"All was well."

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2011)

I love Harry Potter and I'm not ashamed to admit it. From Platform 9 ¾ to Quidditch to that trusty old Invisibility Cloak, I love it all. In fact, I think I'm still struggling to get over the non-delivery of my own Hogwarts letter. But they say that all good things must come to an end, and so I regrettably find myself here – Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 - the final installment in the Harry Potter franchise, a movie that I was both beyond excited about and dreading all at the same time.
Last time we saw Harry and Co. things weren't looking too hot – The Ministry had fallen, the search for the Horcruxes wasn't going exactly to plan, and You-Know-Who had finally gotten his grubby hands on the all-powerful Elder Wand. Part 2 follows on perfectly from where the first installment of The Deathly Hallows left off, whereas the first half was all about building up the tension, this half is all action all the time.
All the main characters we've come to know and love (or hate in some cases) return for the final farewell. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson play Harry, Ron and Hermione to perfection, as they all come into their own during this last part of the tale – through bravery, love, grief and fate we watch as their characters become the people we knew they were always destined to be. Radcliffe has always done a great job of portraying The Chosen One, but in his final outing he is particularly brilliant. Helen McCrory is great as Draco Malfoy's mother, Narcissa, who manages to endear herself to the audience as, when it matters most, she finally seems to do the right thing. Helena Bonham Carter remains flawless as the excellently evil Bellatrix, especially in the scene where she is actually playing Hermione impersonating herself. However, it was Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom who gave my favourite performance of them all, he's definitely come a long way from that bumbling kid swinging from the ceiling in The Chamber of Secrets.
The Snape Saga has been a major feature of the entire series - is he good? Is he bad? Does he possess the most dulcet tones of all time? Let's be honest, until the whole Dumbledore incident at the end of The Half Blood Prince it never seemed all that clear whose side he was really on. In Part 2 we finally find out exactly what Snape has been up too, why he said the things he said and why he did the things he did - and in a movie that is full of poignant moments, the most poignant may be when the heartbreaking truth about him is finally revealed.
Most of the film is centered around The Battle of Hogwarts, which is nothing short of a bloodbath, and, as anyone who has read the book will know, not everyone makes it out alive. At times it does make uncomfortable viewing - Hogwarts was the place that was always safe, it was always the shining beacon during even the darkest of times, and so to watch it turned to rubble isn't easy.
Of course the main crescendo of the movie is the final showdown between the artist formally known as Tom Riddle and The Boy Who Lived, as they finally finish what was started all those years before. This is what we've been waiting for from the start, this is what we knew would happen eventually and the movie does a brilliant job of reminding us that Harry's entire life had been leading to this moment. Thankfully when the moment does come it is every bit as spectacular as it needed to be.
As with all the Potter movies that have come before it, the special effects in Part 2 are great, and again they have created Harry's world perfectly. Throughout the series the adaptations have always stayed pretty true to the books and this one is no exception to that rule, and I don't think those who have read the books will be disappointed with how the finale is brought to life.
And so, it all ends  but does it really? As a very wise woman said last week, 'no story lives unless someone wants to listen  the stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen – Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.'
-Lauren, Spinetinglers