On Mediocrity

So, it's late at night and I should probably be in bed, as I drive for a living. However, I have a few thoughts jumping around in my head that I really want to commit to the Internets before they cool down and relieve me of this chance to alienate a few of my female readers. How do I intend to do this you ask? First, there's the title of this post. Next, there's the picture I'm about to post:

Yes, that's correct. I just said that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was mediocre. Okay, now all of you people who loved the movie can be alienated. I apologize for alienating you. Please come back. Now that that's done, I wish to continue with my line of reasoning.

First of all, I want something made clear. The Harry Potter series is one of my very favorite. As far as I'm concerned, J.K. Rowling did an amazing job and she's pretty much a genius. I rank Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as probably my first or second favorite book. In fact, now I think about it, I think it takes second, as I think that Mistborn is now my favorite book. That Brandon Sanderson is a genius. However, I love the books. I've loved them ever since I discovered them as a freshman in high school. I have read the first and third books about seven times each, and listened to every single book at least twice, if not three times. I devoured the sixth book in less than 24 hours. You could ask me almost any question about something that happens in the books, and the odds are that I could give you the correct answer. You could even ask me about spell incantations or how apparition works or the name of Percy Weasley's owl, or even the name of the goblin that Harry used the Imperius curse on (Gornuk), and I could tell you those things, too. When it comes to Harry Potter, I am a huge nerd and I really really like the books.

That all being said, I still hold that I was not a very big fan of the final movie in the series. In fact, the movies bother me quite a bit. I really haven't been impressed with any of them. However, it astounds me how almost everyone around me thinks that they were amazing. The interesting thing about this, however, is that when I point out the many flaws of the movies and the reasons why they are lame, they agree with me, but then they say something to the effect of, "But I HAVE to love it, because it's HARRY POTTER!" (That last part should be said in a higher-pitched voice, because the people saying this are generally female.) To me, this line of reasoning is all sorts of flawed. Just because a movie is based on some of the best books written in the last decade does not give it an excuse to be mediocre, or, in the case of a couple of the movies, just plain lame. In fact, I think that this should make us hold it to a higher standard, and to shun it if it sucks.

For example, among other things, the final movie just seemed really forced to me. Granted, I knew exactly what was supposed to happen, but the film makers had to anticipate that most of their audience would. However, every time something exciting happened, I felt like they just screamed through it, not making it exciting or even really interesting. When they revealed something amazing, like a twist, I felt like they were forcefully shoving it down my throat. It just wasn't smooth. Even parts that were just dialogue, like Harry talking to Dumbledore in his dream, just didn't seem smooth and felt really rushed. Overall, I have to say that I just wasn't impressed.

Anyway, those are the main thoughts I have on this movie. Once again, if I've alienated anyone, I apologize. I promise that my next post will be much less controversial. But, if you don't want any controversy, why the heck are you reading my blog? (That's a rhetorical question. Don't stop reading my blog.) That being said, I leave you with the usual, an amazing picture of me:

This is Captain Danger out.