They finally got it right!

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2011)

While never an avid Harry Potter fan, I have watched all eight Harry Potter films on the big screen over the past decade. It's been a long, bumpy ride, with some films stronger than others - mainly the first few (in my own honest opinion). After a while, however, it all felt like the biggest cinematic tease ever. I mean, we've been told about Voldermort ever since the beginning, and we've known all along that the saga will end with this big, epic fight between good and evil... err, I mean Harry vs. Voldermort. However, that never came (except for a few teases here and there), and when the producers decided to postpone the inedible and split the last film into two, it became ever so frustrating.
Thanks god, then, that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 came along to right all the wrongs the previous films have made and to give us the proper closure we've all been waiting for. Finally, after all this time, we get to see the main protagonist for more than a glance. We get resolutions to plot lines that began in parts 6 & 7, Hogwarts makes an awesome comeback for one, final stand between forces between both sides, and there are even some twists and turns that echo all the way back to parts 1 & 2.
So yes, THIS is the Harry Potter we've all been waiting for all along: edgy, dark, more mature and complex than ever before, with solid performances from all involved (especially Ralph Fiennes, who gets some space to play with his character, and that guy that plays Neville Longbottom, who grew up to become quite a man from that mousy little kid he once was). But more so - and unlike any of the other films in the series – HP7b stands as an independent piece (alongside its 2010 counterpart), and doesn't leave the viewer unsatisfied. Here, we get a proper ending, we know this is the Harry Potter to end all 800 or so films that came before, and it seems that the producers knew this and gave it all they could. I only wish they've done this more often during the previous films, instead of saving the best for last.
All in all, this is THE best Harry Potter I've seen from all the eight, and a truly exciting roller coaster of a film, filled with top notch storytelling alongside impressive special effects (even the 3D felt appropriate and relevant). I gave it a very solid 9 out of 10.