This trailer focuses mainly on The Battle of Hogwarts. Aside from the Gringotts break-in, the entire movie is going to be the battle. SO MUCH happens during the battle that it will be easy to fill out the movie, but it looks like the filmmakers have added even more. In the book we only see it from Harry's point of view, but of course there's so much else happening and clearly we're going to get to see a lot more than is written.
So let's dive right in, shall we?
BEWARE OF SPOILERS THROUGHOUT
The trailer begins with Lily talking to a crying baby Harry moments before her death. She says, "Harry. Be safe. Be strong." This got me teary right off the bat because it was so unexpected. I love Lily so much and I'm sad that she's been left out of the movies. Even in death her connection with Harry is very powerful and her influence informs a lot of Harry's actions throughout the series.
Then there are a couple of shots from previous films with the tagline "Every moment he's lived has led to this." There's a shot of the Quidditch pitch from Half-Blood Prince and then there is a GENIUS cut to a shot of the pitch in flames. Hogwarts Castle is clearly going to be unrecognizable by the end.
More lightning fast shots of previous films. There's a creepy shot of dementors outside Hogwarts and we hear Snape saying, "You've kept him alive so he can die at the proper moment." This is from The Prince's Tale. When I read about this particular memory for the first time, it got my heart pounding and my tears flowing because it's the moment when you (and Harry) realize that he must die in order to defeat Voldemort.
Next is a shot of Voldemort saying, "Bring him to me" to Lucius Malfoy. Can I just take a moment to say how amazing the make-up artist for the Potter films is? Ever since his very first scene in Goblet of Fire Voldemort's make-up has been pitch-perfect. He has those creepy looking veins all over his head. Ralph Fiennes is wearing a bald cap and a prosthetic piece on his forehead that removes his eyebrows and gives him that perpetually angry look. His nose is removed digitally, obviously. It's just perfect.
Then there are shots of the Gringotts break-in including the journey into the depths of the bank and the dragon busting its way out. We hear Ron saying, "If we can find him, we can end this." We see the trio on the dragon's back and then they jump into the lake.
I love the next shot of the Death Eaters outside Hogwarts. There are just SO many of them. In the books only about 15 Death Eaters are given names, so sometimes I forget how many followers Voldie has.
As I've said before, one of the things I'm most looking forward to is seeing McGonagall in full-on battle mode. Maggie Smith had been battling breast cancer during the filming of these movies and I was so worried that she would not make it to the end. I'm so happy she got better because, though she has limited screen time, she always makes an impression. McGonagall is the most bad-ass 70-year-old I've ever read about and once Snape jumps out the window and flees, she's in charge. She rallies the other teachers, animates the suits of armor and statues, and casts protective enchanments over the school. Some of my favorite moments from the books are when the teachers take charge. McGonagall in Deathly Hallows is my favorite, but a close second is Dumbledore at the end of Goblet of Fire when he learns Voldemort has returned. He just keeps his cool and starts giving out orders without a moment's hesitation.
So we hear McGonagall say, "Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries! Protect us!" I love that manical laugh we hear during her line. Do you hear it? That must be Voldemort. There are more shots of the suits of armor and then we see Minerva and Molly on the steps of Hogwarts.
We hear Harry saying, "I have to go back. Haven't I?" Who knows when this could be...
We hear someone say, "It's a suicide mission." I'm guessing this is Aberforth Dumbledore. It sounds like an old man and this is probably his pessimistic response to the trio wanting to go back to Hogwarts.
That voice-over plays over shots of Lupin and Tonks reaching for each other. These shots keep getting played in these trailers. I think this is right before they die.
For the zillionth time we hear Voldemort saying, "The boy who lived, come to die." It's a fantastic line straight from the book, but I've heard it so many times that the awesome-ness has worn off and it won't be as exciting in the theater at midnight. Oh well...
Also for the zillionth time we hear that same exact shout/yell from Voldemort. It plays at 1:11 in this trailer (and many other times in this trailer as well). Go back and watch the 2 previous trailers and count how many times you hear it. If you don't feel like doing that let me just say it's A LOT.
There are more shots of the battle raging on in Hogwarts including an cool shot of an angry looking giant with the Death Eaters.
I love this next shot of Lucius Malfoy. He looks so beaten down and battle-worn. I'm excited to see the Malfoy family's plotline in the film. I love Jason Isaacs (Lucius) because he is a ginormous Potter fan. He just genuinely loves the books and he is so great when it comes to interacting with fans and dropping bits of fun information in interviews. He recently did an interview where he said that he and David Yates (the director) came up with a great ending for the Malfoys. In the book we just see them awkwardly by themselves in the Great Hall after the battle is won, but it would be great if they had more of an ending in the movie.
At 1:32 we hear that same Voldie yell again.
Harry says, "I never wanted any of you to die for me."
And now for my FAVORITE shot in this trailer: Ron holding Hermione close to him as they both cry. It's very intimate, but also very sad. The filmmakers completely botched Harry and Ginny's relationship in these movies. Dan and Bonnie were given almost nothing to work with, thus they have very little chemistry on screen. I'm hoping that this shot and the others of Ron and Hermione mean that their relationship stays true to the book. They both have anguished looks on their faces, so I'm thinking this is either when Fred dies (the rubble around them suggests the collapsed wall) OR this is when Hagrid brings "dead" Harry up to the castle. One of my favorite parts of Goblet of Fire is when Harry returns to Hogwarts with Cedric's body after the graveyard. The slow realization of the students and teachers is incredibly chilling. (Fleur's scream always freaks me out). I think the scene where everyone sees Harry's body will be a hundred times scarier.
Then we get to see Harry with resurrected Lily, James, Lupin, and Sirius and they speak lines directly from the book. No matter how many times I read it, this part of the book makes me cry, especially Harry's line when he asks about the killing curse, "Does it hurt?" I hope that's in the movie.
And we come to my least favorite part of the trailer. See my prior trailer analysis for my angry rant.
And for the THIRD time we hear that Voldie yell.
More shots of action.... I don't have the attention span to write about it all....
Then at 2:04 we see Ron and Hermione running away from something. This is a new scene that has been added. In the book while Harry is searching for Ravenclaw's diadem, Ron and Hermione go to the Chamber of Secrets to collect Basilisk fangs to destroy the remaining horcruxes. In the movie we get to see them do this. In the Chamber they get chased by some sort of water demon.
For the zillionth time we hear Voldemort say, "Only I can live forever." Stop kidding yourself, Tom...
I really like the two shots of Harry and Voldemort crawling towards the Elder Wand.
And at 2:13 we hear the Voldie yell for the FOURTH time. You're never going to be able to watch this trailer without noticing that now. You're Welcome.
The trailer ends with some zip-bam-boom shots of the battle and then there is a deep ominous version of Hedwig's Theme as the title card appears.
Dun. Dun. Dun.
ACCIO JULY 15th!!
He defiled it! With Dark Magic!
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