epic ending

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2011)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is the grandest of finales. It works in hope, love, loss, death, destruction, thrills, and triumph, and does so more efficiently and powerfully than any other film in the series to date. I'm not sure if Deathly Hallows will work as one giant, almost five-hour movie, but I expect that it will. The individual pieces are so strong—the direction, the performances, and all the technical aspects—that only the pacing would be a question. But I'm not reviewing that eventual epic. This review is for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, a movie that is exhilarating, emotionally powerful, uplifting, magical, and a beautiful conclusion to a wonderful series. Splitting J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a risky proposition from a narrative standpoint. Financially, it was an unsurprising move, but if you have one movie that's all slow, methodical character development and the second movie that's all fast-paced action, then each movie could be monotonous because they've lost the other half of their story. Both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows managed to avoid that problem. The first part, while mostly centered on wandering and quiet moments, still managed to work in humor and thrilling set pieces. By contrast, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is an almost non-stop epic battle that still finds time for the character development and deeply moving moments the series became known for. It is the grandest of all of the Harry Potter films in scope, in action, and in heartbreak.