Another well-crafted fan-driven franchise has come to a close. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 delivers a worthy ending to the world’s biggest movie series of all time.
Part 2 opens in the exact moment that Part 1 ended – Dobby is dead, our trio is temporarily safe at Shell Cottage and “He Who Shall Not Be Named” now has the Elder Wand. Without any hesitation, we discover the last clues necessary to help Harry and Co. find the remaining horcruxes, we’re wisped off to Gringotts and finally returned to a completely unsafe Hogwarts. No time is wasted – and we need waste no time discussing the remainder of the plot here. Either you’ve read the books and you know exactly what is going to happen or you haven’t and you want to be surprised. Fear not, no spoilers are to be found here.
My only complaint with Part 2 comes from Warner Bros.’ decision to split The Deathly Hallows into two parts. Because Part 1 is the rising action and Part 2 is the climax, if you do not watch Part 1 just before seeing Part 2, then Part 2 feels like the climax to a movie that you didn’t just watch. My recommendation to curing this problem is watching Part 1 as close to your showing of Part 2 as possible. I truly wish that Warner Bros. would have made the decision to make The Deathly Hallows a four and a half hour long single film. The flow and pacing would have worked much better and this problem wouldn’t exist at all.
Even though the 3D conversion for Part 2 looks great, just like every other 3D movie, you will forget you’re watching a 3D movie just moments into the film. Unless you’re going to a midnight showing to get the special commemorative Harry Potter 3D glasses, don’t bother.
Anyone who has watched the previous seven Harry Potter films will not be disappointed with Part 2 – the highly anticipate series climax is brought about in a perfect, bittersweet way. And even though Part 1 held extremely true to the first half of the book, don’t get upset when Part 2 does not. Just like every other film in the series, Part 2 takes it liberty in changing a few things – some of them being fan-favorite moments. But even with those sometimes unnecessary adaptational changes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 brings the series to a perfect, one hundred percent satisfying close.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
