Should’ve Made a Movie – It’s Already a Book

The only movie in the Harry Potter franchise that was true to the book was the very first installment. The first movie didn’t have to leave out any of the important story details. It didn’t need to trim the story down for it to fit in the theatrical format. That first movie was amazing. I really loved it!

I haven’t been impressed with the rest of the movies in the series though. I haven’t been able to put my finger on a concrete reason, other than the old standby – the movie is never as good as the book.

I was hoping this latest installment, HP7: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows would finally capture the full magic (pardon the pun) of this amazing book series.  Splitting the movie into two parts sounded like a great idea. The book was quite long and it would have been extremely difficult to tell the story well in one film.

For those of you unfamiliar with the book, not a lot happened in the first half of it. The characters spent a lot of time waiting around, hiding out, and trying to figure out what to do next. The kids needed to come into their own and it was not an easy transition for them.

This is the kind of story that simply does not translate well to film. I think that is why I left the theatre unsatisfied yesterday. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 was simply not a good film.

The funny thing is that this film did live up to the book. I thought that was what I had wanted. It turns out it wasn’t.

I really wish that the film producers had made a good movie. The script should’ve have been written to please movie-goers and not the legions of fans of the book. Major changes to the plot should have been made to make it a more exciting movie experience.

Instead, I was just bored. I only found two things in the movie that I actually enjoyed.* Those small moments were not enough to save this film.

They should have made a movie. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is already a book. It was a great book too. Too bad it made a terrible movie.

What do you think? 


Am I being too harsh? 

*future blog post to come on this topic (stay tuned)

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4 responses to “Should’ve Made a Movie – It’s Already a Book”

  1. I don't think you're being too harsh, but I think that in order to accurately portray the book in movie form, they had to do what they did. I believe David Yates said that Part 1 wouldn't be a good stand-alone film; I think Part 2 is going to make it more complete.

    Regardless, I loved the film purely because Deathly Hallows was my absolute favorite book and I loved absolutely everything about it. But the average movie-goer wouldn't enjoy it in the way I do. So I think they sort of failed and succeeded at the same time. There were individual parts of it that I really, really enjoyed – but it wasn't my favorite Harry Potter movie overall.

    All that said, I think watching Part 1 and Part 2 back-to-back will be much better than either of them on their own, and I can't wait.

  2. Hi Chase .. can't say I've seen any in full! But the legions of fans seem to have enjoyed everyone .. in fact I couldn't even get into the books .. but I know that's just me & I wasn't prepared to give the books time to be read!

    The last one will be interesting to see the denouement of 'the Potters' …

    Thanks – I wonder what your kids think? Perhaps they're too young .. mind you – I think at that age I'd have devoured all the books going .. just sitting and reading .. what a thought!!

    Have a good week and Thanksgiving .. Hilary

  3. Hi Alexis,

    I like what you said about how the film makers both succeeded and failed. I know that I would have liked to have seen more action. I think they should have shown the battle scene with all of Harry look-a-likes. for example.

    I think the second part will probably be quite good though. Thanks for the comment.

  4. Hi Hilary,

    I read all the books in one summer. I was a late comer to the series but I really enjoyed it. I think they are amazing! You should give them another try.

    Thanks for the comment.