 2 Breakdown - I spent ages on this. Read it. Now.
And I'll try to stay non-bias, no promises though 
Let's get right into this bitch.
The first scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the last scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Simply, it reminds the audience that Voldemort has taken the Elder Wand as his own. It's a good start and it heavily implies that WB is going to merge Part 1 and Part 2 on dvd/blu ray one day. Or perhaps, even for a re-release.
To those who complain about the opening because there is no Potter's death or something of similar nature, please, for the love of God, stop. There is no harm whatsoever in thinking: 'I think the Potter's death would have made a great opening.' Truth be told, I was one of those people before the test screening reviews came and demolished those hopes. It's quite an interesting thought. Yet, taking away from the opening simply because it's not what you imagined to be, even though the actual opening itself is subtle and chilling with the Elder Wand capture, the dementors over Hogwarts with Snape, AND Lily's Theme, bothers me quite a bit.
Before I analyze Shell Cottage, I will say something about it. While Warner Brothers will try as hard as fucking possible to get a Best Picture nomination, and by possible miracle, best picture win, the crew had no intention of trying from the beginning. They really didn't give a flying fuck if they won best picture or anything, because they know by now what they have made is beautiful and top notch quality that the Oscars don't mean shit. They know an opening as quick and almost non-existent as this would not be in the favor of the Academy, but they didn't care, hell, I bet the thought never occurred to them because, as I said, they don’t fucking care. They made one production: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is split into two films that without each other are incomplete, but together, is my favorite movie of all time. I really love this fact because if they did it differently, give Part 1 a better sense of conclusion rather than cliffhanger and Part 2 more of an opening, they would have to sit as separate films and would not work together as one film. For this choice, I commend you; the crew of Harry Potter.
Into Shell Cottage, we see Harry holding up the mirror and a view of Dobby's grave with the beautiful beach behind you. I see some 'if you didn't see Part 1, well, tough nubs' moments. And you know what, they have every fucking right to do that. Why waste your time explaining who Bellatrix is, the hair, how they got there, or anything. It would waste time, time that was spent wisely in Part 1. If you tune in halfway through Return of the King, not understand, and complain, then I can do nothing but laugh at your ignorance. I see the same with Part 1 and Part 2. There's a reason they are labeled as such; so you fucking watch the first before you see the second.
There was something in what Bill was saying to Luna. How he said: 'what's left of us at least' whilst looking away actually gave me the feeling they were losing, a deep feeling that I had no control over. It was quite intriguing, truth be told.
We now move on to Harry speaking with Ollivander and Griphook. Something I haven't seen mentioned before was Harry's maturity and how much he has grown. He talks with these two as if he's been doing everything on his own for ages. I especially love Dan's face when Ollivander lies to him; it's one that makes me think Dan's about to shoot lasers out of his eyes and kill him. He's obviously angry and in that face, I saw it all. Talking with Griphook though was more about setting up and foreshadowing his eventual betrayal, which I could see with well delivered, short lines such as: 'It's complicated' and 'Perhaps.' Short, but they perfectly conveyed Griphook. With Ollivander, his fear and knowledge was shown very well through John Hurt, who I have a lot more respect for now after seeing 1984. All in all, Shell Cottage is, as Gandalf would say, the deep breath before the plunge (which is also the third chapter of my fan-fic, which if you haven't read, you totally should. Not that I made this entire thread just to advertise this, just, you know, saying). It's obviously not the best scene in Part 2, nor anywhere close, but it's quite an assuring sign that even the scenes that are no where near the top of the food chain are ones that are impressive and full of quality.
I really liked how they handled the deal with Bellatrix's hair. It slowly and gently came to rest on Hermione while the sad strings played in the background with a close up of her bleeding 'mudblood' scar in DH1, then the very cool shot of her holding the hair with the focus on the hair changing to focus on her in DH2. I thought it was very neat. Harry's nod to Dobby's grave is one of many little touches that show the crew's attention to detail.
So now we are into Diagon Alley, which is nothing at all like the Diagon Alley in the earlier films. The comedy in the next scenes and here is well placed, and Helena's acting is quite something to watch. I really want to hear her voice instead of Emma's just for the hell of it and see how she said the lines, loll. Anyways, Gringotts looks MARVELOUS! There's no way the Academy will be able NOT to give Stuart Craig a shower of golden statues. Helena's walking is funny without being funny. I know it makes no sense, but with the single note holding and playing with 'shtishitshit act normal' faces from the Goblins, it’s not supposed to make you laugh. Her stepping awkwardly on her heel felt like a scene you would see in a horror film where someone walks around the house alone, hears the creak of a door to which the camera pans to for a short bit, then pans back. It's all too quiet. We see more beautiful cinematography with the disguised Ron and the guard in the background, slowly walking. It's very similar to the bellatrix hair one with the focus and it's quite a shot indeed. The jump from Bellatrix's face to the cart going down leads us to the vaults.
The music and Gringott's underground, not to mention the dragon, are simply evidence of DH2's near perfect technical aspects. I really don't need to touch upon them because you know how wonderful they are as much as I do.
Let's get right into this bitch.
The first scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the last scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Simply, it reminds the audience that Voldemort has taken the Elder Wand as his own. It's a good start and it heavily implies that WB is going to merge Part 1 and Part 2 on dvd/blu ray one day. Or perhaps, even for a re-release.
