Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review

Overall Rating: A-

After delaying almost a whole week, I've finally decided to sit down and write this review. I'm not entirely sure why I kept delaying. I was told it's probably because if I do write this, and post it, then that's the end. Sure, there's Pottermore, and the fandom will go on forever, but we won't be waiting outside a theater together anymore. Plus, the fact that I was physically and emotionally exhausted the days following the movie's release made it difficult to get up the energy to write it.

Know that this review will be filled with spoilers. I'll try to keep the book spoilers to a minimum, but it's impossible to discuss aspects of the movie without talking about the book. If you want to hear a full discussion of the movie and how it compares to the book check out the latest Flashbacks Podcast episode. Available for download NOW!

Accio Review!

As far as films go, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is very good. It has strong emotional scenes, great action, breathtaking special effects, and some great comedy. The acting is top notch all around. That's not shocking when you see that the cast is full of some of the best living British actors and actresses. The younger members of the cast do an amazing job as well. Mathew Lewis(Neville) really shines in this movie. For the first time he has more to do than just stand around looking perplexed, and he really takes advantage of the increased screen time.

The "trio" however are the focus as usual. The movies have really been about them, and only them. Every now and then you get a side story, but this is a major difference from the books. Where the books focus on the history, and life of multiple characters(Voldemort, Dumbledore, Snape, Marauders), the movies focus almost entirely on the trio. This is a fine decision in most cases, but I also think it's the great weakness of the films. In this movie however, it is a true strength. We've had so much time with these three that we feel like we know them. Not only the characters, but the actors. Daniel Radcliffe(Harry), Rupert Grint(Ron), and Emma Watson(Hermione) are as well known, and loved as anyone else. In this film we really can see their maturation. Not only as actors, but as people.

As far as they've come though, it's hard to compare with the likes of Ralph Fiennes(Voldemort), and Alan Rickman(Snape). Both of which have their finest Potter film performances. Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort gives us a different look at the character than we see in the book. In the movie he plays it very much like Heath Ledger's Joker. Evil and terrifying, yet funny. You cannot help but laugh at his awkward hug with Draco, or when he turns around and randomly kills a Death Eater just because he's pissed. We get so little information about him in the movies as opposed to the books, but I think Fiennes worked very hard to make him as menacing, and memorable as he could. Alan Rickman is a triumph. After 7 movies of having to be serious and snarling, he gets to show some true emotion. His death scene is incredibly moving, but the scene that everyone is talking about is of him clutching the body of dear Lily Potter. A scene that was never in the book, but needed to be shown.

Other performances worth noting are Michael Gambon(Dumbledore), and Maggie Smith(McGonagall). Gambon had his best performance as Dumbledore by far in this movie. He made both Snape's memory and King's Cross truly unforgettable. Maggie Smith was simply epic, and made me laugh out loud at least 3 times.  

As the films have gotten darker, the musical scores have too. The first film has a fantastic John Williams score that gives out a feeling of wonder, and magic. However, by the 8th and final movie Alexandre Desplat's score gives out sadness, danger, and triumph. Desplat's score is amazing, and I really hope it gets some notice from the Muggle world. There are multiple scenes with no dialogue, and all you see is action. Desplat's score gives these scenes a special quality that's hard to explain. Most films would have fast and exciting music as a huge battle rages on, but Desplat understands while this is an action sequence, it's the drama that is the story. Plus, the inclusion of John Williams' original score at the end creates a true bookend of the series and brings it full circle.

Speaking of the action, I thought it was spectacular. For only the second time, I enjoyed my 3D experience, and would highly recommend seeing this movie in IMAX 3D. I know it's expensive, and not available everywhere, but it's the true Potter experience. I also feel the effects looked very good. The giants look amazing, the castle being destroyed was amazing(and terrifying), and Gringotts was just perfect. I've been told that the objects in the vault were real, and that's just really impressive. I rarely say this, so it's a good time for it. Congrats Mr. Yates.

I do want to briefly discuss the things that I didn't like about the movie. I didn't like some of the changes from the book. Namely, that Voldemort could feel the Horcruxes being destroyed. I want to point out that I think it was done fantastically in the movie, and it did work, if not for a few plot holes it creates. If Voldemort could feel them being destroyed one-by-one he would have known way back before Harry's 6th year at school that he was in trouble. Dumbledore destroys the ring at that time, and Voldemort most definitely would have felt that. Since he does nothing about it, it's clear he couldn't feel it then and that's a problem story wise.

