Harry Potter Fangirl Conundrum

Nooooooo!

In a few short weeks, one of the most successful franchises in movie history will come to a close. As it's predecessors before, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 will make a crap ton of money worldwide. But I'm not here to talk about the obvious success the movie will have. This movie will be a bitter-sweet moment for millions of fans worldwide...including this fan. It's ending, for real, which is an almost impossible concept to wrap my mind around.


I have always been one of those people who can separate the book world from the movie world. The movies will never have as much information, history, description as the books, and that's okay. They're two different mediums built for different purposes. In a perfect world, the movie would show all the ins-and-outs of the every book, but alas we live in a world of budgets and short attention spans, so we're left with adaptations. Because J.K. Rowling has worked closely with screenwriter Steven Kloves, the movies created a cohesive storyline that pays homage to the world the books have created.

When PART 1 was released, there was a definitive line drawn in the reviewer world of whether or not PART 1 was a complete movie. The arguments ranged from "a movie should be a complete storyline whether it's independent or a piece of a whole" to "it is a part of whole therefore it doesn't need the traditional storyline". My critical eye sides with the first argument, but my fangirl eye sides with the latter. It's been eight months since I've seen the movie, and now I can honestly say that PART 1 was not a complete story. A part of a whole, yes, but not a complete one. With that, there's the argument of whether or not a movie has to be a complete story because it was made as two or three parts. Everyone has their opinion, and honestly when this topic is discussed, no one can ever come to a general consensus, and the conversation always seems to come full circle of "agree to disagree".

As much as I would like to stay diplomatic about the movie seven argument, I cannot. Sometimes your fandom reaches such a pinnacle that, despite sound logic and better judgment, you just give in to it because it fulfills your complete selfish desires. Yes, again, PART 1 was not a complete story, but personally, I'm okay with it because it was able to spend more time on the little character moments that previous movies haven't had time to explore. Plus, that means a complete badass, non-stop, balls-to-the-wall final battle that I've waited for since the release of book seven.

It's going to be a difficult situation, when I'm so attached to a property, to review PART 2 with a critical eye. And honestly, I probably can't. When the movie comes out, I will, with almost 99% certainty, love it. David Yates has proved himself as a director for the last three movies, and I have complete faith with this final one. Also, with this being the final chapter, the chances of this being the first and only Harry Potter movie that someone will see is slim to none. Unless said adults have been dragged to the theatre by their wizard-adoring children. But when the euphoria dies down, I'll be able to look back critically at the movie and see it for whatever flaws it has. Will that stop me from seeing the movie multiple times in the theatre? Hell no. Like millions out there, I'm in it through the ups, downs, ins and outs...through everything.

So, why do reviewers feel the need to always look at everything with a complete, unbiased, critical eye? There are very few out that who could honestly say they separate their personal feelings about the movie/franchise/actors/directors with the final product. Let's say if you're a Transformers aficionado, a Green Lantern comic-book junkie, a Twilight fanatic, or any other series/franchise guru, when another part, such as a movie or book, is released, even if it's lackluster, a dedicated fan is in it for the long haul. With that, I don't see any problem with having an almost unhealthy amount of love for something. Sure, when I talk about PART 2, there will be fair warning that this is coming from a die hard Harry Potter nerd. As long as you're up front about your fandom, I don't see the problem with having a biased discussion. Everyone has their vice, and this one is mine.

I'll look back on PART 2 in a few months with reverence and a clear mind. Maybe even have a rational talk about why it probably would have been better not to split book seven into two movies. But for right now, all that is too far away to think about. In a few weeks, my Harry Potter freak flag is going to fly because, well, this is the end folks.



HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 will be released July 15th, 2011 starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and loads of our favorite British actors.


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