TELEVISION REVIEW: Let's Kill Hitler

Boy, it’s good to have Doctor Who back, isn’t it?

Back when the mid season split was announced I thought it would be a bad idea, as the show would lose the momentum it had built up with the first 6 episodes. I shouldn’t have worried. And plus, it made me even more excited for some new Who with the 2 month break in between.

And what an episode to start off with; a frothy, light, fun episode which is the norm for (mid) season openers, but at the same time a mythology heavy episode that answers a hell of a lot of questions. Moffat juggles all these balls, and never once drops one.

From the opening crop circle gag the episode never really slowed down, and I feel it did a much better job revealing the big plot points much better than “A Good Man Goes to War’s” clunky gear shifts. Here they seemed organic to the story rather than the rushed cliffhanger ending of the mid season finale.

The revelation that Mels was actually Amy’s daughter completely caught me (and I assume many others) off guard and is actually the kind of trick Moffat’s been pulling since he took over the reins of Nu Who, especially so this series: “You named you daughter…after your daughter.” It’s the kind of thing I always wished Doctor Who would be but never was in the RTD days – timey-wimey. In a series whose title character is a time traveller, you should expect some paradoxes thrown in their every now and again.

In fact I’ve been thinking just how different these two eras of Who have been. I mean, RTD Who would never have been this complicated, but then Moffat Who will never have anything like the “Here Come the Drums” from the Master episodes way back when. Both were great, but it’s a testament to this new production team that they feel like two completely different shows now, as they should.

Acting wise, Matt Smith has rarely been better, balancing the humour and pathos of the Doctor perfectly and showing (once again) an incredible knack for physical comedy. Alex Kingston has a ball as the newly regenerated River Song, at the start of her story. At this stage I’ve given up trying to work out her timeline though, and am just going with it. I often think the writers have a flow chart in their writing room just to pinpoint exactly where what version of River is where in relation to the Doctor, because it’s very confusing to follow. Oh, and I’m saying this now…River Song? I unabashedly and unashamedly ‘would.’ I wouldn’t even feel bad afterwards. Arthur Darvill as Rory continues to be Who’s secret weapon, and would steal the show if it weren’t for Matt Smith. He makes Amy a better character and often gets all the best lines - “I’m trapped inside a giant robot replica of my wife. I’m really trying not to see this as a metaphor.” Karen Gillan is pretty much the same as always, kind of robotic. Which admittedly worked, at least for some of this episode. Still, she looks good in a skirt though.


We also got a lot of questions answered. Sort of. We now know that The Silence are not a alien race, but rather a religious movement (interesting) searching for the answer to the Question (more interesting); that the little girl who regenerated in New York in The Day of the Moon is River (was that also the girl that was in the spacesuit? And if it was, wouldn’t River know that she had already killed the Doctor by the lake in Utah? Maybe I should get myself that flow chart); that the TARDIS itself was who taught River to fly her; that the Doctor now knows when he’s going to die; and River gets her TARDIS diary from the Doctor himself.

Also, I loved the robot justice system thing, populated by hundreds of little tiny people. Such a great idea (dealing out justice to those from history who have done terrible things), and also they made a reference to JFK. Throwaway? Maybe. But knowing Moffat, probably not. Remember Jacketgate?

In fact the only downside to the episode was that ‘evil’ River was perhaps played a bit too broadly as well as the aforementioned timeline questions. Hopefully we aren’t strung along for too much longer.

All in all though, a fantastic episode. 5 stars from me.

And Hitler’s still in the cupboard!

CINEMA REVIEW: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Or ‘Caesar Goes Bananas’ if you’d like.

After Tim Burton’s terribly boring (and confusing) re-imagining of the original Planet of the Apes, the only way this franchise could go was up. And it does so with a reboot/prequel in much the same vein as X-Men First Class from earlier this year; a film that acknowledges the movies that have preceded it but at the same time goes off on a slightly different tangent.


