Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, they're all so great and magical. But I didn't think the film series were perfect at all, but they were still great movies. With that, I was extremely excited to see the end of the film franchise, and impressed with the trailers. So I had high expectations. And thankfully it did not disappoint, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, blew past my already high expectations and I was enthralled!

The whole movie looked spectacular! The cinematography extremely well done, the art direction was incredible. The movie was beautiful to look at, the visuals were spectacular and truly Oscar worthy! The set designers, cinematographers really need to be awarded for their work, because it looks like they spend of time and money on the look of the film.

The cast of the film was pretty much perfect, they should all be applauded too. Emma Watson, as usual is and great and she'll have a bright career ahead of her. Rupert Grint is pretty much great also, he is a fine actor indeed. Daniel Radcliffe did an amazing job and was very memorable as Harry Potter. Although I think Ralph Fiennes was the star of the film, he did unbelievable job as the evil, crazy Lord Voldemort, I think he deserves an Oscar Nomination for his role. The rest of the cast were also great too.

We all grew up overtime with the series, we followed the adventures of Harry Potter for around 10 years, I think. It seems very weird that there will be no more Harry Potter films to look forward too. I will miss the franchise very much! However I am happy the series got an amazing ending. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is not only the best film in the series, but it will probably be one of the best films of 2011. Everyone should see this film, even if they don't like past Harry Potter films.

I quite luckily got the chance to see this at an early screening on July 7th.

First impressions of the film? Brilliant.

Director David Yates, who also directed the 5th, 6th and 7th films is back to direct the final. This pleases me because these 3 films are my personal favourites out of the 7 that have come out so far so I think it's fair to say that I was expecting big things from this. I'm very pleased to say that he's pulled it off ending the series in a fast paced, well written final act.

The film (in case you're wondering) picks up straight after where Part 1 ended, Voldemort (Ralph Finnes) has the most powerful wand in his possession and he's finally ready to succeed in what he tried to do over 15 years ago. He finally has the power to kill Harry Potter. I won't go into much more detail in what happens as most people will have read the book and I don't want to drop spoilers! Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) need to seek out and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. This is the only way that will give them a chance of stopping He Who Must Not Be Named.

Their final journey takes them to places we may not have seen recently or remembered, places such as Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Along the way they encounter a variety of creatures, both friend and foe from dragons to spiders, death eaters to old friends and of course, the Dark Lord himself. Will Voldemort Succeed? Or will good trump evil? For those who haven't read the book this is your chance to find out.

What I especially love about this film and Part 1 is the direction in which they've taken, adding more cheesy lines and (for example in Part 1) that dance sequence. I feel that these small touches bring the films closer to our hearts and help us to connect with the film a lot more. Sure they leave out a lot of information that the books provide but that's the same with all film adaptations! They've got the main story down and where they've deviated from the book it has been for the best. Not everything written down on paper will translate into visually appealing footage.

Part 1 to me also felt unfinished (well it was only half the book I suppose!), I mean in the way that it was long and never seemed to climax. Sure at the end of Part 1 Voldemort gets the want he so badly seeks for and leaves then the films ends on a giant cliffhanger. Part 2 definitely adds the rest of that epicness that so many other films have towards the end. It's full of action! I definitely believe that both Part 1 and 2 are best viewed with a short as possible gap in between them. Otherwise it's like watching the first disc from one of the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings and not watching the second disc for another 6 months!

This paragraph is about the visuals and 3D. Skip to the final paragraph for final thoughts.

Visually the film is stunning from an effects point of view. From the trailer alone you can see that this film has quite a lot of action in it, crumbling buildings, hundreds of spells and lots of fire. Everything looks great, from the wand duals to the dragons it all is fantastic. Also this time around it is being showed in 3D and is the first (and (probably) last!) potter film to be shown in this way. Now I was very sceptical about this, especially since they announced that the films (originally both parts) would be converted from 2D to 3D instead of being natively filmed in 3D. I believe that what they should have done was what they did with Part 1, scrap the 3D. I'm going to say that it's not great, at times it's pretty good, but never great. For the most part it's okay. I'm going to compare it with the last blockbuster film to come out in 3D, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The 3D effect is not even close to looking as good as what that film (shot in 3D) had. So I'm going to tell you now, 2D is the best dimension to watch this film in. Having said that if you still want to (or have to) see it in 3D by all means do, the 3D doesn't take away anything from the film, but it doesn't add much.

I will end by saying that I definitely recommend this film for everyone, especially Potter fans. The ending that many thought could easily be done wrongly has been done right. Then when you think of Part 1 and 2 as the same film I believe that they are easily the best Potter films. This truly is a fitting ending for the boy who lived.

This movie could not do any better, it ended the Harry Potter series with a bang. It is a good balance from the first part of The Deathly Hallows. The first part was more of a drama, while part two was action packed left and right. This may be my favorite movie of the series, though all of them are equally amazing. I have read the books, and there are definitely major changes in the movie, but I find they fit perfectly well with the story, even if it isn't the original plot. Even for those who haven't read the books (why wouldn't you?!), it is equally enjoyable. This movie, along with the rest in the series, will be loved for years and years to come.

Endings are usually the problems of most movie series. They usually end up being mediocre & unsatisfying or they are made to cash in people. The great thing about Harry Potter movies, the filmmakers are taking their job seriously. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a great ending of the series. It's more than throwing a lot of action and exposition. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is one of those conclusion that actually care about the series.

