This being the first 'Harry Potter' movie in 3D

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2011)

Part II picks up right where the previous film left off- the dark Lord Voldemort smiles in evil triumph as he steals the most powerful wand in the world, i.e. the Elder Wand, from the tomb of beloved Hogwarts headmaster Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). The next shot is equally ominous- students are marched rank-and-file through a Hogwarts courtyard, watched closely by cloaked Dementors hovering over the school grounds. If there was any need of a reminder of the danger facing our three protagonists, these opening sequences should just about refresh one's memory of what is at stake.
There is precious little time to waste, and the first we get to see Harry, Ron and Hermione, they are already hatching a plan to break into Gringotts to retrieve a Horcrux. Their break-in settles upon a plan of deception that allows for some rare moments of levity in the film, as Helena Bonham Carter gets to ham it up as a polyjuice-disguised Hermoine impersonating Bellatrix Lestrange. This being the first 'Harry Potter' movie in 3D, Yates caters for some distinctive thrills in the additional dimension with a roller-coaster ride through the vault, culminating in a daring escape on the back of a dragon.
But as readers of the book will tell you, the last stand happens back at Hogwarts, and true enough, after this thrilling early set-piece at Gringotts, the trio head back to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to confront their foes. It is also where the last Horcruxes are supposed to be, and Harry's return to the once sunny and cheery grounds now besieged by darkness and doom becomes a true test of allegiance.
Fans will be glad that Kloves gives room for otherwise supporting characters to step into the limelight- in particular, Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) emerges as one of the unlikeliest but also truest heroes on the side of good. The Hogwarts stalwarts also get a chance to show off their magic, and Yates gives each largely enough screen time for the heroic send-off they deserve.
Yet he reserves the most emotional moment in the film for Severus Snape's (Alan Rickman) vindication, long thought to be the Judas Iscariot-equivalent in the Order and the one who pushed Dumbledore to his death. Yates delivers a truly poignant and deeply heartfelt revelation of Snape's true colours, and it is a farewell that even those who have read the book and can expect what is to come will be overwhelmed by its sheer emotional muscle. While Part II was always meant to be an action-packed spectacle, it is to Yates' credit that there is still as much heart as before in the storytelling.