HBP SPOILERS

[marion11111]

Nothing like a new movie to bring the lurkers out, eh?  I've been posting on another HP site that has some member overlap, so sorry Maudlers, here I go again.

In general, I'm OK with changes and omissions in these movies.  I wish the director would include all my favorite scenes (Luna so funny at the Christmas party, etc.), but I can live with it.  What really disappointed me was the ending to this movie.  I thought it was just bad moviemaking to end like that. They needed an action sequence with the Death Eaters running through the grounds being chased by Order members or teachers or anybody, for heaven's sake!  We're supposed to be on the edge of our seats wondering if they'll get away and then waiting for the next movie to see what happens.  We should feel just how much Harry and Snape hate each other.  Harry should not calmly take instructions from Snape to be quiet on the Tower.

Clearly, this director can make a good, tense, action sequence.  He did it at the Burrow, so why not at the end where an action scene belongs.  It was very anti-climatic.  When I read the book, I seriously feared for Draco's life and expected he and Snape to go into hiding with the other Death Eaters.  Here, I thought they might just stroll off the grounds and go get an early breakfast somewhere.

Alla - you wondered where the adult actors were, so did I.  Maybe they get paid by the hour so they cut them down as much as possible?  The next movie is about the trio almost exclusively, this one should have still been about the Order, Harry's place in the grand scheme, and all the politics and intrique that go into  the rise of a maniac leader.  I really saw this book as a suspense thriller with lots of clues and surprises and mysteries to solve.  I thought this was a very mature book and an absolute cliffhanger. Not much of this in the movie.

On the plus side - I was amazed at how good Tom Felton was in this role. I guess he's never had a chance to shine before and I thought he more than did this justice.  I didn't initially like the casting of Broadbent, but he was wonderful.  As others have said, the younger Voldemorts were perfect.  I'm sure Ginny will have a bigger role in the next movie than she does in the book seeing as Bonnie Wright is turning out to be a very good actor. I still find the Katie Bell scene to be one of the creepiest things I've seen and more so in the movie than the trailers.  There's an image for nightmares.

Do you suppose they downplayed the battle in order to keep the PG rating?  I wondered also if that's why DD said assassin instead of killer and the horror of the sectumsempra was understated.