Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

by Ann Marie. 

It all ends.

After a quick clip from the previous movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 starts right where Part 1 left off. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are looking for the remaining three Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for the Dark Lord's immortality. This starts the race against time as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, The Constant Gardener) hunts down Harry to kill him. Since Harry and Voldemort can't both live at the same time, this begins and epic battle to conclude the series.

In addition to the action, the audience also learns more about Harry's past and family.  In the end a great way to close the chapter to a long series which followed the lives of Harry, Ron and Hermione since 2001.  For fans of the novels as well as the movies, the movie follows the book right up to last chapter.  My only complaint with the film, a relatively minor one, what the awkward scene after the evil is completely vanquished, Harry returns to Hogwarts, but it seems as though no one is aware of the battle that has just transpired.
The cast put together another brilliant ensemble performance. Radcliffe, Grint and Watson didn't hide anything on the big screen and let the audience fall in love with their characters even at such a young age.  As for the rest of the crew, certain characters who were killed in other Harry Potter movies even made cameo appearances including Michael Gambon (Professor Albus Dumbledore, The Book of Eli) and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black, The Dark Knight).

The movie's use of magical spells and special effects were fun and helped advance the plot of the movie without becoming substitute for plot, a trap that many a blockbuster fall into.  It was interesting watching each character use magic because you can see how much they have grown as wizards over the years.

David Yates has directed the last four Harry Potter films, the most films out of any director.  It will be interesting to see what steps he takes now since the series is over.  Yates follows Chris Columbus who directed the first two films and is perhaps best known for the Home Alone series, Alfonso Cuaron who directed the third film, and Mike Newell who directed the fourth film and is best known for Pushing Tin and Donnie Braco.  The film was adapted from J.K. Rowlings book by Steve Kloves who has written for all of the Harry Potter films.

 

I recommend this movie for anyone who has been following the Harry Potter films and books, though I don't believe you need to have read the books to understand the movies.  Writing a recommendation for what is essentially Harry Potter 8, is a bit difficult,  - either you are on board with the series by this point or you are not.  Jumping into the franchise on the 8th film probably isn't the best place to start.  Fans, though, should be pleased with the film. The ending brought out an appropriate close to the long running series, yet it seemed to leave an opening for more adventures in the future.

Review:
© 2011 Beyond the Films
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© 2011 Warner Bros. Ent.
Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R.

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