The story concerns the secret offspring of a genetically enhanced smart ape, and his rise in intelligence. And as much as there are actors in the movie, the real star is Caesar. Andy Serkis once again dons the mo-cap suit to bring the lead ape to life, and it’s a stellar performance, full of nuance and subtlety. If there’s a criticism of the movie it’s that we don’t really care for any of the human characters, aside from John Lithgow Alzheimer’s afflicted father to James Franco’s geneticist, and that we only care about Caesar’s plight. Most of the human characters are startlingly one dimensional, especially Frieda Pinto’s thankless girlfriend role, but it doesn’t matter as the interaction between all the apes in the movie is the real meat of it. It’s incredibly enjoyable watching Caesar grow more and more intelligent, and his role as pet, then prisoner, then leader is wholly believable given the things going on around him.

And the treatment dished out to Caesar and the other apes in the facility, makes the inevitable escape and attacks all the more satisfying as they mete out justice to those that have treated them so badly. In fact, in the standout scene of the film where Caesar confronts his main tormentor, and yells “NO!” at him, is undeniably powerful. I also felt is was important that Caesar does not let any of the apes kill anyone, apart from the obvious exceptions, as Caesar is not a vicious animal but just yearning to be something more than a common pet. To have him take out his aggressions on people who had nothing to do with his imprisonment would have lessened our sympathy for him, and we wouldn’t have cared if he achieved is freedom. That we do, is a testament to the acting, especially the facial performance, and also makes the “Caesar is home” line totally believable. You never once think “That monkey’s talking. That’s stupid.” You completely buy into it.


And now, to the action. Awesome. All of it. Watching the escapees go completely (ahem) apeshit on everyone is a joy to behold. It’s a different kind of action scene really, as I can’t remember any recent movie with monkeys fighting the police; the action is able to go to places not normally gone to in action films – the apes climbing above the clouds on the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as swinging under it to outflank the police.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is nothing new. But it’s probably my favourite blockbuster of the summer, and I would definitely go and see a sequel to this, with the setup provided in the mid credits scene, as well as the credits themselves. And also, any Apes movie that doesn't immediately bring to mind Troy McClure singing "You've Finally Made a Monkey Out Of Me" is a winner in my book.

"Dr Zaius, Dr Zaius"

4 stars.

TV's Coolest Moments

So, I reckon I watch TV shows more than I do movies. And TV has had a lot of cool moments, at least in the shows I watch. And I have decided to compile a list of the coolest moments from shows that I watch, although I’ve limited myself to one moment per show as a lot of these programmes have a plethora of cool moments.

And so we start with…

The Adama Manoeuvre, Exodus Part II, Battlestar Galactica

Easily the coolest moment on this (or any) list, the Adama Manoeuvre is without a doubt one of the most powerful images of recent TV history. Watching the Galactica fall like a rock through the atmosphere, launch fighters mid freefall, and then jump out with a mighty thunder clap only about 100 feet from the ground is an amazing moment. In isolation, it might just look like another action scene, but with the previous 4 episodes in the New Caprica arc (and hell, most of the series thus far) behind it, it’s a real punch the air, hell yeah moment of Cylon arse kicking, and an extremely cathartic moment too after all the settlers have gone through. The Galactica has come to save the day. As Hotdog says “This oughta be different.”

Runner up: The pre titles part of He That Believeth In Me. Adama shot fake out, massive space battle, Anders eye glowing red.

“Second best,” Enemies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Faith (now evil) has taken Angel’s soul turning him into evil Angelus once more, or has she? I remember watching this for the first time on BBC2 back in 1998 (whoa!) and it hasn’t really lost any of its impact. The moment Angel says ‘second best,’ after Faith claiming she’s the best actor in the world, you can’t help but smile. It actually still gives me goosebumps, as for the whole episode I really did believe that they’d turned Angel again. It’s a neat clever twist; one that normally doesn’t happen mid season in TV shows, and for that reason it makes the list.

Runner up: “I’d like to test that theory.”

“Guys? I know kung fu,” Chuck versus The Ring, Chuck

I think we all know why this makes the list. If you weren’t smiling as Chuck takes out a room of bad guys, after uploading a new fancier Intersect in the season 2 finale, then there’s something wrong with you. It’s a gloriously silly moment in a gloriously silly spy show, and it references one of the coolest movies of the past 20 years. In fact, it knows it’s such a cool moment that it does it again in the fourth season.

