Back Again: HP5

I'm briefly back from Hawaii, whence I must soon return. Meanwhile, my tail and I are chasing each other, but I have carved out a little time for really important things, like HP. :->

So today I finally fought through jet lag and my normal summer malaise to get up in a timely manner, get in my once customary workout, get cleaned up, then get myself over to a local plex. Pumping with adrenaline from my morning workout, (sporadic though it was,) I slid into line at the box office at precisely 11:30 a.m., the listed starting time for the showing I had targeted. I still managed to catch most of the previews, all of which I loved, (unlike those preceding Ratatouille, most of which I loathed.) I think Steve Carell (sp?) will make a perfect 21st century Maxwell Smart, and I'm very psyched about the upcoming Bourne Ultimatum. I'm even excited about the upcoming Disney offering, Enchanted, now that Patrick Dempsey is finally old enough to play a romantic lead in a frothy comedy, and what's not to like about mocking animation in real life?

But about the actual HP movie...

I loved the music-free opening, though I was a little startled by how butchered the Privet Drive segment proved to be. I can understand the need to tighten the story, and in many ways I think the writer made some judicious choices. I even think he does some very plausible foreshadowing of how Book 7 will (or can) conclude, and he does so in several places.

As I sit here reflecting on my first viewing experience, I can't help but feel that it was more like watching a slideshow book report than the actual narrative. I think I filled in quite a bit from memory, though I'll have to consult those of my acquaintances who only watch the movies to determine whether or not they feel that the narrative actually hangs together the way that it is presented. I'm going to make time to watch it again in IMAX, after which I'll blog how, if at all, my impressions change.

For now, here are some brief first impressions:

- Ginny got more camera time than Cho, which I thought was a bit much as foreshadowing goes...

- The Tonks/Lupin storyline was nowhere in evidence, despite Tonks' facial freak show at supper.

- Snape was pretty clearly more good than evil.

- Imelda Staunton is clearly a more powerful old meany than Dolores Umbridge.

- Where the book dragged, the movie felt rushed - just can't please some folks, I guess. ;->

So what did you think?