A fitting end to the franchise...

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2011)

Wishing to avoid the crowds I decided to wait a week before going to see this and, although it was showing in the smaller of my local cinema's two screening rooms, it was still quite busy. I was surprised to find a good friend of mine there with his son and so I joined them on the front row (not a spot I'd usually choose, but I was surprised by the effect). Having already read the book after seeing 'HP7: Part 1' last year I knew we were in for a bit of a treat. Here's a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.
Harry, Hermione and Ron are still on the trail of Lord Voldemort's three remaining Horcruxes. To this end they convince Griphook to take them to Greengots to retrieve one from the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange. They manage to obtain it, but are discovered and have to escape by releasing the creature guarding the vaults. Voldermort knows they have the Horcrux but they press on. Harry has a feeling the next one is back at Hogwarts and so, risking everything, they return to the school. Severus Snape has been made headmaster and he rules the school with tight discipline. Neville Longbottom and many of the other pupils have started an underground resistance group and it is these who welcome the trio back to the school. Having removed Snape, they now have to find the remaining Horcruxes and the means to destroy them. It is a race against time because Voldemort's forces are gathering outside and they mean to kill Harry Potter. I think that's about all I can say without them Death Eater Spoiler Police coming after me.
The story follows on (not surprisingly) directly from Part 1; there is no "the story so far" bit at the beginning so if you haven't seen Part 1 then it may all be a bit confusing. As far as performances go, they all did a great job; Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Special praise goes to Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort and Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape, I though both were excellent in their difficult roles. Also worthy of a mention were; Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom, Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore, Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood and finally, Warwick Davis as Griphook / Professor Filius Flitwick.
There are some significant differences from the book, most of which are there to make the story flow better on screen. The only bit I was disappointed about was towards the end where Harry has a particularly stirring speech in the book; this was sadly missing from the film. On a technical level, I cannot fault it, the CGI and effects are all excellent, although much of the time it is very dark (I wouldn't have liked to see it in 3D). Over all an excellent, and fitting, end to the franchise and one I'm happy to very highly recommend to you.
My score: 9.2/10 IMDb Score: 8.4/10 (68,140 votes when this review was written). Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96/100 (256 reviews counted when this review was written).