Runner up: From the same episode actually, Jeffster performing at Ellie and Awesome’s wedding, while a shootout is going on in the other room, marrying together the silly and the serious perfectly.

“And yet somehow, I just can’t seem to care,” Reunion, Angel

“Angel’s gonna save the day, all is well. Wait, what? Oh damn, that’s cold.” Pretty much my reaction to viewing this episode; it takes Angel (the character) to the darkest we’ve ever seen him while not Angelus, as well as sets up the theme for the rest of the series. It’s a great moment because you know the Wolfram and Hart lawyers deserve what they’re getting, but still you don’t expect Angel to just close the door on them and walk away. Or walk to his car and then drive away. And this is the hero of the show.

Runner up: “Can you fly?”

Alternate credits, Peter, Fringe

Fringe isn’t really a show that lends itself to coolness. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic show, but it’s not what anyone would call cool. But when the show had a flashback episode to 1985, the makers decide to mix up the credits a bit to give them an eighties feel. So instead of the usual Fringe titles, which have phrases like ‘precognition’ and ‘teleportation,’ we have a nifty little then-fringe science terms like ‘virtual reality,’ ‘genetic engineering’ and ‘personal computing’ as well as the Fringe logo being in Asimov font as opposed to the usual typeface.

Runner up: the introduction of the Over There Fringe division in the first part of the season 2 finale, complete with cool Broyles, an alive Charlie, and a gorgeous redheaded Olivia.

‘Clark’ flying, Exodus, Smallville

Ok, so it’s not actually Clark, it’s Kal-El (sort of), but it’s a great moment, finally seeing him take to the air. And it neatly sidesteps the no-tights, no flight rule of Smallville by it not actually being Clark. The FX are top notch in this sequence, as we see Clark flying alongside Lex’s plane, rip the door off and retrieve a crystal (or something, I can’t remember), and it continues the tradition of Smallville having great season openers (and finales). They even get a paraphrased ‘is it a bird?’ bit in.


Runner up: Clark rushing into the tornado to save Lana. Awesome.

Jack takes down Gaines, Day 1 11.00-12.00, 24

We’ve seen Jack do some cool thing so far into the first series (in fact just an episode before we’ve seen him threaten one of Ira Gaines’ men with a towel), but this is the first time we’ve seen Jack properly in action, guns-a-blazing. And it’s awesome. I reckon this scene has more impact because of that very reason, it’s our first big Jack Bauer action scene, which would become common place for the next 8 series, but this whole sequence ending in the killing of Gaines is superb.

Runner up: Jack shooting Nina in cold blood in the spot she killed his wife two seasons previous.

The Oncoming Storm, Bad Wolf, Doctor Who

"This is what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna rescue her! I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and *then* - just to finish you off - I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky. Rose? I’m coming to get you.”

Runner up: Rory’s message to the Cyber fleet. “Do you want me to repeat the question?”

“See you in another life, brother,” Man of Science, Man of Faith, Lost

Alright, season 2 of Lost. Let’s see what’s in the hatch. Wait, what’s this? Some dude waking up, pushing some numbers into a computer. Well, it’s an old computer, and he’s just put a record on; this must be a flashback. Hmmm, he’s injecting himself with something, what’s that logo say? Dharma? Oh, there’s a loud bang from somewhere. He’s tooling up, some heavy duty equipment in this place. Wonder who’s trying to get in…holy shit, its Jack and Locke. Well played, Lost. Very well played.

Runner up: “We have to go back”!

So, there's mine. Care to share yours?

JC

CINEMA REVIEW - Captain America: The First Avenger

I wasn’t too bothered about Captain America to be honest. As a character on the page, he’s almost as boring as Superman, so my hopes for a movie weren’t too high. But in my excitement and desire to see every pre-Avengers movie, I figured I may as well see it.

And I’m glad I did. It was terrific.