To those who complain about the opening because there is no Potter's death or something of similar nature, please, for the love of God, stop. There is no harm whatsoever in thinking: 'I think the Potter's death would have made a great opening.' Truth be told, I was one of those people before the test screening reviews came and demolished those hopes. It's quite an interesting thought. Yet, taking away from the opening simply because it's not what you imagined to be, even though the actual opening itself is subtle and chilling with the Elder Wand capture, the dementors over Hogwarts with Snape, AND Lily's Theme, bothers me quite a bit.
Before I analyze Shell Cottage, I will say something about it. While Warner Brothers will try as hard as fucking possible to get a Best Picture nomination, and by possible miracle, best picture win, the crew had no intention of trying from the beginning. They really didn't give a flying fuck if they won best picture or anything, because they know by now what they have made is beautiful and top notch quality that the Oscars don't mean shit. They know an opening as quick and almost non-existent as this would not be in the favor of the Academy, but they didn't care, hell, I bet the thought never occurred to them because, as I said, they don’t fucking care. They made one production: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is split into two films that without each other are incomplete, but together, is my favorite movie of all time. I really love this fact because if they did it differently, give Part 1 a better sense of conclusion rather than cliffhanger and Part 2 more of an opening, they would have to sit as separate films and would not work together as one film. For this choice, I commend you; the crew of Harry Potter.
Into Shell Cottage, we see Harry holding up the mirror and a view of Dobby's grave with the beautiful beach behind you. I see some 'if you didn't see Part 1, well, tough nubs' moments. And you know what, they have every fucking right to do that. Why waste your time explaining who Bellatrix is, the hair, how they got there, or anything. It would waste time, time that was spent wisely in Part 1. If you tune in halfway through Return of the King, not understand, and complain, then I can do nothing but laugh at your ignorance. I see the same with Part 1 and Part 2. There's a reason they are labeled as such; so you fucking watch the first before you see the second.
There was something in what Bill was saying to Luna. How he said: 'what's left of us at least' whilst looking away actually gave me the feeling they were losing, a deep feeling that I had no control over. It was quite intriguing, truth be told.
We now move on to Harry speaking with Ollivander and Griphook. Something I haven't seen mentioned before was Harry's maturity and how much he has grown. He talks with these two as if he's been doing everything on his own for ages. I especially love Dan's face when Ollivander lies to him; it's one that makes me think Dan's about to shoot lasers out of his eyes and kill him. He's obviously angry and in that face, I saw it all. Talking with Griphook though was more about setting up and foreshadowing his eventual betrayal, which I could see with well delivered, short lines such as: 'It's complicated' and 'Perhaps.' Short, but they perfectly conveyed Griphook. With Ollivander, his fear and knowledge was shown very well through John Hurt, who I have a lot more respect for now after seeing 1984. All in all, Shell Cottage is, as Gandalf would say, the deep breath before the plunge (which is also the third chapter of my fan-fic, which if you haven't read, you totally should. Not that I made this entire thread just to advertise this, just, you know, saying). It's obviously not the best scene in Part 2, nor anywhere close, but it's quite an assuring sign that even the scenes that are no where near the top of the food chain are ones that are impressive and full of quality.
I really liked how they handled the deal with Bellatrix's hair. It slowly and gently came to rest on Hermione while the sad strings played in the background with a close up of her bleeding 'mudblood' scar in DH1, then the very cool shot of her holding the hair with the focus on the hair changing to focus on her in DH2. I thought it was very neat. Harry's nod to Dobby's grave is one of many little touches that show the crew's attention to detail.
So now we are into Diagon Alley, which is nothing at all like the Diagon Alley in the earlier films. The comedy in the next scenes and here is well placed, and Helena's acting is quite something to watch. I really want to hear her voice instead of Emma's just for the hell of it and see how she said the lines, loll. Anyways, Gringotts looks MARVELOUS! There's no way the Academy will be able NOT to give Stuart Craig a shower of golden statues. Helena's walking is funny without being funny. I know it makes no sense, but with the single note holding and playing with 'shtishitshit act normal' faces from the Goblins, it’s not supposed to make you laugh. Her stepping awkwardly on her heel felt like a scene you would see in a horror film where someone walks around the house alone, hears the creak of a door to which the camera pans to for a short bit, then pans back. It's all too quiet. We see more beautiful cinematography with the disguised Ron and the guard in the background, slowly walking. It's very similar to the bellatrix hair one with the focus and it's quite a shot indeed. The jump from Bellatrix's face to the cart going down leads us to the vaults.
The music and Gringott's underground, not to mention the dragon, are simply evidence of DH2's near perfect technical aspects. I really don't need to touch upon them because you know how wonderful they are as much as I do.
Comments
From this moment to jumping in the water, it's eye and ear candy. Dragon Flight and the actual dragon flying are, again, technical perfections. The dragon absorbing his/her freedom for that moment after destroying Gringotts allowed everyone to take a deep breath before lying back and watching what was next.
Something Part 2 gave me more than Part 1 was Harry hurting with the horcruxes being destroyed and Voldemort's visions. Harry is almost drowning in the water, and not only that, he's drowning in Voldemort's anger. It overtakes him and causes him to flail in the water as he sees Voldemort's wrath. It's eerie.
