the battle that ended the war

Rating: Null/10 (15 July 2011)

This final movie in the Harry Potter franchise constitutes a very impressive effort from the part of the creative team. It is full of poignant and memorable scenes while the battle scenes remind one of the artistry of "The Lord of the Rings".
The movie starts from where the last had ended-the appropriation of the Elder Wand from the grave of Dumbledore by Voldemort and the burial of Dobby the house elf, killed by Bellatrix in the previous film. The visit of the heroes plus Griphook to Gringotts Bank gives a fine allegory of the world of finance, in the way the Goblin employees of the Bank are portrayed, serious and absorbed in their business oblivious of the external environment. The book was written before the financial crisis but the way the dragon plays havoc in the bank when unleashed had a symbolic value in my eyes. The sequence of events follows the book and we are treated to the triumphant return of Harry to the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix and his school, the subsequent battle which is something never before portrayed in the films of this franchise, an event of actually epic proportions with gigantic trolls supporting Voldemort and animated statues of medieval knights in armor protecting the school while the movements of the participants were superbly synchronized and choreographed. Meanwhile we see the musings of Harry Potter and his inner struggles as he realizes his responsibilities and mentally confronts Voldemort. When Voldemort kills Snape mistakenly believing that this action will give him mastery over the Elder Wand which he feels he lacks, Harry acquires Snape's final tears and thus gains access to his memories which proves that he was always in the side of the good and that he was acting under instructions from Dumbledore. Harry goes to meet Voldemort alone since this was the term of the truce the latter had proposed and before confronting him he uses the Resurrection Stone to call up beloved dead such as his parents, Sirious and Remus. Fortified with their support he finds Voldemort who stuns him with his wand. He is transferred to a short of Elysian train station where he converses with Dumbledore's spirit who speaks in a riddle-like manner and there we see a blood stained embryo with the characteristics of the Dark Lord which is supposed to be the part of him residing inside Harry that he destroyed unwittingly when he attacked Potter with his wand. Potter returns to the actual world where Narcissa Malfoy lies to Voldemort saying that Harry is dead. As the Dark Lord with his followers reaches Hogwards, with Hangrid carrying the supposedly dead Harry Potter, the defenders of Hogwards do not seem that eager to espouse the cause of He who must not be named. Commotion begins and Harry reveals himself causing defections from the ranks of Voldemort, the Malfoy nuclear family first of all, and heartiness to Hogwards. A second battle ensues where Neville succeeds to kill the snake thus offering invaluable help to Harry in his duel with Voldemort. In the battle Mrs Weasly kills Bellatrix, offering a feeling of vindication to the average housewife in comparison with more colorful women. Finally Harry triumphs over Voldemort whose followers disperse and there is a final scene after nineteen years where Harry and Gini Weasly, Ron and Hermione, Draco and his wife and their respective children are in Platform nine and three quarters where they put the children to the train that will get them to Hogwards.