I also didn't like that Harry destroys the Diadem with the fang, and then throws it into the fire. Possibly this was done to stop confusion, but it's a change from the books that I felt was unnecessary. They also of course vastly altered the final showdown. In the book, Harry tells Voldemort how Dumbledore and Snape have been fooling him all these years, and throws it in his face, all the while calling him "Tom". While the action sequence in the movie was a lot of fun, and exciting, it lacked this deep confrontation. I do defend it though, a film like this rarely would be able to get away with a 5-10 conversation in the middle of an exciting battle.

The most egregious mistake however was seen in the sequence about Snape's memories. We discuss this at great length in the Podcast so if you want to hear an ol' fashioned rant then definitely check that out. The error I'm talking about is the prophecy. Trelawney's Prophecy literally is the reason everything happens in the books. It's the starting point for the downfall of Voldemort, and the creation of Harry as the chosen one. So it's not a stretch to say it's the most important moment of the series. The film, includes A prophecy in this sequence, but it's the WRONG prophecy. They use the second prophecy, the one predicting that Voldemort would rise again. The one they needed to use(because it's the only one that makes any sense), is the one where she predicts that a boy born at the end of July will be the one to vanquish the Dark Lord. This is one of the biggest mistakes in film history in my opinion. I can't think of any of time when a mistake of this magnitude story wise was made. If you know of one, please post it in the comments.

Well there is more to say, but I think I'll finish the review with that. Again, if you want to hear more thoughts check out the podcast. It's a great episode. Now, I would like to say a few things about Potter in general. This has nothing to do with the movie, but I'm pretty sure every Potter fan feels similar.

I came late to the Harry Potter fandom. I watched all the movies pretty much as they came out, but never really paid close attention, and never really understood what was happening. Later, I would learn this was because the movies leave out key bits of information without which it's near impossible to understand the overall story of the series. But that's neither here nor there. After seeing the 6th movie, I made an off hand comment to Amanda, my Podcast Co-Host, that I suspect the 7th book was about them figuring out what the Horcuxes are. She said that by the end of the 6th book you pretty much know almost all of them. This is true, by the end of the 6th movie, the only Horcuxes known are the diary, the ring, and the locket. By the end of the book however we also know about the cup, and the snake, and Dumbledore has told Harry the last one probably will have something to do with Ravenclaw.

She didn't reveal the others of course, but I did remark, "Is Harry a Horcrux? Cause that would be pretty amazing" She didn't answer, but that idea got me pretty excited. Another friend of the Podcast started telling me I should read the books, so eventually I did. I read them all in about 4 months leading up to the release of Deathly Hallows Part 1. I was amazed. Not only by how good the books were, but by how much I loved the story. Then, the changes and things left out of the movies started to really bother me. I loved the backstory we get on various characters, and how ingenious the world is that Rowling created. I loved finding out, and being surprised that Snape was a good guy. The perfection of a story that surrounds Snape, Lily, and Voldemort placed the series as one of my favorites for all time.

I also loved that the story of Harry vs. Voldemort wasn't so simple as it initially appeared to be. It's not simply Good vs. Evil. As Dumbledore tells him, it's our choices, not our abilities that define who we are. I love this, because labeling someone as good or evil, is a terrible thing. The world is not that simple. People are the way they are because of decisions they've made, and paths they've taken. There were multiple times where Tom Marvolo Riddle could have chosen to do the right thing. Each time though he chose a path that would take him down the road to becoming Voldemort. Harry is the exact same way. There are multiple times where he has to make a choice, it's not always easy, and he doesn't always choose the right way, but he always ends up in a good place because he believes in his friends, and the love they have for him.

In the end, Harry Potter is about many things; love, hardship, struggle, the price of power, bravery, etc. Personally though, I think the true lasting message of the series is friendship. Everyone makes mistakes, and the wrong choices every now and then. That's life. With friends though, we can stabilize ourselves, dig our way out of holes, and know that someday things will get better. The true tragedy of Voldemort is he never trusted anyone, or cared for anyone. Both when he was young and old, there was no one around to question him, or challenge him. Friends are there to help us, but they also are there to stop us. Harry had that at Hogwarts. Most importantly, he knew no matter what happened they would be there for him in his darkest hour if he needed them.

As time goes on, the phenomenon that is Harry Potter will fade, but it will not disappear. It will be kept alive forever as fans grow older, and introduce the series to their children, and their children's children. Every day new kids are discovering the series, and having their mind's opened to a whole new world. It's a series that forces kids to open their minds, and imaginations. It lets kids see that reading is an amazing thing.  It's already been proven that Harry Potter reawakened reading for untold numbers of young people over the past 10 years, and I don't see that stopping. J. K. Rowling created something that changed literature, film, and the World, and it's just beginning. So, as the Potter film franchise comes to an end, we can all look around and truly know...

All Was Well.