Despite being yet another origin story, this one doesn’t feel stale at all. Partly down to the different setting, but I think mainly down to the fact that the character of Steve Rogers volunteers for the process that turns him into a super soldier. It’s not some random act of fate that turns him into a superhero, (a la Spiderman) nor it is something he was born with (like Supes), it’s something he signs up for, and it’s all the more interesting for it. The character is an easy one to like as well; he’s the underdog and doesn’t have the ‘giving up’ gene. He tries, he fails, and he tries again and again, and it really endears him to the audience. He a good guy, and he desperately wants to fight but he’s not cut out for the army. In a nice little scene early on, he says that he doesn’t want to kill anyone; just that he doesn’t like bullies and it’s this spirit that drives the scientist character (can’t remember the name, but the actor’s Stanley Tucci) to enlist him in the super soldier programme, as he doesn’t just want a strong man, but a good man. So, despite me feeling that Cap is a boring character to read (and I think it might be partly due to always seeing him as Cap, never as Steve Rogers), to watch him be brought to life and the journey that he goes through, from weakling to superhero is pretty powerful, and rather affecting. Another scene during the super soldier process has the scientists, including Howard Stark, worry that the process is too painful and are about to shut it down, when Steve screams from within the chamber not to stop, and that he can take it, really shows the inner strength of the character. The rest of the supporting cast are all great as well, with standouts being Tommy Lee Jones’ stereotypical Army General (imagine a grumpier funnier Agent K, and you’re pretty much there) and Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull (as a Nazi so mental, the other Nazis fear him) who both ham it up a good deal but are fun characters nonetheless. However, I was a bit disappointed that Neal McDonagh (a great character actor) didn’t get more to do a Dum Dum Dugan.

The film has a real retro futuristic feel running throughout it, with the weapons and vehicles used by the Red Skull’s troops being kind of science fiction-y yet in a period setting. In fact the film I was thinking it was very similar to while watching it was The Rocketeer which it turns out, as I discovered later, was by the same director, and the same hallmarks that made The Rocketeer such a distinctive looking movie are here too. The colour palette of the film is quite brown and earthy, but then in the middle of it all you’ve got the red, white and blue of Cap running through a scene. It shouldn’t work, but it does, in much the same way that a dude with a rocket pack in the 50’s shouldn’t work but does*. Normally, when describing a comic book movie, the phrase ‘it embraces it’s comic book roots’ is used to defend the film against accusations that it looks stupid. I feel it’s the opposite here, especially when you have a character running around in a costume essentially made out of a flag, you have to fully go for it, or risk going halfway and failing. In fact the film gives Cap his suit in a rather ingenious way; by using him first of all as a propaganda tool, the suit he’s given is a bit stupid and garish (while at the same time satirising the original Captain America comics, which were sort a propaganda tool in themselves) and when he eventually starts actually fighting, the costume sticks and as such neatly sidesteps all accusations of looking stupid. It’s a clever little trick, and it works superbly.

* maybe that’s just me though, cause I freaking love The Rocketeer.

The effects in the movie work for the most part although there’s some dodgy work in a scene with a speeding train, as well as a bit with the Red Skull’s car, but the rest of the effects have a sort of retro charm to them that fits with the tone of the movie. They’re not photo real let’s say, but they look sort of like a wartime poster brought to life. I can’t really explain it very well but hopefully if you’ve seen the movie you know what I mean. It’s very Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looking except, you know, not shit.

Also, for the first 45 minutes of the movie Chris Evans is made to look like a 90 pound weakling, and the effect, which from the trailers looked as though it could be pretty embarrassing, is actually really well used, with only one instance where it looks as though the CG folks have gotten his height wrong. It still looks a little odd with Chris Evans face pasted onto a small body, considering you know what he normally looks like, but it’s not like The Rock/Scorpion King bad or anything.

Most of the fight sequences are well done although there’s nothing especially innovative to them, but they’re still pretty exciting. A jailbreak sequence is probably the standout once Cap dons his costume, but the best scene actually arrives just after he given the super serum, chasing down the Nazi spy of foot, using a car door as a makeshift shield (after previously using a bin lid), and finishing up with an underwater scene. A neat little touch in this sequence was the bad guy throwing a little child in the water, usually the point in most movies where the hero would choose to save the child over chasing the villain, but here the child says “Go after him, I can swim.”

