I remember back in August when this was pushed back from Nov to July. Time seems to have been bewitched to pass by us speedily, as the film has been released, and while it is better than than the one before it, Order, I had a sense of how it could've been taken to the next level, largely.
Acting: Dan's acting is quite uneven, for me - he goes from stiff and awkward to passable. To explain further, while his dialogue delivery is fine, his facial expressions are curiously blank most of the time. Some raved about his acting after drinking the Felicis but all I saw was ADD hyper Dan. Emma's acting too in uneven,as it seems her portrayal of Hermione mostly tends be an PMSing, anxious one. Her tendency to overact, though seems to be more under control, than Goblet and displays some slight subtlety when compared with the two main boys. Rupert's acting is spot on for the comedic scenes but lacks some subtlety and nuance but seems a lot more natural than his other two co-stars. The trio all have a very stilted/obviously rehearsed scene on the train discussing Malfoy.
As for the love interests, Jessie Cave is wonderfully OTT funny as clingy Lavender and Stroma plays the brute prat McClaggen satisfactorily.
Acting honours then for the young adult cast goes to Tom Felton, who nails Malfoy's scared and desperate feelings very well. The scene near the end, explaining his mission atop the Astronomy Tower was tear-jerking. For the adult cast, Gambon is terrific, particularly in the Cave scene. He has a weight and presence about him that reminds me very much of other British acting thespians. Rickman as Snape has me hanging on every delicious pause he uses when delivering lines. Also, notable mentions go to the actors who played the younger Tom Riddle(Fiennes-Tiffin and Dillane). Both gave me a profound sense of chill emanating from the screen whenever the spoke.
However, conversely, acting dishonours go to Bonnie Wright. Wooden, dull, flat and bland, her dialogue delivery lacks sparkle and her tone drains the majority of scenes she's in of life. Why is Dan's Harry attracted to her? Lynch also seems to lack range and is often blank faced and not expressive. Airy voice is there, but that's about it.
Plot: I see this film as a set-up for the next one, so it's finding out secrets via memories in the Pensieve to defeat Voldemort with some mostly clumsily done teen romance. Oh and a few scenes are shown with Malfoy trying to carry out his schemes aiding his mission. Shame we didn't get more of these.
We don't really get a good insight into Harry's obsession with the Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making, apart from in montages. There isn't much suspense about who he is, really.
A better balance of the main three aforementioned plot points would've been very beneficial - it was more sloppy unlikely love triangles less Malfoy's Mission and Voldermort's Past.
There's pointless scenes, such as Harry flirting with the black waitress. The much advertised brief Millennium Bridge attack is underwhelming and simply lacks a true sense of horror about it.
The Harry and Ginny romance I think is supposed to be, in this film, sweet and awkward and only achieves the latter. The kiss is nothing more than a glorified peck and a lot of Ginny's dialogue is cheesy and unintentionally hilarious. They both lack chemistry and together it's Stilted meets even more Stilted, if that's possible. Isn't she still going out with Dean when she's making lovey dovey eyes with Harry?
Then the Ron/Lavender/Hermione triangle is quite amusing if a bit forced. I'm not completely convinced by it, mainly cause there wasn't a lot of subtle flirting going on between Ron and Hermione beforehand like the previous film.
The Voldermort's past scenes could've been more and felt truncated and as aforementioned, more of Malfoy and his plotting.
The pacing too felt somewhat rushed and choppy in places. There was a few jarring transitions.
But, emotional involvement was there when the Major Character Death happened, I cried also the Cave scene too.
Cinematography: I loved how the inky splashes in the Pensieve memories looked. The overall greyish noir-esquire tinge worked and the opening WB symbol with the lightning behind it set the tone: a storm is coming.
I didn't like the quick cuts used for the Burrow attack. It prevented it from being more entertaining to watch. Overall, the look is grim, bleak ans sophisticated all at the same time, usually.
Score: Adequate score, but Hedwig's theme played in some odd places that felt a bit odd heard there. Some scenes had no score in the background at all, which was a bit weird initially.
Overall: Better than the previous film by some margin, but still lacking in terms of the balance of plots going on and general sense of pushing to take it to higher levels. Don't get me wrong, some scenes are amazing, but are the undermined by weak parts in the script that substantially affect the film as a whole.
The Hollyoaks type romance and the Dumbledore's lessons don't sit well together. The ending is a reflective one. It's a good and beautifully shot, echoing the increasingly dark tone, but for me a disappointing film. I imagine if this was a teacher's comment on a pupil's work it would say 'fair effort, but must try harder'.
