Bahku... wasn't lumping you in with the "raving fanbase" and I didn't mean it like "raving lunatics". I type to fast and sometimes don't pay attention to what I'm typing. Lol... All I was referring to was the fans that are giving this movie rave reviews... somehow came out "raving fans" instead of "the fans who are hyping this movie as amazing". I suspect that you (and those fans) have more context to the story than I do, because you've read the books. I can only go off the movies... and as a movie I didn't think it was excellent or even the best of the series.
It actually dawned during the final scene when they played a little bit of the familiar theme song... "oh yeah... I remember when this series reminded me of Christmas time"... I imagine that pavlovian reaction to Harry Potter would only be limited to folks who only are familiar with seeing the movies. Kinda interesting.
Ah, the internet ... the perfected tool for misunderstanding. Seemed a bit unlike you, Bud ... glad we're cool. I completely understand where you're coming from, as I've found myself in similar situations with other movies/books/series that seemed to morph over the years in favor, (it seemed), of a wider target audience, and (seemingly, again) forsaking the sensibilities that endeared me to the ealier ones.
I think TV in general has done that, as there are very few "new" shows that I care to watch, and usually when I
do, I'm disappointed. I usually confine myself to The Science Channel, Animal Planet, Nick At Night, Hallmark, AMC, TCM, the movie channels, and the like, just because I'm sick of sex-saturated television and shows that make murder a callous, mundane topic and something to joke about.
Anyway, this is definitely a series of movies that are much more worthwhile if one has read the books first, and are not as easily adapted to standing on their own as say the Star Wars and Star Trek series are. I think The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series is much richer in content if the books are read first as well, but even those movies can stand alone better than Harry Potter.
There is so much more detail in almost any book, (as compared to the movies), and I enjoy reading more than I do movies, (which is saying something, lol). It would have served this series much more if they could have made two movies from each book, (and there is enough missing material to do so), but time and the ageing actors prohibited them from doing so, unfortunately, and much had to be left out.
I think a lot of that missing info may be what leaves you feeling a bit ambivalent toward the movies, and that's really an unfair advantage that we have as those who have read all of the books, (myself six times, in anticipation of each premiere). Much of the success of this series has had to do with Rowling's writing style, and while she is not the hard-edged kind of writer that I generally gravitate to, she has a gift for making the reader feel welcome to be invited to her world of magic, and a rare talent for making reading fun and enjoyable for every age, something which is very hard to do for even the most prolific of authors.
It's those things that don't always translate to the movies, though I think each director did the best job they could, and succeeded more than they failed. It's a definite advantage when watching the movies, and I honestly can't say whether or not I might feel exactly the same way you do, if I had not been given that literary "leg-up".
** And back atcha, Twinbree! **