As this movie is another entry into the pre-Avengers catalogue we have another game of spot the connections. People have moaned before that these attempts at cross pollination have hampered the stand alone film, and to some extent I’d agree, especially with Iron Man 2 (although I still loved it) but in Captain America the little hints were much more subtle, and I applaud Marvel for that. So, for example, the glowy blue thing that powered the Red Skull weapons was actually an artefact from Asgard and also acts as a precursor for Iron Man’s eventual repulsor rays was nifty. There were more, but I can’t remember them right now, but they were much better implemented this time round.

In fact the only thing I have a problem with is the ending scene, which is set in the present day with Cap waking up after being frozen for the past 70 years following his fight with Red Skull and crashing his ship. It is completely out of step with the rest of the film, and actually destroys the ending of the previous scene which ended on a bittersweet note with Cap saying goodbye to his love interest, Peggy Carter. What should have been a moment of happiness for Cap as he’s defeated his enemy and saved the day (even if he’s presumably going to die in doing so), actually becomes very depressing as he’s now in the future, very much alive, and everything he fought for has gone. The last line is actually one of regret that he never got to dance with Peggy, and then BOOM roll credits. It felt out of place, and solely there to set up The Avengers. In fact I think it would have worked better as the opening to that movie, not the ending to this.

And for anyone not intending to see the film, because they think it’ll be an ‘America, Fuck Yeah!’ kind of movie, it’s really not. Cap fights as an American, but not necessarily for America. It’s a worldwide, boys-own adventure caper. A bright, breezy and most importantly fun summer movie. So overall, highly enjoyable and my favourite pre-Avengers movie since the first Iron Man

4 stars

Slave (1) to a Franchise

An apology for the title, but it’s an apt description. Is there any movie or television series that owns your immortal soul? I know the one that owns mine probably owns a lot of folks.

And that franchise is…Star Wars. I know, shock horror!
I love it. I mean really love it. Despite the lacklustre prequels and several duff entries into the Star Wars universe, it’s still the one franchise I’ve probably bought the most stuff of/from. Saying that though, I’m not by any stretch a hardcore Star Wars fan. I’m not hugely into the expanded universe stuff, but I do enjoy some of it.

So, here’s the list:

Obviously I own all six of the movies. Only 3 and a half of which are any good.


I own the animated Clone Wars series (the Gendy Tartovsky one) and I urge any Star Wars fan to seek it out, even if you’re not a prequel fan. It’s especially notable as it shows Grievous out to be an absolute badass, something only alluded to in Revenge of the Sith but never shown on screen.

I own the other animated Clone Wars series, which after a disappointing start really came into its own and is in my opinion probably better than the prequel movies themselves. It’s certainly more fun anyway, and it can get away with lines that real actors would sound stupid saying (see: prequels). In particular there is a three episode arc involving and old flame of Obi Wan’s which has more emotion in it in 40 minutes than the entire relationship between Anakin and Padme in the actual movies.

I have had several Star Wars games in the past, including The Force Unleashed and both Battlefronts. As well as Rebel Assault II back in the Playstation days.

I own two lightsabres. Not real ones, like.

I have a dozen or so action figures.

I have a box full of Star Wars miniatures, which is a Warhammer style game that my good friend Adam Fox (another Star Wars aficionado) got me into.

I have a couple of Star Wars novels. I recommend Death Troopers. Star Wars + zombies = awesomeness.

And I also have a lot of Star Wars related t-shirts, which are amongst my favourites of all the nerdy t-shirts I own.

So, there’s my confession. Are any of you acolytes to any fictional universes?

[pictures to follow]

DVD Review: Tangled

Disney movies have become somewhat overshadowed by Pixar movies of late. And for good reason. Pixar make outstanding family movies; for adults as much as they are for kids. Disney just make movies for kids.

Or at least, they did.

Because a little movie came along that changed all that. And that movie was…The Emperor’s New Groove.

Wait, what? I thought this was a review of Tangled.

It is. I’m getting there.

The Emperor’s New Groove was a 2D old school animated movie released in 2000. It was frantic, anarchic and most importantly funny. I mean, hilariously funny. Seriously if you haven’t seen it, try and get a copy. It was still a Disney movie, but it played with the conventions of what you’d expect a Disney movie to be. It still contained all the elements that other Disney movies had, but gave it a post modern spin, as well as an unusual but perfect voice cast. And all the better for it.

