The Perfect Balance to End a Wonderful Series

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2011)

As a Harry Potter fan, who read all the books, and watched and own all the movies, I must say, I was upset when I knew the end was coming. I always have high expectations on movies that came from a book, but I knew it was inevitable that the movie will be different, only I didn't know if it is for the good or for the worse.
For those who read the book, you feel different emotions when watching this movie than what the book made you feel (that is of course if you felt anything). For those who didn't, be prepared to feel a wide range of emotions.
This movie is at least 10 times more emotional than any of the movies before, at times you will laugh, be scared for Harry, then you will be angry because of what Lord Voldemort subjected to Harry, next you will cry because it is so touching.
In this movie you can see the characters have grown. Think, has there been a time where Ron was the one that tells Hermione what's going on? and suggested a brilliant idea? The crew filmed it so well that we see that Ron has grown and he can do something other than follow orders, but not only that, they did it to the point that it makes you chuckle in a middle of the most tense scene. Now think again, when has Professor McGonagall REALLY showed favouritism? and actually defied someone with superior authority to keep Harry safe? and done it RIGHT in everyone's faces? When she did that I felt motherly love in the middle of a war zone. Oh, and when has Luna demanded Harry's attention? You know somethings up if that happens.
Now this scene I'm going to hint at next was done so well I was speechless, I don't think I can even convey it to you how well. Prove me wrong but when has Professor Snape even looked at Harry like he is worth something? Doesn't he always say you look and act so much like your father? While everyone goes like you have your mother's eyes? This changed so much because for ONCE, for once he tells us all that he actually care, that he is willing to express that he can to look pass Harry's appearance of James (which I would think it would symbolize as Harry's flaws from Snape's POV) to see what Lily gave Harry, by saying that Harry has Lily's eyes.
Snape's memories where done extremely well. When I read the book, I was like oh no, they will cut at least half of those memories, but they mean so much! Luckily they didn't cut half of the memories, merely condensed it. It was so beautiful when they overlapped pasted memories to more recent ones, when the memories changed between happiness and sorrow. It was a work of art!
When they were locking down Hogwarts and warding up the wards, it is the most beautiful magic I have seen on screen. For once it is not random blast of cures, but protection, a UNITED effort, yes from the beginning almost everything was a united effort, but it wasn't an object you can visibly see that it was a united effort of protection. You can feel the warmth laced with sorrow knowing the wards won't hold.
Since this is the last movie of a series of eight films I will assume that you all know the Harry Potter theme score. As most of you know it plays when the Warner Brother Icon pops up sometimes followed by a scene and then the Harry Potter title. Right? Well I was pretty disappointing when the first few notes told me that it was not going to be played like what I expected. However, when I started to sink into the mood of the what the music and the atmosphere around me was, it felt like my heart was going to melt and my eyes was going to water, because it felt like there was so much sorrow locked in the music and movie. Which I suppose was the point of the score; to bring it out, to emphasize it. So when the theme score was played at the climax of the movie it was so dramatic, I wanted to cry, laugh and jump up and down all at the same time.
Having read the books to some depth, I would say, if you strip away all the minor plots, and just left the backbone of the backbone, this series is about love, and how it will never fail, nor forgotten. The previous movies didn't really show it. But in this final one, it is stated many times over with words, action, and even magic, that the ones we love will never truly leave us even when they die, because they will always be in our heart. I think it is really powerful, because this is the last movie with a lot of death scenes. The mood is like death and only death.. no light, no exit, only hope, and trust of those around you. So when Harry is reminded that nothing really leaves us if you have them in your heart, same can be said for those Harry Potter fans, Harry Potter will never leave us if we remember him as our favourite hero, and learn from him that hope is something that can't be given up, or that friendship and love is worth more than anything physical.
Sure there are some things that can be improved, especially when Harry didn't give the full length speech to Voldemort, or when there aren't enough explosions to my liking, but these disappointments was paling to how great the screenplay was.
Oh! The Epilogue was done perfectly *laughs*