So I saw Harry Potter part 7 part 2...

Turns out it’s more than a Batman trailer.

I saw it late because I figured I could help it out considering it dropped 72% over last weekend.

The Harry Potter phenomenon is so freaking huge that what is there really left to say about it? I liked this movie. It was good. It was as visually beautiful as the last few but stuff actually happened. Did it feel kind of abbreviated? Yeah but that problem is similar to how the last one was all build up. If you watch them together it’ll probably be fine, although Warner also could’ve just sacrificed their extra billion dollars by making like a single three and a half movie instead.

...horses...and alcohol

But after over a decade, seven books, and eight movies worth of this, my biggest takeaway remains that this series has always been in constant need of an editor. There’s great stuff here. The first one is a fine adaptation of when the series still considered itself to just be children’s literature. The third movie is amazing and has such a unique plot structure. The ending of the fourth one is a dark, incredibly well-executed, heart-breaking sequence. Even this one, in-between the spectacle, has time for masterfully done segments like Snape’s memory sequence.

However, for all the good you get, and it is a lot, you’ll also get hours/thousands of filler pages where literally nothing happening, also known as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Now I understand that my preference of tight, moving plot over meandering character meditation is an extremely personal one. It’s definitely not something all authors and filmmakers should consider when crafting their art. Still, I maintain that if Rowling kept books 1, 3, parts of 4, and 7 and maybe condensed the rest of the necessary plot into one more book, this slightly padded series might’ve been better off. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 is an amazing grand finale that leaves quite an impact. But going into it I couldn’t help but notice a bit of fatigue hiding inside my excitement. I like this franchise. I really do. And yet, after coming out, I’m just kind of relieved to finally be able to stop thinking about the whole thing.

Voldermort’s hugs, laughs, and emasculation of Malfoy is pretty good too.

Also, between this, the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, and Kung-Fu Panda 2 of all things, this has been one pretty good summer of Gary Oldman. Really, he’s plays an evil peacock in Kung-Fu Panda 2 and he’s the best part. What?



3D? No