Scene by Scene Spoilers

Rating: Null/10 (17 July 2011)

I'm going to rate this movie very high because of all the work that went into it. It is a very detailed, impressive movie in a visual sense. The story follows the book pretty closely, with a few minor changes that I didn't think detracted much. Most of the movie worked very well. I'll go through each sequence:
1. Shell Cottage -- My favorite thing here was the cottage itself. I didn't really understand, in the book, why it was so important for Harry to decide between finding the Deathly Hallows or destroying the Horcruxes. A big problem I had with the book was all the backstory given to the Hallows, only for them to not really matter. Some people seem to think that by choosing not to try to get the Hallows, he is avoiding the temptation to pursue power, but I never really got that. The whole subplot was confusing and felt unfinished. The movie pretty much avoids Harry's conflict as much as possible, which I thought worked in its favor.
2. The Bank -- everything here was perfect. The dragon was amazing, maybe the best cg creature ever.
3. Diagon Alley -- much of what we find out in the book is avoided here. I think this also makes it easier for the viewer, because just like the Hallows, the subplot about Dumbledore's past and his motivations didn't feel like it needed to be there, and left a bunch of unanswered questions.
4. The return to Hogwarts -- Harry reuniting with his friends was exciting, and the scene with the Grey Lady took something that wasn't especially memorable from the book and made it a highlight. I think it's interesting that two creatures who only got a little bit of screen time--the dragon and the Gray Lady--were done so well, I thought they could have an entire movie built around each. The dragon could be amazing in either a fantasy film or a giant monster movie. The Gray Lady was scarier than most horror film villains, and I could immediately imagine her in her own haunted house feature.
5. Snape's memories -- not as much of Lily's childhood as I'd like, but a fine condensation of the main points.
6. The final battle--a lot of it went too quickly. The movie was only about two hours. I would have liked more time to really stop and see what was happening, but it all went by at lightning speed. The standoff between Bellatrix and Molly Weasley was the biggest casualty. I really wanted to savor it, from the moment the kids start fighting her. Instead, it felt like it lasted about 10 seconds. Really, from the moment Voldemort walked back in with Harry's body, I started to feel like it was losing steam instead of building to the climax. I wasn't a big fan of most of the choices, especially how they changed that moment in the courtyard with Neville and the sword. Also, be prepared to have a lot of explanations not show up, especially as concerns Dumbledore. Like I said, I would have been fine if the whole conflict over his past had never been a part of the book, but thankfully the movie doesn't confuse us by making an issue out of it.
The ending felt a little bit rushed also, which I think undercut what should have been an emotional payoff from 10 plus years of movies and books. We needed to see the main characters really show that the strain was finally lifted and have a moment of private celebration with just the trio. Instead, they were kind of cold and emotionless as Harry destroyed the elder wand. And the epilogue just left me wanting more time with the characters instead of satisfied at how their lives had turned out. This has to be the biggest movie production to ever leave me feeling vaguely unsatisfied.