Satisfactory but didn't live up to its potential

Rating: 6/10 (14 April 2013)

I went into Deathly Hallows Part 2 excited the book (mainly the second half) was fantastic and Part 1 had been fairly loyal to the novel.
The film started off well with the escape from Gringotts being well shot and written. However things began to spiral from then (30 minutes). Harry's return to Hogsmeade was OK although there was no mention about the wailing being a caterwhauling charm.
I recognise that although the scene when Harry confronts Snape in the great hall is pretty epic I was sad that the Ravenclaw common room scene had been cut and McGonagall's duel with Snape was too quick.
Then came the battle, this was what disappointed me. It was all too much Harry and skipped a lot of it especially Fred's death scene, Neville with all the plants and the inclusion of Kreacher and the centaurs.
The scene with Dumbledore at Kings Cross was great but it was a shame Dumbeledore's back story was ignored throughout the final 2 films as in my opinion it's one of the more important parts of the story.
The final duel with Voldemort was exciting and epic but I was really disappointed by the lack of the final battle in the hall where all the different characters take down various death eaters. It would have also been cool to have seen Kingsley, Slughorn and McGonagall duel with Voldemort. This would have added more screen time for characters other than Harry, Ron and Hermione who dominated the film a bit too much. I don't know if the final confrontation wasn't included to stop the good characters 'killing' the Death Eaters as Bellatrix's and Voldemorts 'confetti' deaths showed that.
The epilogue was well shot although it's a shame Teddy Lupin was not mentioned properly. The CGI throughout the film was good especially on the Dragon and Ralph Fiennes' acting as Voldemort was great.
This gets a solid 7/10 due to good acting and effects but unfortunately the story lets it down.