Acting: Dan's acting is quite uneven, for me - he goes from stiff and awkward to passable. To explain further, while his dialogue delivery is fine, his facial expressions are curiously blank most of the time. Some raved about his acting after drinking the Felicis but all I saw was ADD hyper Dan. Emma's acting too in uneven,as it seems her portrayal of Hermione mostly tends be an PMSing, anxious one. Her tendency to overact, though seems to be more under control, than Goblet and displays some slight subtlety when compared with the two main boys. Rupert's acting is spot on for the comedic scenes but lacks some subtlety and nuance but seems a lot more natural than his other two co-stars. The trio all have a very stilted/obviously rehearsed scene on the train discussing Malfoy.
As for the love interests, Jessie Cave is wonderfully OTT funny as clingy Lavender and Stroma plays the brute prat McClaggen satisfactorily.
Acting honours then for the young adult cast goes to Tom Felton, who nails Malfoy's scared and desperate feelings very well. The scene near the end, explaining his mission atop the Astronomy Tower was tear-jerking. For the adult cast, Gambon is terrific, particularly in the Cave scene. He has a weight and presence about him that reminds me very much of other British acting thespians. Rickman as Snape has me hanging on every delicious pause he uses when delivering lines. Also, notable mentions go to the actors who played the younger Tom Riddle(Fiennes-Tiffin and Dillane). Both gave me a profound sense of chill emanating from the screen whenever the spoke.
However, conversely, acting dishonours go to Bonnie Wright. Wooden, dull, flat and bland, her dialogue delivery lacks sparkle and her tone drains the majority of scenes she's in of life. Why is Dan's Harry attracted to her? Lynch also seems to lack range and is often blank faced and not expressive. Airy voice is there, but that's about it.
Plot: I see this film as a set-up for the next one, so it's finding out secrets via memories in the Pensieve to defeat Voldemort with some mostly clumsily done teen romance. Oh and a few scenes are shown with Malfoy trying to carry out his schemes aiding his mission. Shame we didn't get more of these.
We don't really get a good insight into Harry's obsession with the Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making, apart from in montages. There isn't much suspense about who he is, really.
A better balance of the main three aforementioned plot points would've been very beneficial - it was more sloppy unlikely love triangles less Malfoy's Mission and Voldermort's Past.
There's pointless scenes, such as Harry flirting with the black waitress. The much advertised brief Millennium Bridge attack is underwhelming and simply lacks a true sense of horror about it.
The Harry and Ginny romance I think is supposed to be, in this film, sweet and awkward and only achieves the latter. The kiss is nothing more than a glorified peck and a lot of Ginny's dialogue is cheesy and unintentionally hilarious. They both lack chemistry and together it's Stilted meets even more Stilted, if that's possible. Isn't she still going out with Dean when she's making lovey dovey eyes with Harry?
Then the Ron/Lavender/Hermione triangle is quite amusing if a bit forced. I'm not completely convinced by it, mainly cause there wasn't a lot of subtle flirting going on between Ron and Hermione beforehand like the previous film.
The Voldermort's past scenes could've been more and felt truncated and as aforementioned, more of Malfoy and his plotting.
The pacing too felt somewhat rushed and choppy in places. There was a few jarring transitions.
But, emotional involvement was there when the Major Character Death happened, I cried also the Cave scene too.
Cinematography: I loved how the inky splashes in the Pensieve memories looked. The overall greyish noir-esquire tinge worked and the opening WB symbol with the lightning behind it set the tone: a storm is coming.
I didn't like the quick cuts used for the Burrow attack. It prevented it from being more entertaining to watch. Overall, the look is grim, bleak ans sophisticated all at the same time, usually.
Score: Adequate score, but Hedwig's theme played in some odd places that felt a bit odd heard there. Some scenes had no score in the background at all, which was a bit weird initially.
Overall: Better than the previous film by some margin, but still lacking in terms of the balance of plots going on and general sense of pushing to take it to higher levels. Don't get me wrong, some scenes are amazing, but are the undermined by weak parts in the script that substantially affect the film as a whole.
The Hollyoaks type romance and the Dumbledore's lessons don't sit well together. The ending is a reflective one. It's a good and beautifully shot, echoing the increasingly dark tone, but for me a disappointing film. I imagine if this was a teacher's comment on a pupil's work it would say 'fair effort, but must try harder'.