Just enjoy the MOVIE!

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2011)

After three days I'm still a little torn when thinking of the end of the Harry Potter movies.
On one hand, I really liked the movie. They managed to bring the whole battle of Hogwarts on screen. But precisely because the last movie consists almost ONLY of the last battle at Hogwarts, I get the feeling that something is missing.
Currently, I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that there will be no more Potter movies and therefore no chance to ever see the parts they left out on screen.
One thing that will bother me forever - and almost ruined one of the greatest moments of the books for me - is the story of Teddy Lupin. In 7.1. Tonks starts to mention something that should hint at her pregnancy, but she doesn't really say anything about it and those people who haven't read the books will probably forget about that hint quickly. In 7.2. we never get told about Teddy's birth. And then, completely out of the blue, in the scene where Harry walks to his death (the most emotional scene of the books - I cried so hard during reading that!), Remus suddenly says something like "My son will one day understand what I died for". Everyone in the cinema was like WTF?! We never before - or AFTER in the epilogue - heard of Teddy. Why did they have to mention him in that scene then? Destroyed the feeling of that scene almost completely, because everyone in the cinema was just really confused and whispering about it.
They could have added the part in Shell Cottage where Remus comes in and tells everyone that Tonks gave birth to a boy. That way Remus' words in the forest wouldn't have been so out of place and it would have given the movie a peaceful scene apart from the whole battle.
One thing they really did brilliantly was the Prince's Tale (apart from the fact that they filmed it in a boathouse rather than the Shrieking Shack - why do they have chance something like this? I don't get it! I mean the Shrieking Shack has a deep meaning for the protagonists and is already a familiar place for the audience!). But otherwise that scene was great! Alan Rickman was brilliant in that scene!
It's disappointing however that Dumbledore's tale was never fully brought on screen. It was so important in the books and so very effective in showing that Dumbledore was also only human and had a dark past. In the movie Harry simply says that he trusts Dumbledore, but in the book he gets doubts about the man and rightly so. It bothers me even more because they once again gave so many hints about his past, but nothing of importance was filmed and it leaves us hanging with the feeling that his story is not being told.
That's something I feel in every Potter movie since the third movie. There are so many hints and half-told stories, but we never get the whole picture of it (except if you have read the books). I know that it is impossible to get EVERYTHING on screen that happens in the books, but I really feel like there could have been MORE. We never even hear of Voldemorts past and his parentage.
Furthermore, there are a lot of little details that bother me, even though it doesn't really take away the fun in watching the movies. E.g. Harry's eye colour! In the books they are green. Just like his mother's. They even mention it in the movies that they have the same eyes. But the actors have different eye colours! Couldn't they have used contacts?? Also that Dumbledore doesn't wear his half moon glasses or that Tonks doesn't change her hair colour (except in the fifth movie) and many more little details that would have added to the simple magic of Harry Potter.
It also bugs me that we never see Wormtail die. I loved that part in the books where he strangles himself with his silver hand, but we never see what happens to him in the movies.
It's also a pity that Harry and Voldemort have their last showdown alone. The part where Voldemort realised that he can't hurt anyone in the castle anymore, because Harry sacrificed himself for them, was very powerful in the books.
What I loved and I'm really grateful for, is the fact that Neville still got to behead Nagini. I was already scared when he got knocked out that they would change that part and let someone else do the job, but then out of nowhere Neville appeared and killed Nagini - great moment in the movie!! I love the music and love all the actors - Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Dan Radcliffe and Tom Felton were especially brilliant here! I adore some parts of the movie, some had me left wanting more. But that was to be expected.
I think it's a real pity that there wasn't someone here who loves the books so much to consider all the little details and the whole background story, like Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings. That love for details and that devotion for the story is really missing in the Harry Potter movies. The style of each movie is different. A lot of the story is missing. Details are being left out which are important - especially for real fans of the books. The Harry Potter series really would have deserved to be taken on by someone like Peter Jackson!
All in all, I think the movies as stand-alone are great! But as a real fan of the books you shouldn't compare it or you'll be disappointed.