The last scene of the trio before we arrive at Hogsmeade is a circling camera, little to no shaking which makes us feel immersed in the scene and not nauseous. When they speak of Voldemort being wounded, we cut to Voldemort in a really 'this isn't for fucking kids anymore, bitch' scene. He's walking in blood like it's no big deal (if you look closely, Bellatrix is by the fireplace) with the Malfoys in complete shock at what monster they let into their home. It's quite terrible to think: a simple Avada Kedavra would've left the floor bloodless and would have been a quick, clean exit. Yet no, he made it obviously quite painful.
We now reach Hogsmeade with the cat alarm. I know someone commented on this before, who it was I forgot, but I loved the close up on the trio while one Death Eater yelled: 'POTTER!' It was a very good 'holyshit we're dead we're dead we're dead' moment.
Now we move on to the scene with Aberforth. I know some people complain about how short it was, truth be told, I thought it was timed and paced as well as it could be. More on Ariana and Dumbledore as a teenager perhaps might've been too much. We'll see what the deleted scene has to offer.
Ciaran Hinds did fantastic as Aberforth. He conveyed his doubts and questions Harry. How he said 'You're lying!' and the following line after that had my think: 'there couldn't have been a better portrayal of Aberforth. I was happy to see the mention of Ariana and how Aberforth claims Dumbledore gave her everything...but time. When Harry said 'I trusted the man I know,' that was that. It's a different Harry, but hey, it's the film, not the book. At that moment, I knew we wouldn't see Dumbledore mention it in King's Cross because Harry doesn't want to know. Harry doesn't care. He wants to finish the job he was given by the man he knew, and nothing Aberforth said was going to change that.
We'll go through these next couple scenes a bit quicker. We see Neville for the first time since standing up to the Death Eater in DH1 on the train and he looks like hell. I reckon. He explains about the Carrows, which is a nod to the book knowing we won't have time to explain in great depth. As Neville says: 'Hogwarts has changed,' we get a shot of a dark, rather brooding, Hogwarts with surroundings of dementors. Pretty fucking awesome if you ask me. We get some humor with Seamus and Harry, a nod to Potterwatch with 'lightning has struck,' and an awkward 'hi there' by Harry and Ginny, which was weird, but, whatever, kinda funny. We get some shots of Hogwarts until we see Snape in the great hall.
As always, Alan Rickman takes our breath away with his performance. Though I must say, when he said equally, it was borderline mocking himself, loll. Harry appearing and taking the first shot at Snape is one of the changes I prefer over the book. It's Harry coming into his own by calling the shots himself, and of course, his epic line and cue to bring in the Order.
Now, Snape vs McGonagall is quite interesting, and I recall someone making these comments, agreed with them, and will use them here. When Mcgonagall moves Harry out of the way, we see Snape almost lower his wand. He obviously doesn't want to fight her because they are on the same side, but he has to keep his cover, so he re-raises his wand. He never attacks Minerva, simply only blocks her spells. Finally, when he realizes he has to get away before either 1) he is attacked by everyone, or 2) he blows his cover. Before going away though, he casts Minerva's spells in direction of the Carrows. Something that to someone watching there and not in a movie theater with a pounding heart would unnoticeable. To us, it shows Snape's true colours. Sorry Rich, no bat shaped hole. Did you walk out of the theater? No you didn't.
Next, we see a great little twist on an already good scene. Instead of Voldemort simply speaking to everyone, he haunts everyone. The lights fading and turning a goddamnit greenish and a bitch this shit got real blueish color, the screams by padma/pavarti (not sure which) and the other girl, and everyone cowering when Voldemort spoke and covering their ears = perfect. We see Voldemort can affect everyone; not just Harry. Just Harry. Ahhh memories....
ANYWAYS, we get a few comedy moments with Filch, Neville, and Minerva which then leads to one of the most badass moments in the series. There's no deep meaning to find, no moments I can pick out and analyze, it's as simple as being fucking badass. Setting up the protections and the statues are just badass, enough said.
Moving on the Neville on the bridge, we see the Snatchers come down in great numbers to be halted by the protective shield with Neville gloating. Nothing big. It's not bad, just nothing special. If my english teacher saw this though, she'd try and make me write an essay on animal motifs and how the cat sounds of the protections and the dog sounds of the snatchers relate. School. :-&
Moving on to the underrated sequence (though since everyone says it's underrated, perhaps not) in the film: The Grey Lady.
And now for the hate to come. So many might just go 'WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, WHAT ABOUT STATUES?!' But you know, it's just a preference. I think that the transition from Helena and the long note that holds with her face to the Death Eaters on the cliff with the loud bass drum beats is the most badass moment in the film. I mean, I get giddy with the excitement it brings, drop my draw in awe at how fucking awesome it looks, have a goosebump attack from how chilling it is, and well, basically, shit my pants. There is no other way this could have been done better, just so flawless to introduce DE's and Voldemort to the castle. It reminds me heavily of this:
Skip to 2:13
Ugh, just so badass...
Leaving my absolute wish to have sex with this scene and returning to this breakdown, the next part made my eyes jolt open, even though were already as far open as possible. The loud exploding sound the spells made upon contact was surprising and a beauty, plus it illuminated the next couple scenes with wonderful lighting that heavily implies lighting and thunder. A very nice touch if I might say so.
Back to the Grey Lady, it's beautifully acted on both parts. Listening to Helena shout, there are so many sounds, echoes, and such attention to detail I had to listen to it 10 times. Honestly, if you can, go and listen to it. When she circles Harry, I felt in the scene. And this line: 'If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know, you need only ask,' honestly, gives me an orgasm. Goddamn shit I love that line.
