POSITIVES:
1) The first six films could definitely be accused of being repetitive in their formula (start off outside Hogwarts, then spend the bulk of the film at Hogwarts, then leave Hogwarts again at the end). This film makes the brave and refreshing move of taking place entirely outside of Hogwarts, which I think was needed after six films 2) This film is certainly the darkest of the series, but I'd also say it's the most gritty. This is a key distinction, as it's not just the fact that it's dark, it's the fact that the use of magic is relatively sparing and the film actually feels mostly plausible, compared to the others which feature a lot more fantastical elements 3) Dobby's death was absolutely heartbreaking and makes me emotional every time I see it. This must've been my roughly fifth time seeing this, but I was still welling up 4) The story of the three brothers was visualised well. I think it's largely because so much of this film has a bleak grey colour palette, so the three brothers story feels like a welcome beacon of light
NEGATIVES:
1) As the title of this review suggests, there's just so much of this film that feels like it's doing nothing to actually move the story forward, and is instead just filling time. It's the first time since the first couple of films where I've really felt bored for long periods of the film 2) Harry and Ron's teen angst was really annoying and turned me off from the film a lot 3) Mad-Eye dying off screen and barely getting a mention was very underwhelming 4) It felt quite lazy that a lot of the plot advancements in this film are made through high convenience. Harry gets multiple visions of Voldemort that help him figure out what to do. They figure out Umbridge has the locket solely because she happens to be on the front cover of a newspaper that's next to them at the time. They learn about the deathly hallows because they met someone who had a necklace with the symbol on earlier in the film.
1) The first six films could definitely be accused of being repetitive in their formula (start off outside Hogwarts, then spend the bulk of the film at Hogwarts, then leave Hogwarts again at the end). This film makes the brave and refreshing move of taking place entirely outside of Hogwarts, which I think was needed after six films 2) This film is certainly the darkest of the series, but I'd also say it's the most gritty. This is a key distinction, as it's not just the fact that it's dark, it's the fact that the use of magic is relatively sparing and the film actually feels mostly plausible, compared to the others which feature a lot more fantastical elements 3) Dobby's death was absolutely heartbreaking and makes me emotional every time I see it. This must've been my roughly fifth time seeing this, but I was still welling up 4) The story of the three brothers was visualised well. I think it's largely because so much of this film has a bleak grey colour palette, so the three brothers story feels like a welcome beacon of light
NEGATIVES:
1) As the title of this review suggests, there's just so much of this film that feels like it's doing nothing to actually move the story forward, and is instead just filling time. It's the first time since the first couple of films where I've really felt bored for long periods of the film 2) Harry and Ron's teen angst was really annoying and turned me off from the film a lot 3) Mad-Eye dying off screen and barely getting a mention was very underwhelming 4) It felt quite lazy that a lot of the plot advancements in this film are made through high convenience. Harry gets multiple visions of Voldemort that help him figure out what to do. They figure out Umbridge has the locket solely because she happens to be on the front cover of a newspaper that's next to them at the time. They learn about the deathly hallows because they met someone who had a necklace with the symbol on earlier in the film.