Well, I finally went to see HP II and thought I’d put my thoughts down in terms of books turned into movies.  I have my own little rule about reading the book before I see the film as I think that if you see the film first you don’t use your own imagination when reading but simply imagine the faces of the actors and the scenes that have been shot.  HP is one example of where I broke my own rule.  I actually saw the first 2 or 3 films before I picked up the books and yet managed to still really enjoy reading them.

I have really loved all the HP films, they’re so well produced and the imagination and work that is put into them is breathtaking.  That being said I have felt strangely dissatisfied with this final instalment and I’m struggling with myself to know why that is.

I guess I just have mixed feelings.  I’m sorry that the whole thing has now come to an end and wish that we could have more.  After all, HP has been with us now for 10 years, it’s like a part of the family.  With the final installment I did feel disappointed with some of the changes that were made to the content.  Obviously I understand that converting a book to a film requires some artistic license and I have no problem with that or the fact that not everything from the book can make it into the film, but, some of the changes in this film I don’t understand the reasoning behind.  For example – why was the snake fighting scene changed?  In the book Neville is the hero and yet in the film Ron and Hermione take on the snake with Neville appearing in the final few seconds to win the day.  That just felt wrong to me – Neville should have been allowed to keep his moment of glory?  Plus, all the back history to Dumbledore and his sister – gone?  Why?  We just had a scene with his brother telling HP he shouldn’t have trusted Dumbledore?  I didn’t like that at all – it was like casting doubt on Dumbledore and not giving his story to account for it.  And the scene where the Weasley twin dies – blink and you’ll miss it.

But, I don’t think these changes in themsevles (and others) are behind my feelings.  I’ve never really liked the fact that the book was split into two movies.  It certainly isn’t the biggest book in the series and I really don’t think it was necessary – and I think this is the root of my problem with this film.  Really, when you pick up a book, it’s told in stages with the momentum building to the final conclusion.  In splitting the book it felt like the first film was all about the momentum building and the second was the conclusion.  This may seem okay in itself (although it did make for a bit of a slow first film) but personally I wouldn’t want to buy a book where it introduces you to an idea, sucks you into the story and then ends, then you buy book 2 and it’s action packed from the first page.  That format just simply wouldn’t work and I think it didn’t work with the final two films which in the end don’t even feel like they’re from the same book.

That being said I can’t deny that the film is excellent. Just, perhaps I would have enjoyed this last film more if I hadn’t read the book!  On the plus side I thought the scenes with Severus were excellent and I loved seeing some of his history – you can’t have too much Rickman after all.

But, criticisms aside, yes, I would still go and see the film again, I would definitely recommend it to others and I will still buy the DVD when it comes out!  I do really love this whole series but I guess the final isn’t my favourite – and, to be honest, I don’t suppose the final book was my favourite either.

I’ve had a think and put the whole series in the order I like best – and it’s been a real struggle.  But this is my list:

1. The Goblet of Fire – I loved this film with the challenges.  I thought Professor Moody was great.  And the dragons were brilliant
2. The Prisoner of Azkaban – this book introduced us to Sirius Black – I love Gary Oldman!  And the Hippogriff is gorgeous.
3. The Chamber of Secrets – Dobby is introduced!  Snakes, spiders, enchanted forests, flying cars.
4. The Order of the Phoenix – liked the feel of this one, bit of a ‘coming of age’ feel to it
5. The Half Blood Prince – much darker feel in this film which is appropriate – particularly given the ending!
6. The Deathly Hallows – the films are brilliant but should have been kept as one (sounds a bit LOTRish – there can be only one!)!
7. The Philosopher’s Stone – my least favourite of the films even though it’s the start.  Still good, but less polished.

So there it is.