The scenes before the chamber are a nice buildup to the action. Lupin and Kingsley is a nice addition, and I'm glad we get to see Fred and George before the battle together. We get a glimpse and slight comedy with Ron and Hermione.
The quidditch pitch and look on hogwarts are very nice. I accidentally posted about the snatcher bridge part here a little earlier, so my bad on that.
Back to the chamber, the build up music is incredible now that I've heard it 500 times, and yes, while the cgi of the long shot with slazazars face isn't all too great, it’s easier for us to see the difference when we have all seen CoS tons of times. I think the snake heads and the water flowing onto the floor adds realism to make up for it. This kiss itself is just so cute :x
We all saw many previews of Voldy destroying the protections, with music and the nyeahhh, but when it came right after the R/Hr kiss, I was totally not expecting it. We see just how powerful a wizard Voldemort truly is and that his only weakness is his ignorance. We then get some really beauitful cinematography by Serra; the look on Ginny, Lupin and Tonks' hands, and mostly: THE MOTHERFUCKING STATES! Damn that's quite the shot. When we put DH1 and DH2 together in one viewing, I think people are going to see many more connections that they would separately. The Elder Wand getting a major closeup and cracking will be a great compliment to Lucius' wand doing the same thing in Part 1. Stuff like that, the repeated horcrux senses, and all other things that tie DH1 and DH2 show it's truly one film.
The only problem I have with the bridge destruction, which itself was quite good, was Ginny not running to the ledge. I'd leap over in a heartbeat if that was my friend, just sayin' Ginny
And now, the first battle.
Can I just say, WOW! Not only does it look spectacular, but it's directed beautifully. First, we have the enemy charging, their battle cries being heard. When the buildup of the soundtrack ends, we see the Statues put up their shields as if they are pikemen in an army. What I like most about how they shot the fighting and evacuating scenes that follow is that it is never too up close and never too far out. It's perfectly placed where we can see everything, but our eyes are going 'holy shit for fucks sake I can't handle this' in a good way. And something I've always loved is following the Death Eater smoke like in HBP, Snape to Malfoy Manor, and what you see in my sig. I adore that effect.
Now into Hogwarts again, we see Harry step up again. In OotP, he makes his speech about how facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In this scene, we see that clear before our eyes. A death eater breaks in, and what do we see? Everyone screams, cowers in fears, and ducks. What does Harry, the man who has dealt with this countless times, do? He gets up and stupefy's the fuck out of that Death Eater. Maturity over a franchise 101 right there.
A few short scenes brings us to the Room of Requirement.
The first wide shot we get of the Room of Requirement is to give off a sort of 'how the fuck do I find the diadem in this' sorta feeling, which works. If anyone has listened carefully, we hear very similar sounds to what we heard when Draco was in the room in HBP, and, I love the odd plant head that sticks its head out! Very inventive! And then the pixies! Great nod to Chamber of Secrets. Then back to the horcrux sense of Harry's and the great score that accompanies his opening of the chest, which I never noticed until now being amazing.
A nice exchange between Harry and Draco, clearly showing once again, Draco's cowardice, leads us to the next section of Harry climbing the rubble with the pixies escaping. Finally, when he grabs the diadem and Ron ignites laughter through the crowd (only after this many times, it's a bit annoying) the fiendfyre begins.
What I liked about fiendfyre was that it was different from just being fire. It was like liquid water flowing around endlessly. Next we have the great idea of making each into the shape of an animal. We see it as a dragon like bird, a lion or a bear, and a snake. Each one behaved as it's animal would: the dragon flying and shrieking from above, the snake slythering onto the floor and attack from down there, and the bear/lion roaring and running across like a lion or bear would. When they escape the room, we begin the film’s golden section as I like to call it.
Now this scene is better and better upon repeated viewings. I found the music to be to have an impact despite being nothing more than some low string notes. Switching between Harry's pain and Voldemort's pain outlines the horcrux relationship and the suffering of both. With Voldemort, it's like when Gandalf died in Fellowship. It's like: WHAT THE FUCK, GANDALF CAN'T DIE! Well, this is: WHAT THE FUCK, VOLDEMORT DOESN'T GET HURT! Then the quick build up to Pius' death = great change. He's seriously pissed as hell. Also, a little earlier, we see Nagini shrivel a bit, hinting she's the horcrux right before it's actually said.
Before we get to the boathouse, the trio together in Hogwarts before embarking on their last journey, feels incredibly satisfying. I feel the end coming at these moments. Voldemort in the boathouse is wondering why the fuck he's injured. His skin peeling is a foreshadow of his eventual peel to death. There are two moments of the same thing effect completely win me over. One of them is Voldemort saying 'I do not need to seek the boy' in a very weak voice and the irony in that Harry is going to do exactly as Voldemort thinks. The best is that this is happening WHILE we look at Harry: we see him but hear Voldemort. I feel the connection. Bitch slapping Lucius is also a good part. And now, the holy mother fucking shit moment of the film.
Number two of the best things I like in that short sequence was Courtyard Apocalypse starting when we are still on a closeup of Harry, just like when Voldemort says his line I mentioned. Now, into the actual scene itself.
