Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2011)

This was the finale in the highly popular film series, based on the equally popular series of books by J.K. Rowling, and when I saw that it was rated the full five out of five stars, and available in 3D, there was no way I would miss it. Basically the story continues from where Part 1 left off, after Dobby the house elf was killed, and Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes) found the powerful Elder Wand in the grave of Professor Albus Dumbledore (Sir Michael Gambon). Friends Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) are still searching for the hidden Horcruxes, the secret to Voldermort's immortality, and with the help of goblin Griphook (Warwick Davis) they break into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) to find one. After escaping the goblin bank with the help of a white dragon, we see the Dark Lord and the other villains have taken over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Professor Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) has become the new headmaster. After meeting Dumbledore's brother Aberforth (Ciarán Hinds) the friends are taken by Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) through a secret passageway to Hogwarts, and they are reunited with old friends in hiding. Snape is informed of Harry's return, but he is confronted, leaving way for Professor Minerva McGonagall (Dame Maggie Smith) to start the revolution with many of the remaining teachers against the dark forces. Harry meanwhile is told by Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) to go and see the ghost for Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald) to find one of the last Horcruxes, and finds out it is hidden in the Room of Requirement. Ron and Hermoine meanwhile destroy the Horcrux from Lestrange's vault with the fang of the Basilisk skeleton in the Chamber of Secrets, and they also share their first kiss. While the teachers and some students fight against the dark forces, Harry goes to the Room of Requirement and finds the hidden Horcrux, and although confronted and nearly killed by old enemy Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), the three friends save his life. After destroying this Horcrux and weakening Voldermort more, Harry looks into the Dark Lord's mind and sees that the final Horcrux is the snake Nagini, and they witness him kill Snape with the Elder Wand. Before dying however Snape gave Harry some tears, and in the Pensieve these are used to look into the past, where he sees Snape was not only in love with his mother Lily Potter (Geraldine Somerville), but that he was also there on the night when she and James Potter (Adrian Rawlins). But the bigger twist than that is that the reason Voldermort did not kill him on that night was because he is the final Horcrux he unintentionally created, so according to Dumbledore he is destined to die. Harry decides to follow this path by going into the Forbidden Forest and confronting the Dark Lord himself, allowing him to cast the Killing Curse, therefore sending him to a white limbo, where he is given wise words by Dumbledore that Voldermort has in fact killed the dark part within him. After Harry returns to his body we see Voldermort overjoyed that he has "killed" him, and asking all to obey him now, however Harry springs to life and runs away, while everyone else fights. While the duelling between the hero and villain goes on, Neville decapitates the snake Nagini with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, therefore all the Horcruxes are destroyed, leaving Voldermort mortal, and he combusts into ash and is blown away. The final scenes see Harry reject the powers of the Elder Wand despite being the rightful owner, and sixteen years later we see older Ron and Hermoine, and Harry and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) on Platform 9 3/4 saying goodbye to their own children as they head for Hogwarts for their first term. Also starring John Hurt as Ollivander, Domhnall Gleeson as Bill Weasley, Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Warwick Davis as Professor Filius Flitwick, Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy, Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, Katie Leung as Cho Chang, Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn, Miriam Margolyes as Professor Pomona Sprout, Gemma Jones as Madam Pomfrey, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley, David Bradley as Argus Filch, Nick Moran as Scabior, Emma Thompson as Professor Sybil Trelawney, Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan, James Phelps as Fred Weasley, Oliver Phelps as George Weasley, Chris Rankin as Percy Weasley, Leslie Phillips as The Sorting Hat and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. It is going to feel odd for a year or two not to expect another Harry Potter film, all the actors are of course fantastic in their roles, many parts of the story, especially the one or two big twists work really well, and the amazing special effects serve the final film fantastically, a highly watchable fantasy adventure. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects, and it won the BAFTA for Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated for Best Make Up & Hair, Best Production Design and Best Sound, and it won the BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature Film. Harry Potter was number 45 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, but he was also number 35 on The 100 Worst Britons (the only fictional person, why?). Very good!