In my Death
Note review I posed the question "what makes a good adaptation?" I never really
answered the question, the answer is different for every person. My personal
opinion is that it must capture the tone and feel of the source material and
contain just enough of the plot to satisfy any future stories, whilst telling a
complete story in its own right (it should never be a requirement to read a
book or watch a series to understand a movie). It cannot be an exact copy of
the source material. With a book, you can be content reading it for hours,
maybe even days, that’s not the case with a movie, where 3 hours is pretty much
the limit and even then it has to be a special movie that can last that long.
The Last
Airbender is a terrible adaptation above all because it fails to capture the
tone and feel of the source material. It’s a terrible movie for its cr*ppy
pacing, constant exposition, lack of character, nonsensical plot elements etc.
Death Note fails to me to capture the feel of its source because it fails to
capture Light in the manor it was hoping to thanks to its ending plot-twists. I
realise some of these are subjective but we’re here to talk about the Deathly
Hallows part 2.
The later
Harry Potter stories have in some ways struggled with my criteria because
filming started prior to the book series being finished (filming for the
Philosopher’s Stone began in 2000, the final book didn’t come out until 2007)
plot points that become relevant later are often left out. Prime example is
Bill Weasley whose appearance in part 1 was rather out of nowhere.
Made with
whatever was left of the $250million after the first part was done (they were filmed
concurrently) this film broke box office records, breaking $1bn at the box
office, the highest of any Harry Potter movie and why wouldn’t it? The series
has always been a strong performer at the box office and naturally people would
flock to see the final instalment in this very long-running franchise. But does
that mean it’s any good? Well, let’s dive in.
For this
review, I will be drawing comparisons to the book but I stand by my opinion
that a movie should stand or fall on its own merits as well.