Courtyard Apocalypse isn't a battle scene. It's not about the fighting, the giants, the spiders, or any of that. It's an emotional scene. I didn't watch the clip of it before DH2, but after I went and watched it, and WOW, what a difference without this music. It changes it from a fight on the courtyard to a journey. Courtyard is the trio’s journey in a nutshell: despite the hardships, the difficulties, the losses (Lavender for instance), they come through together to face something even worse. Yet, even knowing what lies ahead may haunt them even more, they continue forward without a single look in the other direction. That is Courtyard Apocalypse to me. Who needs a Battle of Pelannor Fields, Omaha Beach, or any other battle that is heavily recognized for its greatness when you have this. My oh my, if Deathly Hallows Part 2 was sex, this would be one of the many climaxes.
Ralph and Rickman do so beautifully in this scene together; the chemistry is marvelous. For all the people that complain about Voldemort's 10 seconds of humor, I direct you here to feast your eyes. Voldemort, interrogating what he believes is his most faithful servant. The back and forth between the two is music to my ears. When he finally kills him and nagini attacks, I can't help but want to turn away. Imagining myself in Snape's spot, nagini pouncing, gives me shivers.
There are so many things about what happens next that is just right. Lily's theme is played in a different variation, which is beautiful as Harry takes the tear (so amazing) from Snape. When he finally says look at me, it's so different from how I imagine it in the book (as a command), but here, it's a much weaker command as he's dying. I felt that just that 'look at me' wasn't enough, and seconds later, I get my wish. 'You have your mother's eyes.' Now, the ACTUAL Lily's theme plays here, and the symbolism is as clear as anything. After all these years, Snape has seen only James in Harry, the man he hated. When he finally sees Lily and makes that comment, Lily's theme plays. Elementary my dear Watson.
Next, we move on to Voldemort's speech. It has a very similar effect as the last one, but this time we get some great single shots with them of George being disarmed (WHERE'S FWEDDY!!!
We move on to Fred. Yes, we don't get a close up of his face, but that's something that never bothered me actually; we still see enough of his face and Rupert's crying. What I noticed was that right before that, Ginny can do nothing but look at Harry. After that, Arthur gives Harry a look that's beyond tears: he lost his son. There's nothing more to be said.
We see a beaten Tonks and Lupin that cuts to a tear slowly coming down Harry's face. When Mcgonagall looks to come over, it shows how motherly she really is. She tried the same in HBP, but obviously didn't want to talk to anyone, and she tries the same thing here.
A nod to GoF, we see the pensieve in the basin once more, answering why the fuck it was all of a sudden different in HBP. Nice touch guys, very nice. And now, to the memories...
Leaving the boathouse, we arrive back in the courtyard that has been evacuated and the Great Hall now has become the medical center. What I think is interesting is that Ron has always been the one quick to comment about family as we saw in Part 1 for how eager he was to get back to them and how he constantly checked for their names, left the trio first to go among the people to find his family. Hermione, not wanting to leave Ron, follows. Harry is simply stunned, as he always is, because he can not get rid of the nagging thought that whenever deaths occur they are done by him. In OotP, he stood soundlessly as Sirius went through the arch before chasing Bellatrix, watched in horror as Snape killed Dumbledore, sat silent when Dobby died in his arms, and now rooted to the spot when he sees the Great Hall littered with bodies. The students, not understanding war or what to do, do as anyone would do: sit in silence with those closest that remain. The adults, like Slughorn, Sprout, and Pomfrey, are seen tending students.
To Hogwarts now, we see Lily sorted in Gryffindor and meeting James. Snape only can watch and be disappointed, as he knows he will be going to Slytherin; away from her. In the next scene, I love how Snape is holding all her books, it's just too cute! Makes you think: hmmm, Harry got real good at potions because of Snape, I wonder if someone else did to....
Now, the teenage years are skipped, and I think I understand why. It's easy to see from the next scenes, Snape loved Lily, but Lily loved James. Sure they don't show how Snape and Lily ended their friendship, but since he was on Voldemort's side, one should be able to put two and two together.
Now to Dumbledore apparating to meet Snape on the cliff. I really don't see where the hate of the makeup is coming from, I wanted to jump out of my seat in joy when I saw him much younger and with less pauses in his speech, also showing his younger self. I never thought about that before going to see the film and when I finally saw it did I realize this and was incredibly happy with it. I'm trying to find a connection with everything, loll, so bear with me. Interesting that they are on the same cliff Voldemort realized the Elder Wand does not work for him. At this moment, on the same cliff, it insured that when the time came for Snape to kill Dumbledore, even if Draco had NOT disarmed Dumbledore, Voldemort would never gain the Elder Wand. Lily's lines are just, ugh, heartbreaking.
Some may be confused as to why Peter is shown and not Sirius, simply because they wanted to show Peter betrayed them and not Sirius, even though it was thought differently. No need for added confusion there.
'He doesn't need protection the dark lord is gone.'
Holy fuckballs. Alan Rickman just mother fucking stole the goddamn movie, put his name on it, copyrighted it, and had Jesus bless it. Honestly, what a fucking performance. We aren't even done yet.
Again, we are back to talking about James. We see the first time (though it's edited with when Harry looks at Dumbledore, whatever, nbd at all) Snape and Harry look at each other. This first eye contact, Snape may see Lily's eyes, but beneath it, he sees James, and rightfully so to show this scene as Snape talks about James being arrogant. Now that we are back to adult Severus, we see his speech has slowed and he looks older (even though he's only supposed to be 36 or 37 I believe. I imagine working for the dark lord and being a triple agent would age someone quite a bit
We now move on to the parts that my eyes heavy. Even watching this particuarly scene for the who knows manyth (not a word I know) time. For a while, I didn't recognize Ron Leaves in there before Dumbledore's Farewell kicks in, and when I finally recognized it I was squealing, because that's my favorite track from DH1, so how I missed it the first few times eludes me. We see Lily's death from the first film, and quite frankly, it doesn't look as cheap as I might've thought if someone told me beforehand they would reuse it. If anything, it fits right in because the room looks the same.
