As usual the experience of actually going to see a Harry Potter movie was better than... the... movie itself. It was fun to sit in a big line and rush to get seats and have to buy tickets in advance etc.

But the movie itself? Eh... I thought it was all right, but I was not like OMG THIS IS IMMEDIATELY MY FAVOURITE OF THE MOVIES like I have seen a lot on my flist. I found it kind of boring? Maybe it is just because I recently reread the book, which had all of that but in better detail and in ways that make sense? And it's hard for me to say because I have read the books but I do always get the impression that the movies are made sort of specifically for an audience who has read the books and call fill in the blanks themselves, which I think is a bad idea even though it's probably true that most of the audience has read them. Most of the nuances of plot and characterization are lost and although I have no way of knowing I feel like what is left behind is pretty incoherent if you don't have anything else to go by. Every plot point and detail is just skimmed over, which is a necessity I suppose when there is so much to work off, and no wonder they needed two movies, but... still. It does come across as everyone making pretty impressive leaps of logic and intuition.

I loled when they were camping and Harry was all "we have to move!" and Hermione was all "Ron's too weak to apparate!" and then there was like a long montage of them walking through various landscapes. WTF did they walk across all of Britain? lololol. I also thought the bit with the Snatchers was bizarre because I could see no reason why the trio didn't run to each other and disapparate. Where were they running to? I also remembered reading something about Emma Watson, Dan Radcliffe and Rupert Grint racing each other in the forest, which was a bit hilarious.

The Harry/Hermione stuff cracked me up. Oh Steve Kloves. To be fair I guess it all made sense as a carry-over from their relationship in all the previous movies, but I still don't think that relationship reflects their relationship that's in the books. Movie Harry is a lot more emotionally competent than book Harry, for one. Book Harry's response to people being upset is usually to like... wander away and pretend not to notice, or throw a blanket over them if they're crying. lol Harry.

The 7 Potters scene was pretty funny. I didn't watch that one when it was released as a clip so it was ~all new~ and Dan Radcliffe did it pretty well I thought, especially Fleur. I also thought the scene where they break into the Ministry was done okay, and the adults they had playing the trio were pretty great at looking perplexed and horrified.

I did like a couple things a lot, though. Evanna Lynch was flawless as always. Neville's scene on the train was good although lol @ "losers" being the most PG13 thing he can say. The way they showed the protection charms working was creepy and well done. The Malfoy Manor torture scene was pretty well done too, even though I was skeptical of Emma Watson's abilities. The Bathilda Snake Scene was a lot easier to watch than to read, because reading it was so confusing and full of WTFery. I thought Dobby was really hilarious in the movie and ended up feeling kind of sad when he died, which is a step up from the indifference I felt towards Dobby in the books. (He was really annoying, okay.) And I loved the way they illustrated the Three Brothers story. When I reread DH I was struck by how much I liked that story, and that sequence was brilliantly done. Probably by favourite part.

I will say though that my friend who has read the books but not since they came out (and does not remember anything) thought it was awesome, so I dunno maybe it's just because I read DH so recently. Either way I am excited for DH2 because it's basically a non-stop action flick.