I can’t believe I actually managed to see the movie on the day of its release! These are the times when I’m relieved to be living in laid-back Goa (as opposed to the rest of the world which surely must now be in the throes of Potter-mania!!), where the doings of the most famous wizard in History (dare I say?!), are of little consequence, especially when considering what fish they might be eating for dinner 😉 Had to see the movie over the weekend, coz Monday, IFFI (International Film Festival of India) begins, and then there will be no regular movies screened until it’s done 10 days later! There was no way I was going to wait 10 days to see this movie!
So when my friend’s teenager and a friend needed an escort, I was available and very willing (Yeah I know! Harry Potter with 2 teenage girls – what was I thinking!!)! The only thing that seriously worried me was how loud and frequent the giggling would get 😉 Oh wait, this is perhaps a good time to mention, how we almost wouldn’t have seen the movie coz PJ, busy as she was with getting her ‘look’ just right, forgot that tickets are essential to watch a movie!! Perhaps the magical world was on the side of us Muggles, and I thought to double-check! Hah! Teenage girls! Enough said! However, I am astonished to report that NJ and PJ keep the giggling down to tolerable levels. Wonder of wonders, they kept the chatter down too!! Evolved teens perhaps? I’m still reeling from their unexpectedly sane behavior, especially when faced with a shirtless Harry (NOT impressive!), a Harry-Ginny & Harry-Hermione kiss (cool effects on this one!) and a darling Ron (completely edible, sweater and all 😉 Hell, even I would hoot at Ron :P). I think I rather liked their company and they mine 🙂 It was…how shall I say this…invigorating, as only youth can be! Thank-you girls, for the good time. I loved pulling your leg too 😉
On to the movie then…I think it’s because of the hiatus between the movies, and the fact that although I was a huge fan of the series initially, it’s kind of fallen off my radar after I read the Deathly Hallows when it first came out 4 years ago, that I found the movie so refreshing! Like meeting an old friend that you had mixed feelings about (I had very mixed feelings after reading Deathly Hallows), but are still happy (if a little nervous) to meet, and give a second chance. I’m glad I did. I was a bit rusty with the names (I forgot Umbridge’s name!! can you imagine??!! Sacrilege!), and with the exact sequence of events in the book, but surprisingly that fact seriously helped up the ‘enjoyment quotient’!! It was fun to see the Weasleys’ again (Bill looking very dashing and the Twins, cool as usual), and Fleur (I had forgotten about their wedding :P), Mad-Eye, Tonks, Remus and Hagrid. To meet Mundungus Fletcher for the first time and to see the Malfoys again (Lucius looking good 😉 Draco looking appropriately conflicted), Luna Lovegood, vague as ever, and my favorite insane ‘Witch of the Millenium’, Bellatrix Lestrange (Uber-cool Helena Bonham-Carter!). My only crib was that Severus Snape (excellently played by Alan Rickman!), had such minimal screen time in this one. I know I’ll see more of him in Part II though and I for one, can’t wait! The same goes for Neville Longbottom! Ralf Fiennes makes a chilling Voldemort. His on-screen persona is so cold and inhuman; it makes me wonder sometimes what he’s like in real life!
My favorite character has always been Ron. He’s a staunch friend, funny, loyal, and endearingly silly. He’s human…fallible, prone to make mistakes but always quick to make amends and apologize. It’s not easy playing second fiddle to a super-hero, and still manage to be a true friend. Harry’s very lucky to have him for a friend methinks! As for Hermione…really, she is the only reason Harry has any chance of even thinking he can take on Voldemort! The amount of times she’s saved their backsides…never mind! That’s what friends are for 🙂 By the way, that scene between her and Harry, as imagined by Ron, when he’s trying to work up the courage to destroy the Horcrux (that’s my Ron…always trying), is wickedly delicious!!
