Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Director: David Yates
Writers: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling (author)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Release Date: July 15, 2011
Length: 2 hours 10 minutes

It’s been fourteen years of extraordinary books and ten years of consistent films, an important era for many of the loyal fans touched by this now classic series. J.K. Rowling’s ground breaking world is finally being closed with this last installment and after all this time, the big question is did director David Yates (who in many people’s opinions, screwed up the last few films) get the last two hours of the Harry Potter period right? It’s finally time to tell. In part 1, we left off with Harry, Hermione and Ron making it out of the Malfoy mansion alive, with four more horcruxes to go. For those who don’t plan on watching Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 before seeing this film (which I do not advise) and do not know what a horcrux is, I will explain. In order to keep his immortality, the brilliantly evil Voldemort divided his soul into seven pieces and put them into various things, each at the price of one death, therefore Harry must find and demolish each one for Voldemort to be truly destructible. The first film is considered a road movie, with the three main characters traveling through their corrupt magical world from one dangerous place to the next as drifters looking for horcruxes. In Part 2, the trio plans on retrieving Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup, believed to be in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault at Gringotts Bank. This is their one last risky pit stop before arriving at Hogwartz for a full outbreak of war against the death eaters (Voldemort’s followers). This makes Harry Potter and The Death Hallows: Part 2 essentially a war movie with the absolute thrilling battle that defines the magical world’s history, taking up most of it’s time and it makes for a hell of a creatively exciting film. If you have read my previous reviews, you know I have been less than overwhelmed by Yates’ previous adaptations and felt that if Part 1 didn’t feed that satisfying Harry Potter hunger inside me, Part 2 was unfortunately bound to follow. By some incredible blessing, I’m guessing coming from Rowling herself, I was so amazingly proved wrong. With the immensely riveting and outstanding plot of the last half of Rowling’s seventh novel, it would take a complete idiot to screw the adaptation of it up. As long as that person stays true to the novel, which they will with the knowledge of hundreds of thousands angry fans in the back of their mind, nothing can stop this film from being truly incredible. Although he usually likes slow, thoughtful scenes of silence David Yates finally rises to the occasion of making excitement and thrill very important in this last film. He carries his beautiful artistry from previous adaptations to this one, making every individual shot a unique beauty. Something the Harry Potter films have nailed since the beginning have been superb special effects like no others and they often go hand in hand with that excitement and climactic feel. The lack of climax or excitement in the last few installments may have been majorly affected by the lack of quick special effects, but in a war movie, they crucially come in to play and beautifully at that. Fan or not, you are so much more compelled by their creative wand fighting as opposed to people violently beating each other up. With the high adventure reigning through our veins often, there is a balance with Rowling’s poignant writing translated magnificently onto screen with the phenomenal cast. Daniel Radcliffe gives the performance of his career with his last 2 hours of a role he’s had for more than half his life. Radcliffe plays Harry, who many wouldn’t believe is a vastly complex character, to beautiful perfection. He has grown up with the character so closely, seeing the changes within him, just as he has in himself for ten years and it makes for a remarkably convincing performance in his final hour. His counterparts, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint play to the gravity of the last film as well, giving their best performances yet. Watson as Hermione Granger, is no longer the dorky know-it-all and Grint as Ron is no longer the stupid lovable best friend. All three young actors’ abilities are tested in some very intense and heartbreaking scenes in the film and all have the strength to finally show the extent of their skills. They as always, are marvelously accompanied by what seems like all of Britain’s adult actors including Ralph Fiennes, who continues to give one of his best performances as the incredibly smart callous and relentless Dark Lord Voldemort. His menacing performance in the Harry Potter films is arguably right up there with his performance as a different kind of villain in Schinder’s List. There are so many incredible performances in this film, including Maggie Smith as the caring but strong Professor McGonagall, Helena Bonham Carter as the heartless wicked Bellatrix Lestrange, Robbie Coltrane as the hugely lovable oaf Hagrid, Julie Walters as Ron’s strong-minded mother, Mrs. Weasley and finally the captivating Alan Rickman as the unmoving, daunting Severus Snape, that shows his true colours in this last film. Every actor in the final film changes their performances slightly to reflect the enormity of the plot that will change their character’s lives forever. Those who are opposed to fantasy, or never cared for magic, witches or wizards, need to know that this film is no longer an innocent children’s story adaptation. The government, the Ministry Of Magic, being overtaken by Death Eaters creates a very disturbing and remindful tone to the movie that many won’t see coming. Citizens are forced to worship him, must abide by his new uncompromising rules and finally he will torture and or exterminate any witch or wizard he finds who is muggle (non-magic) born. With a number of distressing deaths of important characters, we are truly shown that as the characters have grown up, so has the magnitude of the central conflict of the story. The last three quarters of this film finally determine the fate of this seventeen-year battle between Voldemort and Harry and the fate of the world they live in as well. Whether you are a die-hard fan or not, you feel every second of that severity and importance in the worrisome question mark hanging over the film. You do not need to be a fan of the series in the slightest, and you will be immediately won over by the thrill and moving qualities in this extraordinary film, however fans of the novel might have more of an emotional reaction to the film. As the series and characters who people grew up with finally turn the last page, people will most definitely find themselves crying to that famous tune of doo du doo doo, doo doo doo in the last minutes of the film. Even writing this review, I find myself getting nostalgically teary for this end of an era as we finally see the characters we grew up with together finish their story. Although I never thought I’d say it, this is the best Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the best Harry Potter film and perfectly tops off a series of the most imaginative and touching films that will forever be known as classics.