On Friday night I stuck my pyjamas on, grabbed a blanket and settled down to watch a good film. However, this was at midnight, in a cinema screen filled with other excitable people. That’s right; I was one of thousands of Potterheads all over the world that went to the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter film and witnessed the end of an era.
The sleep deprivation was definitely worth it, not only was the film excellent (more of that later) but the atmosphere in the screen was just fantastic. The cinema seemed to cry, laugh and cheer as one and it made the film that bit more enjoyable.
As for the film itself, I was thoroughly impressed. Your heart starts racing about thirty seconds in and doesn’t stop until the credits roll; it’s action-packed but it still has those moments of humour that make the Potter films and add a little sense of relief to the large-scale battle that is going down at Hogwarts.
As a life-long fan of the books, I was incredibly impressed with how closely the film stuck to the words J. K. Rowling had set down, and things that they had changed still made sense. The basic plot was the same, with just a few little scenes added or adapted slightly to make them look better on screen.
I was a little dubious of whether seeing the film in 3D would be worth it or not and, although nothing really jumps out at you, it definitely did add something to the film. It really made you feel as if you were right there in the heart of the action, but I’m not sure that it was worth the amount of money it was.
Yet another thing I was impressed with (I can’t pick faults with Harry Potter, I just can’t!) was the special effects on the film. Never once during watching it did I suspect green screens or CGI had been used, despite the fact that a dragon was flying across the screen (which may say more about me than about the film…).
I don’t want to say too much more, because I know how irritating it is when things get spoilt before you’ve seen them, but hurry up because this is definitely a film you want to see with all the hype still around it, and then again a week later and maybe the week after that too…(that just me? okay…)
I’m not ashamed to say that I cried through pretty much half the film, not just because of the devastating plot but also because the whole franchise has finally come to an end. No more waiting for the next film or queuing up at midnight for the next book. No more wondering how much the ‘golden trio’ will have grown up by the time we next seem them or anxiously waiting to see Emma Watson’s fantastic dress at the premiere. But the books will always be there to go back to, and the films are on DVDs so they can always be watched. But if that doesn’t satisfy your need for new Potter stuff, the new Pottermore website will be up and running on the 31st July!
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