Glad it's over (in a good and bad way)

Rating: 5/10 (17 July 2011)

Likes:
-Snape's finale. We finally got to see behind his cold exterior, albeit, rushed.

Gringott's break OUT (not break IN). I thought the scene at the front desk was ridiculously drawn out, but the break out with the dragon was pretty cool. Also, I've never liked the goblins as portrayed in the movies and they're particularly aggravating in this one because they're all wearing adorable, tiny pants suits.

Ron and Hermione's kiss. It was cute. :o)

Harry's conversations with the goblin and Ollivander.

The resurrection stone scene.

The scene with Dumbledore.

The Gray Lady scene.

Gripes:

Ginny Weasley. I'm not sure if it was the directing or the acting, but that girl was completely lacking any passion or conviction.

The goofy one-liners. Just when you think these movies have finally grown up, Ron throws in a breathless "Wicked" and you're back to it feeling like it was made for eight-year-olds.

The final battle scene. Visually, it was pretty cool but it utterly lacked dramatic weight and kept jumping from random violence (poor Lavender) to juvenile humor. I was disappointed Neville didn't get a chance to shine, and what I expected to be a grand duel between Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix ended up being incredibly bland.

I felt pretty disappointed at the end of HPATDH:P2, but I was also kind of relieved. Relief first because, thank goodness, the hype is over. They're done. The books and the movies are officially finished and we can obsess over something else (Hunger Games? Breaking Dawn 1 & 2? I digress.) However, I was disappointed with this movie for the same reasons I was disappointed with other installments - it lacked grit and was often poorly acted. Where it should have been dark and serious, it was polished and cutesy. I liked Part 1 a lot better, not because it was very close to the book, but because it seemed to follow the same pace and mood as the book without leaving out too many important elements. Part 2 rushed along plot wise without even leaving you time to digest what had just happened, yet it dragged miserably when it came to dialogue and actual acting. I was expecting great performances from these kids and it seemed as if they were either desperately running from one predicament to the next or just standing around. Overall, I think it was an issue with the director not setting the tone very well. The book delved swiftly and deeply into a dark and dramatic plot, and ended up concluding well. The movie shifted awkwardly from drama to cutesy kid-friendly crap.