Harry Potter and the DH, Part 1 -- some thoughts, eight months too late

SPOILERS (for those of you who, like me, are the last people on earth to see this film)

 Last November, everyone and their mother was buying tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I.  I had originally planned to go see the film as well, but that was before I discovered two things.

1. The film was being split into two parts.  I have never liked nor understood this idea.  One book = one movie, right?  If Peter Jackson could turn the Lord of the Rings trilogy into...well, a trilogy, then the myriad directors of Harry Potter should be able to do the same.  Yes, yes.  I am aware that I have to eat my words now, since Peter Jackson is splitting J.R.R. Tolkein's famous prequel The Hobbit into two films. 

2. David and I got married on November 5th, and were on our honeymoon until November 14th.  At the end of that weekend  of festivities, followed by a week in Montreal, we were just too damn tired.  Neither of us wanted to leave our apartment, much less drag our lazy butts to the movie theatre and deal with lines, screaming fans, etc.  David also hasn't read a single Harry Potter book (I know right?  It's a sore point), so he definitely wasn't going to fight me on waiting to see the movie until it came out on DVD.

But eight months later, and with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II finally released into theatres, my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked David to put Part I on our Netflix queue, so I could finally see it.  We watched it over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, due to some interruptions and visiting my parents) and here are...I guess, some thoughts on the whole thing?

What I Liked About Part I

- The opening scene with Hermione modifying her parents' memories in order to protect them before they went into hiding.  Obviously, since the book is told mostly from Harry's POV (and occasionally, Voldemort's), we didn't get to read about this in the book, with the exception of a brief explanation by Hermione.  It was really heartbreaking, and I thought very well done.

- Every scene at the Malfoys' manor.  I realize that the most difficult thing about reading the book first is that you will constantly compare the movie to what you imagined in your mind while reading.  But that scene was exactly how I pictured it.  Loved it.

- Recurring, awesome characters.  Snape.  Fred and George.  Bellatrix Lestrange.  All of them were so good.  Alan Rickman makes me actually love watching the films.

- The animation of the "Deathly Hallows" explanation.  Really interesting use of animation, and it broke up the movie a bit.  I loved it.

- The characters pretending to be Harry/Ron/Hermione using Polyjuice Potion.  I know.  I've already explained my hatred of that stupid "cure-all for every major plot-point".  But I love watching actors pretending to be other characters, and doing it well.  The scene at the Ministry was very well done.

And now...

What I Didn't Like About Part I

- No redemption for Dudley Dursley.  What?  The kid's been an asshole for all six of the preceding books.  He gets one moment of shining goodness in book seven...and it gets cut?  Fail.

- Too Much Exposition.  I wondered how they were going to work Bill and Fleur's wedding into the film, considering that, in the first six films, we haven't seen Bill at all.  Never fear!  We'll just throw six books' worth of exposition into about 30 seconds.  While we're at it, we'll also talk about Lupin and Tonks' wedding, and maybe hint at the baby (but we won't directly say it).  Sheesh.

- Major deaths are only hinted at.  I had to explain to David why Mad-Eye Moody's eye was stuck into the door at the Ministry, almost two hours into the film.  Because Mad-Eye's death is completely glossed over.  I hear it gets worse in Part II.  But since Rowling did that in the books, I wasn't completely surprised.

- Wormtail's death.  In the book, Wormtail is forced to kill himself when Harry recalls that Wormtail owes Harry life for sparing his own.  Very dramatic.  In the movie...Dobby fires a spell at Wormtail's back, Wormtail goes "...Oh", and drops to the ground.  David didn't even know that he was dead until I told him.  And that is the one thing I will never understand about these movies.  Why take out perfectly good drama and put in...something seriously less dramatic?

IN CONCLUSION: I feel the same way about Part I as I expected to feel about it, and the way I regarded all the other movies.  Taken alone, they are okay.  They just aren't on par with the books.  I will admit that I do see the merits now of cutting the book into two films, considering how much they are actually cramming into the films, and staying true to the story as much as possible.  (I'll never understand why they are cutting Mockingjay into two parts...but that's a story for another time.)  I do want to go see Part II, but we'll see if I get to it in the theatre before it leaves, or if I wait until it comes out on DVD, like I did with Part I.