Deathly Hallows part 1 is just the first and the half of the second act of the story. Deathly Hallows part 2 begins straight forward to its continuation of the last Harry Potter film. And of course, if you haven't seen Deathly Hallows Part 1 or any of the Harry Potter movies, you'll be confused to death. Obvious isn't it? It's pretty clever to make the whole Deathly Hallows story like a slow burn. It started from silent thrills, plans, and escapes to big and loud battles.

The series doesn't only end with big and loud action. It also gives us some nostalgia from the old Harry Potter films. And we still get to see more of the characters. The movie itself is pretty exciting. It's a good choice to let David Yates direct the rest of the Potter films because he made this series darker and bolder. Aside from that the film still has its compelling moments like the Prince's Tale scene.

No need to tell about the performances of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and the rest of the cast because they are obviously good to their characters but there is one actor here is worth mention and that is Alan Rickman. We already knew him as Snape but there is one scene where we see more of his character and his performance was excellent. The filmmaking, the special effects is obviously good. The music score really made the battle scenes epic and perfect for a final film.

For me it's really hard to write a review about Harry Potter. Is it because I never read the books or I'm not really a huge fan but in my opinion Harry Potter is a successful series. If I rank all the movie conclusions, this could be number three because nothing beats Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Either you're a fan or not, you'll love this series. And yes, this is another remarkable movie series.

Moments after I saw the very first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I was crawling with goosebumps and plagued with anxiety. After almost a decade, the franchise was coming to an end. I had already read the book, knew the plotting, and remembered the fates of all the characters, but the trailer left me in a near unfathomable state -- the end was coming, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Picking up practically the exact moment where the first half of the left off, the film begins with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) still on the trail for the elusive Horcruxes that make up Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) soul. Rather quickly, it becomes apparent that the group will need to travel back to Hogwarts, and it is there that the final battle to determine the fate of the wizarding community, and the world at large, begins.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a fitting finale for one of the best and most consistent series of the past decade. It is a simply wondrous spectacle that extends and concludes the story wonderfully. While the story and effects are just as great as always, it is the final battle we have all been waiting for that delivers in spades. It is everything you imagined it would be and more. Splitting the films may still be a debatable decision, but the film is able to stand on its own much the same way the previous part did. It is that good, and that gripping. It may be the shortest Harry Potter film, but it is also the only one that feels like it knows exactly where it wants to navigate itself to with each new scene.

Grint, Watson and especially Radcliffe are simply stunning in their performances. They have grown up with these characters, and have gotten progressively stronger as actors with each new film. But here, they have totally immersed themselves into their roles, and the results are nothing short of magical. They are exactly how you remember them written in the book, and move from sadness, to courageous, to fearful, and more, with such passion and conviction that you forget they are simply acting. Their styles are that strong, and help provide the emotional crux the film leans on and never from.

Even with their varying screen times, the supporting cast is impeccable as always. Alan Rickman is spectacular and simply devastating as the devious Professor Snape. Maggie Smith finally gets some real time to shine as Professor McGonagall, as does Julie Walters as Molly Weasley (who gets the greatest line in the film). Jason Isaacs, Helena Bonham Carter, George Harris, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon and Matthew Lewis also perfect their characters, and help deliver awesome performances all around.

But the supporting screen time is dominated by Fiennes as Voldemort. When Harry and his friends are not the focal point, Fiennes simply owns everyone. His performance always ranked amongst the best of the series, and he does not let the finale slow him down. He is horrifically evil in his interpretation, and frequently compares to his absolutely and terrifyingly brilliant performance as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. The fear that courses through the characters' veins at the very sight or mention of his name, courses equally through the audience. Even when he is being darkly hilarious, Fiennes is downright petrifying. He is the stuff that nightmares are made of. His work is just that close to perfect in the role that it gives an almost genuine authenticity that should not come so effortlessly.

But like all Harry Potter films however, the cohesive product is not without its faults.

My main gripe with the film come out of the sheer fact that because it was split off into two parts, it allowed some of the more useless and careless sections of prose to make it into the film. Much like the extended and excruciatingly long camping trip from the first half, the second half gets dragged down by the addition of standout moments from the book that felt awful the first time you read them, and come off even worse on the screen. I know they are pandering to the audience, and adding just as much as they possibly could to make the film feel complete, but there was a reason so much was cut out of the other books when they made the leap to the big screen. This is the shortest of the saga by a long shot, and the chaotic pace makes it feel like it could have been even shorter had they chopped more out.

My other gripe is the 3D. The filmmakers said they did not have the right amount of time to convert the first half properly, so they just scrapped the plans. The movie looked amazing anyway, and I found myself puzzled at what exactly would have been three-dimensional about it about the second part. Save for a scene early on involving a rather badly rendered dragon, there is not much else that takes advantage of the added 3D. The majority of the film just looks and acts normal, never exploring the format, and never giving the audience a reason to care or change their minds on the quickly dying trend.

In what feels like a blink of the eye, the Harry Potter film series is over. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has arrived, and with it, an incredible end to the franchise. It stumbles in some places because of the inane and disappointing prose of the book, but the filmmakers have stayed true to their book and film fans, and delivered a tremendously worthy finale. It is one of the strongest films of the year, and one of the best film finales ever conceived.

8.5/10.

(An extended review also appeared on http://www.geekspeakmagazine.com).