Lacks the resonance of the book but not a bad way to end the series

Rating: 6/10 (16 July 2011)

So, HP7.2 at last brings the saga to a close. I have to admit I was expecting something more after 7 previous movies; the film does nothing much wrong but is strangely ineffectual. Many of the characters - Malfoy, Hagrid etc, don't appear much - hell even Ron and Hermione feel oddly in the background in this movie.
The plot, of course, concerns Harry and his friends' hunt for the remaining Horcruxes, the destruction of which will make Lord Voldemort mortal again. Lots of actors from the previous movies reappear briefly, including Miriam Margoyles and Emma Thompson, and there's a nice reappearance from John Hurt at the beginning.
It doesn't take long for the movie to reach Hogwarts, however, and most of the running time feels like an extended finale to the series rather than a film in it's own right. Inevitable, I suppose. The scene I liked best concerned the fate of Snape (Alan Rickman - excellent as ever). But too many characters are reduced to small moments rather than being important parts of the story. The stuff about Dumbledore's brother felt forced and unconvincing - indeed, the whole back-story of Dumbledore has suffered greatly.
Still, there are some splendid action sequences and Daniel Ratcliffe gives probably his best performance in the series. On the whole the films have been pretty good, vastly better than flicks like The Golden Compass and the Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe; vastly inferior to a certain trilogy by Peter Jackson....