Dumbledore then explains how Voldemort's soul latched onto Harry's when the curse rebounded. Now, here's something I thought of that I am so proud of. The shot of the owl and the doll also had confused me with their purpose other than looking awesome. I knew I needed to think of something before I reached this part, and I think I have:
The voice-over connecting to the symbolism of the scene worked with James as I mentioned a bit above. Here, it hit me so hard after thinking that I feel dumb for not thinking about it right away (this is my view, not pretending that it's the film makers). Dumbledore says: 'A part of Voldemort's soul latched itself onto the only living thing it could find: Harry himself.' Yet, instead of showing us Harry, it shows us the hanging owl. Until her death, Hedwig was apart of Harry's childhood and mainly, Harry's innocence. The owl can represent Harry's pureness and innocence. We cut now to a shot of Harry with his scar. Dumbledore says: 'There's a reason Harry can speak with snakes. There's a reason he can look in Lord Voldemort's mind.' During most of this, we get a close up of a frail, weird-looking, patched up doll. You can probably see where I'm going with this: the doll, patched (very much like a scar) represents the horcrux inside Harry. It continues with this constant voice-over that explains the scene I've noted multiple times now. Yes, this may be over analyzing at its most extreme. Hell, I'm even beginning to think that. But you know what? I don't care; I LOVE IT!
Also something I haven't noted is Snape's slow progression into Harry's house throughout the adult portion of the memories. With bits here and there of dialogue, he gets closer and closer to showing us the most emotional part of the memories. When Snape says 'The boy must die?' I can see as Dumbledore says it, he turns to the side, wanting to avoid Snape's gaze. Gambon and Rickman just make magic with this. Snape sees dead Lily and falls to the ground: cue in Dumbledore's Farewell!
As Snape says 'You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter,' we get a close up on Harry, which I think is smart. The talk is now at it's most important between the two, and we haven't seen this Harry for a bit, and showing him as Snape says this makes us think: holy fuck Harry right there was dead all along and he never knew.
Dumbledore: 'Lily?'
Cut to:
Dumbledore voice over: 'After all this time?'
Cut to Snape
Snape: 'Always'
That right there? Best mother fucking thing ever. Holy fucking shit, like seriously, this is where the tears just gush out of your eyes like water busting out of the South Fork Dam (look it up).
The actual conversation just shows how far these 3 have come as actors. The way Emma says “I’ll go with you,” just, holy fucking shit. I’ve never felt this way about a movie, nor will I ever again. This decade of building up climatic feelings with sorrow in 2007 to be lifted up in the recent years and then brought back in 2011 is crazy. Before we get to the forest, we see a shot of the courtyard while Harry is walking across it to meet his death. This same angle is used again when Harry and Voldemort clash their spells, that time, Voldemort meeting his death.
Into the forest, we see the Resurrection Stone scene. I love how the stone takes its time to come out and go into Harry’s hand. It reminds me of Dumbledore’s Will slowly unfolding in DH1. The music here is just too good: Thank you Alexandre Desplat. When I first heard John Williams wasn’t coming back, I was slightly disappointed. You have honestly made me completely forget all those worries by being a complete badass.
All the adults are so poised and Dan does a great job showing his fear, his sorrow, but also his determination to end it once and for all. And honestly, whoever decided to have Sirius say: ‘we’re hear you see’ and point to Harry’s heart: fuck you. I have never legitimately cried during a film, a few tears here and there, but never let them come out. In all siriusness, it’s a great touch to PoA and a great line.
To Harry’s surrender, some people complain about Hagrid randomly showing up. It actually didn’t bother me, because Hagrid’s role in the films and books has decreased over time. Also, it’s war. It’s not like they can tweet in the middle of battle if they are fine: shit fucking happens. That’s why war is awful: you never know who’s going to be missing, get shot, die horribly, and you never know when it’s going to happen.
This scene is just heart stopping. Not with emotion, but with suspense. The loud buildup of the horcrux noise and strings all stopping when Harry closes his eyes was brilliant. It then becomes silent for Voldemort’s loud Avada Kedavra. Then, all turns to white.
The look of King’s Cross is miles beyond better than how I imaged it. Stunning cinematography and set design just blew me away. The Voldemort fetus is shockingly bloody and disgusting. I also enjoy the silence of it. The only sounds are the sounds of the train, coming to let Harry go ‘on.’ Plus, I love the way Gambon said all of his lines here: a true professional. Now there’s one line that confuses many, and for a time, myself. “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it” instead of “ask for it.” Not everyone deserves the help of Hogwarts. I’m sure you can think of many names. There are those who do, like Harry and Neville. In Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore says this while knowing Harry was standing feet from him. In the Chamber, he gets the help of Hogwarts from Fawkes and the Sorting Hat to kill (though Harry didn’t know it) a horcrux. Harry has now no way to kill the snake (another horcrux), so Dumbledore says this again. Later, it is Neville who gets the help he deserved via the Sorting Hat and kills Nagini. So, I see the purpose and where they were going with it. It really doesn’t bother me: you could have Gambon talk about basically anything and I’d be intrigued by it.
