I, along with a gazillion other people, went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for its midnight showing on Thursday the 18th.
I am not a huge fan of the movies, I am a huge fan of the books, and I find the movies lacking in many regards. They can be enjoyable, but the biggest problem I have with them is that they can't stand alone as movies. I believe that when a movie is based off of a book or a TV show that they are separate entities that should be able to be enjoyed separately. People should be able to be fans of one without being fans of the other, but the new entity should also contain elements of the original so as to not piss off the die hard fans of the original. With that being said here is a list of the top five things I think Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows Part 1 should have included in it from the book:
1. The Invisibility Cloak
I understand that it's difficult to film an invisible person. But HELLO! The invisibility cloak IS A DEATHLY HALLOW and it was not once mentioned nor used in the film. And it's the most useful thing Harry and his friends have while on the run and hiding from the Death Eaters. In the book, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all very intelligent and use it on every occasion and even sometimes in addition to polyjuice potion. This is not an overkill when you are being hunted by Death Eaters. So in the movie, they are just being idiots by not using one of their greatest assets. To use my favorite term to mean stupid: BAKA! (aka idiot in Japanese).
2. Potterwatch
It's not the most vital aspect of the book or story line, but I really think the Wizard Radio station "Potterwatch" was such a bright part of the book it should have been included in the movie. The plot is very dark and grim, and Harry hearing "Potterwatch" provided him with such hope in the book it would have been both nice and fun to hear his friends (Lupin, Lee Jordan, Kingsley, and George) talking to the Wizarding world. It's good to hear and see that Harry Potter isn't the only one fighting the good fight, and the movie, at time, makes it seem like he and Hermione and Ron are the only ones.
3. Kreacher bonding time
Kreacher is super annoying; at least he was in the earlier books, but in Deathly Hallows, he befriends Harry, Hermione and Ron and works alongside them. He was included in the movie, but they didn't spend nearly enough time with him to show how their relationship changes. Kreacher becomes a great asset and there's no background to why from what they showed in part 1.
4. The Godric's Hallow Statue
When Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hallow they pass by a statue of Harry, James, and Lily. By the statue there is a plaque saying what happened on October 31st and how Harry is the boy who lived. On the plaque are messages from people who've come to see where Harry once defeated the Dark Lord. Very touching. It could have been a great opportunity for Daniel Radcliffe to show off his dark yet hopeful eyes that the directors love having him make. Anyway it was quite touching in the book and I liked it.
5. Dean Thomas
He doesn't play a vital role at all and the film was basically fine without him. But I love me some Dean Thomas. Would it have been so difficult to give him some screen time? Luna and Ollivander got their time, Dean was with them in the book. What is there not a big enough budget or something? Just saying.
Things from the movies that were amazing:
1. Harry sticking it to Umbridge
Harry using Umbridge's "Don't tell lies" mantra against her was epic and very enjoyable. Kudos to the writers for including that.
2. Harry/Hermione dance scene
Incredibly cheesy and corny, but Harry being super awkward was funny. And it was a bright spot in a rather lackluster and upsetting series of scenes.
That's it for now. The movie was really good and I can't wait for Part 2.
