what plot points to add back in?

[Steve]

---  Valerie Flowe <valerie.flowe at ...> wrote:
>
> So to expand on the DH-as-two-films discussion; what to add 
> back in??? What specific bits of HP Books 1-5 have been 
> deleted from Movies 1-5 that will have to be folded back into
> the storyline in Movies 6 and 7 in order for the series to 
> end in a well-rounded, conclusive way that makes sense to most?
> (especially now that we have the wonderful fortune to see DH 
> fleshed out and not truncated into a quasi-acceptable Reader's
> Digest format!)
> Valerie
>

bboyminn:

Well, it's not just the lack of plot development in the movies,
it's character development as well. For example, how can we
sympathize with Neville and understand how close he came to 
being in Harry's position himself, as they haven't developed 
that part of the plot or character? How can we understand the
significants of Neville's efforts in later books if we don't 
have this underlying knowledge telling us who Neville is?

As a more mundane example, what about the mirror that Sirius
gave to Harry and Harry quickly forgot about. There is a 
reason why JKR introduces these thing before she uses them.
Now the mirror will have to 'magically' appear in the final
film with it not being establish earlier. 

JKR introduced the mirror in one book and had Harry forget
about it, only to pointlessly remember it at the end, because
in later books that mirror is going to be important. 

The same with the knife that Sirius gave Harry. It is introduced
in one book, and Harry forgets about it until he realizes at
the bottom of the lake, that he needs it. Why put such a 
pointless object into the story. Well, because that is merely
the introduction, the knife does play a part in a later book.
Though there is no real loss that the knife didn't appear in
the movies. 

Mostly my objections are within given movies. Because the plot
is so poorly developed, the story is just barely and just
tolerably there. Because the characters are so poorly developed,
it is hard to have sympathy and understanding of certain 
characters from the movies alone. 

In the movie Ron is just a guy who hangs around Harry, and 
Neville is just a guy who wanders into the visual frame on 
occasion. But from reading the books, I know these characters 
to have much more substance and character. Ron is incredibly 
brave as is Neville, and that establishes them at TRUE 
Gryffindors, and not the background baffoons the movies make 
them out as. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn