Quite astonishing in its design and attention to detail. David Yates, like Christopher Columbus, really makes an effort to put in as many references from the original books as he can, and open up J.K. Rowling’s universe. Obviously, the film must progress differently than the book, but Yates still makes an effort to place secondary characters in the background as much as possible. Seeing Professor Flitwick, Crabbe, Fenrir Greyback (although his purpose barely ascended past growling and looking like a pro wrestler) and Luna Lovegood sprinkle the overall feel of the story is wonderful; you can tell that the people working on this project approach it with a certain sense of respect and love.
It’s frustrating then, that this movie has been met with disdain by followers of the books simply because a fight scene was excluded. The books were never about the fights; there’s only so much you can do with two people waving wands at each other. This problem was somewhat noticeable in the climax of The Order of the Phoenix. While Voldemort and Dumbledore proved rather climactic, the fight scene before theirs came off a bit awkward. Many people have been upset with the amount of teen-romance taking place. This is also a bit frustrating, because these are the characters we love and care about. We shouldn’t have to insist on them being in fight scenes and Quidditch matches every half hour. The drama between Harry, Ron, and Herminone occasionally has some very poignant moments, like when Harry slips a placebo into Ron’s drink, or when Harry lets Hermione’s head rest on his shoulder. Or how about Harry mackin’ on a Muggle at the very beginning of the film? It’s easy to forget that these wizards and werewolves technically coexist with our boring universe. It’s these moments when I realize that I grew up with these characters, and that I deeply care about them. The first movies are so incredible because we’re so jealous of their incredible luck to be a part of this astounding world. These quiet and human moments in the later films prove that the problems of the Wizard world often have a peculiar relation to our own problems.
And their problems motivate the excitement of the action sequences, and this film has one of the best of the series. The moment in the cavernous lake is dazzling and epic in scope. We see Dumbledore, for the first time, reduced to an (gasp!) old, whimpering man. What a inversion of roles, as Harry now must literally nurse Dumbie back to safety. But it is the arrival of the Inferi out of the black depths that stir the macabre beauty of Dumbledore’s trap. This scene deliciously reminded me of Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog in his freefall within the mines of Moria. There is a breathtaking shot of Harry being pulled down into the dark waters by the Inferi, where the camera observes the awesomeness of Dumbledore’s power. I’m very excited and glad that Yates is with the last two films to the end. To that lonely march towards Hogwarts.
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