So close. So close it hurts.

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2019)

What am I doing writing a review for, possibly, the most highly anticipated series finale-8 years after its debut?
Well, for starters, I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said, I'm sure. I took the Potter train at my own pace, reading all the books and watching all the movies in the past year. Frankly, it's a miracle it wasn't spoiled for me after all this time!
But I'm adding my two cents a few years late, maybe just to validate the feelings of those who felt them first.
I was head-over-heels excited about 93% of this movie. So much of it was spot on! In fact, it was so damn near perfect, 30 minutes in, I was dying to see the end because it was proving to be such an epic, faithful recreation! But then, right as we near the close there were some huge misses. Scenes Rowling's words formed so clearly in my mind's eye, the thought that they never got to be realized on-screen as a part of this series, truly breaks my heart. For me, it all revolves around that final showdown.
1. Harry and Voldemort's final confrontation should have taken place as it did in the book, in the midst of EVERYONE. Not just the battle, the verbal beat-down. One of the most satisfying moments is Harry just laying Voldemort's dirty laundry out for all to see. As they circle each other, once and for all Harry tells all who can hear exactly how it went down. He unmasks Tom Riddle and all his lies, he vindicates Snape, he obliterates all doubt about Dumbledore's true character and plan, he sets right a lot of wrongs and god, it's so satisfying! Why we were robbed of that I'll never know.
2. Related, the final "death blow" needed to come down to Voldemort's decision to risk using the wand. It's his hubris that finishes him. He had to rise to Harry's final taunt.
3. Because no one is around in the movie version of the standoff, Harry is never celebrated by his victorious peers! Tragic.
4. Similarly, the headmasters standing ovation (which brought me to tears in the book) was completely omitted. You forget that Dumbledore lives on in the framed portrait in that office, which makes everything just so much better.
There are other things that bugged me, like, I wanted more time in the pensieve with Snape's memories. What we got from Alan Rickman was so brilliant. Also, the Nagini chase was way too drawn out. But overall, it's those 4 points made above that rob this grande finale of its grandeur.
Man. The source material is what sold all those billions of copies and made the series worth being made into movies in the first place. How I wish the filmmakers would have resisted the urge to reinterpret those crucial final moments.
Maybe in another 20 years some new director will start the whole thing over again and this time, stick the landing.
I'll be waiting.