HP DH Pt. Two All-Encompassing Analysis Parte Numero Tre

We miss out on SO MUCH of the Dumbledore family history in Aberforth's rant about Albus (and more so later when Albus meets Harry in Kings Cross).  I am slightly outraged at this.  Although this "ghost plot" doesn't matter much to the overarching plot, the knowledge we glean matters significantly where the meaning of the novel is concerned.  I thought perhaps they'd film more of these two scenes and at least put them in the Deleted Scenes section but they didn't even do that!  You can see more about why I think this matters in the pros and cons list to follow.  

Neville's appearance behind Arianna (who is definitely at least 20 in that picture when she should be eight) is as heartwarming as it needed to be.  Even the music gets warmer.  I distinctly remember the theater erupting into applause and cheers for him.  Granted, we were a highly excitable audience.  Still though, that moment was nicely done.  Neville's description of the Carrows on the walk to the castle, though condensed, is good enough to give the audience an idea of what's going on.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione's first appearance to those hiding out in the Room of Requirement is also uplifting and heartwarming for all the refugees.  I have an issue with the way students came and went from the Room of Requirement.  The whole point is that students stay there because the moment the Carrows or Snape finds them, they'll be killed for rising up or sent to stay as prisoners in Malfoy Manor or the like.  Students in the movie just treat it like a multi-house common room and leave for classes/to answer Snape's beck and call whenever they please.  

The light humor about Ginny missing Harry more than Ron and Seamus's quip about having "nothing to go on" were cute and timely.  Characterization was great in this film.  Except for Voldemort, but I'll tear them apart for that later.

I despise the fact that they left out the Ravenclaw Tower scene.  Just having that scene, learning that little bit about the Ravenclaw password question and Hogwarts itself, made the reader remember how delightfully surprising the magical world can be.  It's not all wars and horcruxes.  I also like the way Alecto summons the Dark Lord, Luna stuns her, Amycus spits at McGonagall, Harry uses the Cruciatus Curse on him, and McGonagall puts them out of sight.  That's all much more exciting than Harry's random speech in the Great Hall.  Harry had his chance to make Snape feel like an asshole at the end of Half Blood Prince.  (They screwed that up too.  Harry correctly accused Snape of being a coward but Snape was supposed to scream with rage that he is not a coward.  Readers, of course, think he is a coward and personally want to run him through with a pitchfork.  This makes the truth about Severus's feelings for Lily all the more poignant at the end of Deathly Hallows.  However, I continue to digress.)   He didn't need another chance here unless that was Warner Brothers' way of reminding us all of what Snape has done.  In retrospect, this may actually help movie-viewers/those who forget the details of the books to understand the precise level of irony and tragedy revealed in Snape's memories.  To conclude:  I like the book scene better, but the movie scene may have proved helpful for those unfamiliar with the plot. 

The way Voldemort's voice got inside the heads of everyone in the castle was a really cool effect.  The little girl's chilling screams were unnecessary.  Pansy Parkinson's demand to hand Harry over and the way everyone defended him were both true to the plot and meaning (which is that love is a thing worth fighting for).  They skipped the dismissing of the younger students, but this is one of those unnecessary details.  The fact that Slytherins are thrown in the dungeons is inconsistent with the emerging meaning in the books that your house doesn't define you.  Look at Snape, Regulus, Narcissa, and Draco.  Conversely, look at Pettigrew.  Slytherins may tend to keep the best of themselves hidden, but they need not be thrown in a dungeon for it when the book clearly mandates that they are evacuated from the building.