And then, Disney tried it again. And it worked perfectly…only this time it was with a live action movie. Enchanted also played with the conventions of the typical Disney movie but kept it fresh and new. It poked fun at the Disney princess idea, but never felt like it was being mean or bad mouthing the history of the House of Mouse. It was an affectionate ribbing. And again, it was funny.

And then last year, Disney decided that to truly go toe to toe with Pixar that they decided to join them in the realms of computer animation. And it has paid off handsomely.

Tangled is at heart perhaps the most traditional ‘Disney movie’ out of the three movies I’ve mentioned so far. It’s a movie that literally has a fairytale princess, a dashing hero and an evil witch. But it’s done in much the same vein as New Groove. It has a fourth wall breaking narrator character; it subverts all the normal Disney clichés but embraces them at the same time.

And it’s very very funny.

The story itself is nothing new, but it’s presented with such an air of confidence and vigour that you get wrapped up in it. It’s a classic tale but with a modern sensibility, in much the same way that the first Shrek movie was. In fact, you don’t even mind the songs when they arise (the music is really the only concession to the classic Disney archetype, but even they’re great. All written and arranged by Little Shop of Horrors music supremo Alan Menken, fact fans) because they’re not professions of love, but rather funny songs that fit and sow seeds for major plot points later on.

The voice cast is absolutely stellar. The reason this movie peaked my interest however was the fact that Chuck himself (Zach Levi) voices the character of Flynn, the dashing hero of the story. He is the perfect person to voice the sarcastic, funny, vain hero. He’s likable even at his most douche-y, and his casting is as inspired as David Spade’s was for Emperor. I can’t really say much about Mandy Moore casting as it could have just been any other voice actress as far as I’m concerned, but Jenny did inform me that she has a great Disney princess singing voice (Moore, not Jenny). The central couple are likebale and easy to root for, because they’re not just ciphers, they actually feel like real characters.

The star of the show however is the horse, Maximus. The horse that thinks it’s a dog. The physicality with which he’s given, and the animation that brings him to life is hilarious. If I could compare it to another animated animal it would be Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. Both great triumphs in animation, extracting laughs from the movements rather than words.

I watched this on Bluray, and usually any computer animated movie looks great. I expected nothing less from this, but to say I was blown away was an understatement. It’s the best looking picture I have ever seen in an animated feature, and the biggest action scene in the movie looks simply phenomenal. It makes me wish I’d seen it in the cinema.

Anyway, to summarise: a funny, heartfelt, beautiful movie, and for me it’s up there with some of the best Pixar movies.

4 and a half stars

I’m out
JC

Cinema Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

And so, the Harry Potter saga comes to an end with Part II of The Deathly Hallows. And for this movie only Potter fan, it was pretty good.

Not great, but very good.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was easily in my top 5 movies of last year, contrary to a lot of critics who complained it was too talky and just a set up to the showdown in Part 2. I guess I can agree with that criticism, but it was also a great movie; a very different kind of Potter film. It was, much as I’m loathe to use this phrase, ‘darker’ and rather foreboding in its tone. And after all, without a great setup, the denouement could fall flat. I loved the first part; I was emotionally engaged with the journey of the three leads in a way I hadn’t been with previous Potters. Standout scenes included Ron listening to the radio broadcast listing the families who have died as a result of the Death Eaters attacks (and hoping not to hear his families names among the dead), as well as Harry and Hermione’s little dance, a moment of happiness amongst all the chaos. Those were scenes that made you really feel for the characters, and their dire situation really gave the movie, and the final movie, a real weight and substance.

So naturally that helped this movie considerably. We hit the ground running in Part 2, there’s no time for any set up. If you’re watching it, you know the story so far so we’re jumping right in. And jump right in we do. The movie wastes no time in getting our trio back to Hogwarts for the final battle, and throughout the first hour the tension is nicely built up. The preamble to the battle really did have my heart racing, mainly because having not read the books I had very little idea about how this was going to go down. From the moment that Harry calls out Snape until the attack starts the tension is ratcheted up to extremely high levels, with armies amassing on both sides ready to fight. Shit’s about to go down, yo.

