SOURCE: Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey - by Bob McCabe - Harper Design - October 2011
Would the shape, mechanics, or aerodynamics of Mad-Eye Moody's recumbent broom help or hinder him in combat?
In the Battle of the Seven Potters in the movie Deathly Hallows Part I, Moody is shown riding a recumbent broom with a seat and handles on each side. It seems to me that this kind of broom isn't conducive to a battle situation.
When I imagine both a recumbent broom and a regular broom, I continue to think of the regular-style broom as more efficient, easier to turn and handle in a split second, and more geared toward flying in a high-stress combat situation (holding onto the broom handle with one hand and pointing one's wand forward to cast spells with the other).
If Moody were to have let go of one of the side handles of his broom to use his wand, would that have caused this kind of broom to tilt dangerously? Now I know that Moody was killed by Avada Kedavra before falling from his broom, so the broom didn't cause his death. But could it have caused his reflexes to be just a tad bit slower?