I am not a huge fan of movie-versions of books and not a great fan of the Harry Potter movies so far. So I was happily surprised by this one. A neat script, tightly edited, well-paced, good performances and wizard-worthy special effects! I especially loved the narration of the story of the three brothers, explaining what the Hallows were, by Mr. Lovegood to the three…stunning animation & imagery 🙂 I was also suitably impressed with the Ministry of Magic…black and gold, the Floo network, the central statue…all in keeping with the descriptions in the book and better than what I had imagined 🙂 The locations in this movie are STUNNING!! The windswept, desolate landscapes, whether rocky cliffs by the sea, forests or deserted lakes, devoid of Muggle habitation, are absolutely gorgeous. Last but not the least, it was oddly comforting to hear the familiar music score again, the Harry Potter theme, that transports one instantly from our drab Muggle world into a magical land of make-believe 🙂
This movie is a comforting mixture of the old and the new and manages to strike a balance between the two. Where are familiar locations and faces, there are new people and places. I enjoyed the movie and the trip back in time that it accorded me 🙂 Can’t wait for Part II next July.
Happy viewing fellow Muggles 🙂
p.s. The pictures are not mine.
H is for Happiness 
Ugh!!! Your post made me so mad I couldn’t see this last night! My first opportunity is sometime on Sunday evening, and I can’t stand it! I have loved reading these books and watching the films. They have been a huge part of my life. I will be so sad to wish the movies a fond farewell in July…but it is insanely cool that their franchise has done so consistently well (even “The Godfather” can’t claim that right! #3?? Honestly, Sophia Coppola?!?).
Aaaw…I hope you get to see it on Sunday 🙂 You’re going to love it! I thought this one of the best movies (Am not as big a fan of the movies as of the books and not a huge fan of the last book!), in the series. But you’re right…I’m going to miss the fact that there will be no more Harry Potter to look forward to after July. How dreadfully final that feels 😦
Thanks for dropping by and for your comment. I visited your blog and loved your raison d’etre! Good luck!
Have a good weekend, Harsha.
Oh, I cannot WAIT to see this. I had chills through your entire post. I’m also a huge Potter fan, my literary snobbery kept me closeted for years. When a friend first talked me into giving the books a try, I literally scoffed and thought, “Listen. I’ve read Chaucer and Flaubert and Hemingway. You think I’m going to like this crap?”
JK Rawlings had the last laugh. I’ve read her series twice, and I loved every word, and I can’t believe it’s over.
So glad you enjoyed the film. Thanks for calming my curiosity!
You’re Welcome Maura! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I’m a victim of reverse snobbery I think…I’m very wary of the classics! Can never sum up the courage to read them coz it seems pre-ordained that one must like them, or shall I say be blown away by everything about them!! There I’ve confessed…feel better now 🙂
Have a Happy Weekend 🙂
Hugs, H.
I like what you say about reverse snobbery! Haha! I shy away from the classics too….never really figured out why though…
Birds of a feather M!!! Birds of a feather 😀
Thanks for the review Harsha. Plan to watch the movie next week (if I can get some company. Omkaar watched it with friends yesterday). Omkaar loved the movie inspite of not reading the book yet. He is still on Goblet of Fire. Desperately wanted to finish the series before the movie, but exam intervened. So I read the Deathly Halows (again). Love it more every time I read it. Confuses me sometimes and had planned to ask you in Mahableshwar. Maybe we can have a HP talk session then.
Watch it Uma! This is the best movie so far 🙂 I didn’t like the book too much but I think I need to go back and re-read. We need to have many talk sessions on any number of topics 🙂
Oye! What exactly about the last book didn’t appeal to you, hmm??!
Can’t believe I missed this post of yours. Well, anyways, we had our little ‘discussion’ on Sakina’s update, so we know where we stand, right? 🙂
But the Ron crush is explained here (was going to interrogate you about that, but then forgot) quite summarily.
And hey, when you think about Ralph Fiennes as Voldy, don’t forget his dashingness as Count Almasy in The English Patient 😉 (LOVED him in it!)
Btw, I’m thoroughly enjoying my re-read of Deathly Hallows. Just reached the part where You-Know-Who snatches the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s grave.
God M!!! The post is embarrassingly littered with typos 😛 At the time I wrote it, HP had fallen off my radar as I mentioned! Had moved on. But I can tell you I was quite disappointed with the way Voldy dies in the book when I first read it…he practically kills himself after all that fuss 😛 But watching the movie made me go back and read it again and I have felt kinder towards it since 😉 I’ve always thought JK thought up a fabulous story, but she’s a decent writer at best. I mean her prose is not spectacular and it doesn’t matter coz the world she created is 🙂 Maybe I should do one on Part II…but the timing seems off 😛