Then we get arguably the two best lines in the series: “Do not pity the dead, Harry, pity the living, and above all, all those who live without love,” and “Of course it’s happening inside your head Harry, but why on Earth should that mean it’s not real?” Just some beautifully delivered lines. I can’t believe I was worried that they wouldn’t be in the film: there was no chance they wouldn’t
Back to Hogwarts, we see Neville approach the sorting hat and discover the sword of Gryffindor lying within. Then procession plays with the fucking beautiful cinematography. Just holy fuck balls, it’s gorgeous. Also, I get tired of people saying “Oh Voldemort in DH2 is awful because he jokes around that’s not what Voldy does.” Seriously, it lasted about 10 seconds at most, so get over it. Everything else in the film, the walking in the blood pool, the speeches, the destroying of the protections, killing Snape, and his battle with Harry apparently mean squat shit because of that maybe 10 seconds. le sigh…..
The shot from the back with Voldemort extending his arms telling the crowd: ‘come forward and join us’ is screaming anti-christ. He looks exactly like a cross, but all in the dirty and dark robes. This part is now really good, Draco and what appears to be Neville switching sides. Voldemort is a sneaky bastard: that part of his personality hasn’t changed. He was like that as a child, a teenager, an adult, and now as a grotesque noseless fucker. Him hugging Draco is way of portraying: ‘join me and you’ll live happier than opposing me.’ I see it as that and not as comedy. It was Ralph who suggested the idea according to Tom. You want to know why? Because he understands Voldemort and knows the meaning of that scene.
Neville’s speech is inspiring. The hope, courage, and strength of everyone does not live and die with Harry: it lives and dies with them. It’s not over until every single one of them is dead, and Neville makes that loud and clear. The sword of Gryffindor presents itself to the worthy and deserving Neville Longbottom. Then, Harry springs back to life.
First, I’d like to say what great little things the film has. Here, it’s George trying to call Fred in the excitement of Harry’s return. Heartbreaking
Death Eaters, including a great wide shot of Lucius, flee. The students get back into the castle, Neville gets it, and the final battle begins.
Neville wakes up to a battle in the background. I really think would have been a better spot for a bit of a great hall battle and Bellatrix vs Molly. We know Voldemort is chasing Harry, so that gives some time here rather than cutting in the middle of their confrontation. Up until now, I don’t believe I’ve said anything negative about the film, and that’s why it’s so good. There’s little I can mark down. There’s not exactly anything negative here, it’s just lacking. There could have easily been a minute of battle thrown in there. Why there wasn’t I don’t know.
Voldemort and Harry meet up in the battlements and Voldemort gets that fucker tied up. Ron and Hermione with Nagini for a second, then the cut to Bellatrix vs Molly. There’s nothing wrong with the cut itself, just the placement. The previous spot where Neville woke would’ve been much better because there was more buildup with Voldy chasing Harry rather than cutting from Nagini looking to attack Ron. The fight itself again is not bad, but it just needs some oomph, some foundation to it.
I think cutting the why do you live scene would’ve been hard, but I think they do the transition nicely. It makes it seem like Voldemort tied Harry up so he could drag him up and beat his ass. This buildup is growing more with Harry talking to Voldemort, but Voldemort doesn’t want to hear it. Voldemort just wants to fucking kill him, and I like the change. The problem with book Voldemort was he was a dumbass in Deathly Hallows. Harry provided him the WORLD of evidence he was the master and Voldy still attacked. Here, Harry just said: ‘what if the wand never belonged to Snape?’ It works a lot better, because Voldemort’s mind goes: Dumbledore was the master, Snape killed Dumbledore, I killed Snape Hell, I would even think that. There’s no reason to believe Harry here, so it doesn’t make Voldemort seem as dumb. And now, here is why this next sequence is fucking awesome.
First, here’s the soundtrack piece because it’s too fucking awesome
For 16 fucking years, Harry’s life has been hell. From the Dursleys, to mocking at school, to Voldemort destroying his life, to his loved ones dying, it’s been hell. The person who caused all this? Voldemort. Voldemort has constantly fucked with Harry, his mind, and does it all for fun. It’s Harry’s turn now. After all the hardships, Harry has fucking had enough. He knows he is going to win. When Voldemort ‘knew’ he was going to win in the Graveyard, he tortured him. In the Minstry? He made his mind explode. This time, Harry isn’t going to have any of it. It’s his turn to make Voldemort look weak, his turn to make Voldemort lose, his turn to fuck up somebody else. Harry knows he’s stronger, maybe not in skill, but in heart. He uses that, and takes Voldemort with him.
The apparation battle is just dazzling. It looks great, it sounds great, and it is great. The two are literally hanging to each other. Voldemort is screaming and struggling to get rid of Harry, but Harry holds on, knowing Voldemort being a coward and only wanting to live forever, will lead them to safe ground. A while ago @darthorcrux made this comment, and watching the scene as I write this, I fully agree: when the faces combine, Harry is the one who is laughing. Why would Voldemort be laughing? He has nothing to laugh about: he lost much of army, the Elder Wand isn’t working properly, he can’t fucking kill Harry, and when all seemed won, BAM, Harry’s back. Harry has everything to laugh about: Voldemort’s ignorance, the fact he is going to win, etc etc. Harry, after all these years of being pushed around by Voldemort, is now doing the pushing. When they finally separate, it shows the two are no longer connected. Even though they share the same blood, Harry forevermore separates them. No longer any connection between them, they fall to opposite ends of the courtyard, splitting apart.
