A Brilliant End to a Magical Saga

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2011)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is an action-packed, fast paced piece of cinema that wraps up the 10 year film series. It has already shown itself to be hugely successful in terms of profit at the box office and no doubt fans of the series (myself being one of the millions) will find it a great companion to the novel.
The quest to find Lord Voldemort's horcruxes comes to a thrilling conclusion as the Battle of Hogwarts becomes the dominant aspect of the film, a nice and welcome change from the hour and a half long camping trip of Part 1. Part 1 managed to get all the backstory and build up mostly out of the way so we can focus on the explosions and epic wand fights. The visuals are definitely one of the selling points for the movie - Hogwarts castle continuously falling apart throughout the movie, the force field to defend the castle and the countless fight scenes being some of the few highlights. It's quite a CGI heavy piece and I can say I'm thankful for that, because it looks beautiful. The cinematography was incredible - some of the castle shots were great, not to mention the entire Prince's Tale sequence.
There were some great touches that I thought would be left out, such as the onrush of the giant spiders (although I would have liked to see them swarm Hagrid like in the book). I think the thing that bugged me the most was the fate of the Elder Wand and Harry's wand. In the book it was a great sense of closure - the last plot twist before the ending. I can't help but think that the addition of the scene wouldn't have required too much, but what's done is done and we can't do anything about it. Another thing I thought I'd bring up is the final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. I loved that scene in the novel in the Great Hall with everybody watching and Harry explaining everything to Tom Riddle. I was pretty disappointed that this sections as cut out, but I can see the reasoning behind it. Personally, I think it would have been a little cliché and a tad cheesy. But at the same time, we've had this huge dramatic build up to the ending and it comes off as a bit of an anti-climax. Voldemort is defeated and then next scene is Harry among his friends. We didn't see the reaction of anybody else of the news of Voldemort's defeat. Also, Fred's death - did it even happen? I saw a Weasley twin huddled on the ground being disarmed by a Death Eater during a montage. When I saw that, I thought to myself "Wait, was that it?" So that was the gripes paragraph.
Over the last ten years we've seen Dan, Rupert and Emma grow before our eyes and their acting ability has improved tremendously over that time. The acting of the supporting cast is phenomenal, Harry's 'death' particularly comes to mind, although I would have liked to see Hagrid get a bit more screen time. But, it's fair to say that Alan Rickman stole the show during 'The Price's Tale' sequence, bringing out that emotional depth to Severus Snape that the novel portrayed so well. I can't put into words how fantastic that sequence was, when it could have been rushed over like 'Snape's Worst Memory' in Order of the Phoenix, which happened in about 30 seconds with really no idea of what was going on. The cold, hateful character of Snape portrayed brilliantly in the last 7 films really gets the closure his character deserves, and Yates should be congratulated for the sequence.
There's not much to say on the soundtrack other than it's hauntingly beautiful. The 'Leaving Hogwarts' track during the epilogue was a great bit of fan-service, the one scene fans have been fantasizing about since the book was released. Hedwig's Theme playing when Harry reappears at Hogwarts was so cheesy, but I found myself grinning all the same and I'm glad that it was included.
A lot of people have a problem with the epilogue in both the film and the novel, I being indifferent about it. It's a nice way to end the franchise, but I would have liked to see some negative effect on Harry from the events of his teenage years like waking up in a cold sweat like a Vietnam Veteran. But after this ordeal Harry has been through, it's great that he can finally have the life he deserved - the chance to be normal.
I've grown up with this series and I'm sad to see it finally end, but what a way to end it! The ticket from the midnight screening is now stuck on my bedroom wall. Harry Potter was a magical experience that I'm so glad I was a part of. I definitely recommend Deathly Hallows Part 2 to those yet to see it, and I recommend the series to anybody who is yet to discover it.
10/10