How are you going to do away with Wormtail in Part II? Why would you want to do away with him in Part II? Either way, it's too late. The moment is over, the drama has been lost.
2) Where the tension of Voldemort's imminent arrival? I didn't feel it. Instead of building up suspense, the movie slowed down as soon as Dobby dropped the chandelier on Bellatrix. Then, instead of a heart-stopping escape (like in Godric's Hollow), Bellatrix whines that Dobby tried to hurt her. Harry and company stand still and wait until she's done.
3) Finally, why drain the drama out of their escape with a protracted speech by Dobby? I love Dobby. Everybody loves Dobby. But Bellatrix's antics and Dobby's speech were not fitting for the time and place.
It was like we were back in The Chamber of Secrets again: Harry is confronting Lucius Malfoy with Tom Riddle's Diary--only Harry is much older, the stakes are higher, Bellatrix has a knife, and Dobby is about to die.
And so the film ended as complaints formed in my throat. That is not where you want the audience to leave. The fact that the Half-Blood Prince and the Deathly Hallows Part I failed in their endings disappoints me all the more because I love the ending to the Order of the Phoenix.
The Order of the Phoenix ends with a perfect blend of action and heart-wrenching emotion. The Half-Blood Prince left me unfeeling when I should have been crying at Dumbledore's death, and Part I of the Deathly Hallows left me disappointed.
I think David Yates has done some great work with the Harry Potter movies, but he has twice disappointed me right before the credits have rolled. I hope I can't say the same when the Deathly Hallows Part II is over.
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Article comments
1 - Jerome Wetzel
I completely agree with your Half Blood Prince critiques. When you stated you were about to give reasons why the Malfoy Manor scene failed, I was ready to write a big disagreement with you... and then I read them, and realize that I cannot. I plan on writing my own full review tomorrow, but tonight, you have pointed out some things to be me I overlooked. Thank you for that. Excellent review.
2 - SteventheThorn
Thanks for the comment. I wish that I could write glowing reviews of the endings to both Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part I, but I can't.
Both movies have enough redeemable parts to make them good, but they could have been phenomenal.