What happens next you all know just as well as I. Harry, with the help of Neville being an absolute badass, kills Voldemort. After 16 years, it’s over. The Dark Lord is no more. How he dies has been a subject of debate. Many wanted to see a human body, showing Voldemort is nothing more than a human and subject to its weaknesses. Others see what the filmmakers did: Voldemort has turned himself into literally nothing. He has and eighth of a soul that is corrupted. There is no right answer to which you prefer, it’s simply a preference. I’ll take Voldemort flaking away to Lily’s theme which the Hogwarts sunrise any fucking day, though. Too breathtaking not to love it.
Like other scenes I mentioned, what’s next is not bad. Not at all. It just needs a little more. If the cut was to Harry rather than Neville and Luna, it would’ve been much better just by that little change alone. Nevertheless, the scene itself is cute, especially Ron and Hermione. On the viaduct, we get the explanation of why the Elder Wand didn’t work for Voldemort. I really like this change, it goes back to my ‘Voldemort in the book is a dumbass.’ The final scene of those 3, again, it’s too cute. Ron and Hermione looking at their hands before grabbing each other’s just puts a smile on my face. There couldn’t have been a better last look at Hogwarts with these three.
The epilogue speaks for itself. There’s not much to add other than the fact that it’s there to fill your eyes with tears. I think the last shot being the trio rather than a polished Hogwarts was the right choice: it’s Harry’s story, it’s their story. It’s now come to an end and it should end with those three together one last time on screen.
To anybody who actually read this whole thing: bravo. It’s over 8000 words according to Microsoft word
Start discussing. Since people recently complained about many useless threads, I sure expect to see this have 10x the comments of those threads
Secondly, I have only read the first post and have bookmarked this thread for a later read. So my opinions would come a little later.
It was worth taking ages, I guess!
Pottermore user name: SilverQuest212
Secondly, the Voldemort disintegration. There are many ways to look at this. I interpret the scene differently from you. To me, it's as if Voldemort somehow transcends humanity. The wonderful poetry of his death in the book was discarded, forgive my cynicism, for a cheap 3D effect. The "mundane finality" which defined his death in the book and was for me the most important aspect of his death was missing completely. And I still think it would have done well to include the crowd, all standing behind Harry. Can you imagine how beautiful those wide shots of the final duel would be to have Harry with all his allies crowded behind him, facing a lonely Voldemort who kneels completely alone and deserted on the far side of the courtyard? It would be so meaningful and a lovely reversal of Harry and Voldemort's battle in the graveyard, where Voldemort's followers crowded behind him and Harry was alone.
As with Voldemort, it's an interesting idea. I still prefer the idea of them facing off, one on one, with no one around them. And Voldemort floating away is not a cheap 3d effect, maybe to you, but not to me.
As for the disintegration, I feel as if they sacrificed the simplicity and poetry of the book for a cool effect. Again, if you can explain for me how it conveys the mundane finality which was the whole point of Voldemort's death in the book, I will be more than willingly to change my views on this. But for now, I cannot help but feel disintegration is quite a cliche way for a villain in fantasy or science fiction to die. I think I made a list on this forum once of all the movies I could think of where the villain disintegrated, and there were actually quite a lot. However, I accept your view on Voldemort because you backed it up. But I have to wonder what you thought was the meaning behind Bellatrix's transformation into a shower of confetti. Did you feel as if that was a cheap 3D effect or that there was meaning behind that?
I think Hagrid in Courtyard Apocalypse would have been extremely jarring.
It would be a few seconds at most, and with more emotional weight than seeing Lavender, who many would not even recognise in the brief glimpse we caught of her. It would probably have been able to fit when the spiders went for the trio. It may or may not have worked, but anything would have worked better than halfway through an immensely intense scene having Hagrid pop up going: HEY HARRY! I WON'T EXPLAIN WHY I'VE BEEN MISSING THE ENTIRE MOVIE OR WHY I'M BOUND AND BATTERED, JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT I'M STILL HERE! OH WAIT, YOU'RE NOT EVEN GOING TO REACT TO THE RANDOM APPEARANCE OF YOUR FIRST FRIEND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEATH EATER CAMP? NOT EVEN ELICIT A SLIVER OF SURPRISE? OH OK THEN.
is during voldemorts ultimatum speech we see hagrid being disarmed on the viaduct bridge and two spiders and 3 DEs surround him as he staggers onto his knees
Italics not mine. That's certainly a much better idea than him being in Courtyard Apocalypse and could have maybe worked well. Just get rid of the spiders and have the Death Eaters pointing their wands at him.
I loved every bit, honestly. Your
awesome remarks to certain scenes
and honest humor makes it truly
enjoyable.
BRAVO.
G.G.
great! Awesome idea,
Pat-Man.
G.G.
The rest of the film really has a lot of emotional, dramatic and spectacle highlights but the 10-or-so minutes at Shell Cottage do feel a little dry.
Maybe they could do it and not make it that way, (they succeeded with the Forest scene) but I think Hagrid would just feel very out of place in the courtyard scene. I think a shot of him being surrounded with wands pointed at him with maybe a closeup of his battle worn face would work much better and be much more fitting.
I will also quote Xeno in response to your earlier comment, weasley9: "I am glad to see you are opening your mind a little".