However, it’s actually once the fighting starts that the movie gradually begins to lose it’s way a bit. The movie is so concerned with the Harry, Hermoine and Ron stories that it rushes everything else. Secondary characters are brought on and disposed with in seconds, and criminally some characters aren’t even given a death scene. We just see people mourning over their bodies during a lull in the battle, namely one of the Weasley twins dies (not sure which one), as do both Lupin and Tonks (the married couple). And I felt nothing over their deaths. It was just “Right, they’re dead. Look sad. Move on.” I cried when Dobby died. I actually wept, and he was a badly done CGI character. These characters, despite not really knowing them that well, just seemed like collateral damage in the grand scheme of things. I’m not asking for every character to have a grand death scene, but something would have been nice. Take Haldir in The Two Towers; we don’t know that much about him, just that he’s an elf and a friend of Aragorn’s, yet when he takes an axe to the back you really feel for him, it’s a real sucker punch and ups the emotional stakes of the whole battle at Helms Deep.

And the characters that do get scenes to themselves are rushed and a little unsatisfying. In the press related to this movie much fuss was made about the fight between Helena Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix L’Estrange and the mother Weasley. Yet when it comes down to it, the scene itself is so horribly rushed through that it feels like a missed opportunity. It should be filled with emotion, as she has already lost one child at this stage and Bellatrix is threatening to kill her daughter. As it is, she says the line “not my daughter, you bitch” and then it’s fizz, bang, wallop, a fight that lasts about ten seconds, and then Bellatrix is dead. What should have been an exciting little aside to the main story (as I’m sure it was in the book) becomes a bit of a damp squib, in the hurry to return to the A plot.

The secondary student characters fare a bit better in the action and emotional beats. In particular, Neville (the tall lanky one), a character who’d never really done much up til now, gets a hell of a lot to do in this movie. After seeing the film, and reading a bit more about the books, Neville is apparently the ‘boy who could have been Harry Potter’ so it was nice to see him get some substantial screentime. And he also gets the films biggest laugh just before the fight starts proper – “Yeah? You and whose army?” Come to think of it, he probably gets all the best non-main trio action scenes too. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Luna Lovegood letting out some seriously weird magic though.

However, those are my only real complaints with the last hour of the movie. The battle itself is really very exciting, at least in the long shots and little battles between characters that don’t actually have names. We have trolls, spiders, stone guards, teachers, death eaters and students all dishing out the pain, and I have to commend the filmmakers for making people waving wands at each other seem exciting. I reckon it’s hard to make a fight seem exciting when there’s no actual contact between the combatants, so kudos for that.

Happily, all the story threads finally came together in the end with ongoing mysteries answered. The biggest one, of course, being Severus Snape’s alliance and overall arc. I didn’t expect Snape to be killed and then his true motive to be revealed afterwards, but in retrospect it probably was the best way to do it. I did think that the patronus (the glowy animal thing that shows up sometimes to help Harry) that I’d always assumed had been Harry’s parents somehow was actually Snape’s to be a nice little touch. Although the whole long thing does make Dumbledore out to be a bit of a dick, by not telling Harry that he’d have to die for Voldemort to also die.

And then to the big fight; the climactic showdown; Harry versus ol’ no nose. Bit disappointing. As we’ve seen this sort of fight before; the whole duelling wands thing. Again, post movie I’ve learned that the elder wand Voldemort uses was actually Harry’s and as such would not kill its master, and if I’d of known that while watching the movie I reckon it would have more impact. But as it was I was a little disappointed, but I reckon book fans would have been more than pleased.

And then, the epilogue. I’d heard there was a ‘19 years later’ bit, and heard that the actors would be playing their late 30’s selves, and I was worried that it would look terrible. When it didn’t I was pleasantly surprised. Although I do think that it should have ended with the three standing outside Hogwarts, as kids, reflecting on everything that went down, even if it differed from the book.

Overall, as the finale to a decade long series of films it’s fantastic. As a stand alone movie it’s alright. Perhaps watching it along with the first part would improve it. A big 5 hour epic. Ideally I’d like a LOTR style extended DVD release which might offset some of the problems I’ve stated above (rushed scene etc), but as for a rating…3 and a half stars.

Cheers

JC

(P.S. Azkaban's still the best)